Today is the Ontario Regional Lily Society's Annual Show at Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. It is a highlight of the year (besides Christmas) for Brian. His Lilycrest Gardens has been his hybridizing field for more than ten years. Many hybrids have been developed and grown. None of them are blue - that's a fantasy creation.
For the last two years, the lilies have been smaller and less vigorous. Last year there were weather concerns, but this year the conclusion is that this is likely an indication of having used up the nutrients in the soil. The field is no longer sustaining the crop. Bakker's rose fields are rotated every year for this reason. I see endless rows of roses pop up in different places each year.
The show alternates between the first and second week of July each year. This year with the show earlier, and the spring later, there aren't very many lilies blooming. So it will be a smaller show than past years. Even with that, there will be beautiful stems of the highest quality.
Here's Brian and David Maltby at last year's show at Royal Botanical Gardens.
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