Adding Alstroemeria

 Every year I say I'm going to plant some more alstoemerias and I finally did! I always claim these are perennials that I grow mainly for their cut flowers that last for a couple weeks in a vase and fill in with other cut flowers beautifully, but I have to admit that they bloom for months and months and are never bothered by bugs or diseases. They are always a nice spot of color in the garden almost year round.


 Although I am guilty of taking them a bit for granted because they seem to thrive on neglect and any fertilizer that makes it to the garden is focused on the high demand plants like roses, but they don't seem to care much and bloom profusely year after year anyway.

Although it is considered a plant for full sun, I have one growing where the California pepper trees have shadowed it almost completely and it still blooms. Mine are all in flower beds that get regular, but not excessive water. The only unique thing that you need to remember about these pretty plants whose common name is Peruvian Lily is that to keep them blooming you need to yank the spent stems up from the ground to keep the blooming. If you just grab the flower stem and give it a sharp tug it will snap off at the ground which will stimulate the plant to send up more flower shoots.

Although these are all lovely, I still think there are some more colors I could use!