One year, while working in the IDEA garden, we dug some rain lilies, and I volunteered to take them home and grow them until time for our annual bulb sale.

They did perfectly in pots and were healthy and ready in October to offer for sale. But little did I know just how prolific these little guys were.

The next spring, I had them in places in my yard where they hadn’t even been planted. You see, after they bloom, they form a seed pod and when ripened, the seeds burst forth and blow around and find their place in the soil.

This seed forms a new bulb and voila, you have a new rain lily. Then it starts all over again if seeds are left to fall and naturalize.

Not having much experience with bulbs of any kind, I was surprised and happy that these are so easy to grow.

So I harvested these new babies that came up and bought more at our bulb sale, planted them amongst some variegated Asian jasmine in two backyard beds and am very pleased with the results

The funny thing is they are called rain lilies because they generally bloom with the summer rains or first rains of the fall season. As we know, we haven’t been blessed with any rain this summer.

So it’s necessary to give your lawn and beds some irrigation of some sort, (at least periodically, but not everyday like some folks!). When I did that, the rain lilies bloomed and then bloomed again.

What a joy to look out upon awakening to see them greeting you as you have your morning coffee.

“Habranthus robustus” come from Argentina and are pale lavender pink with yellow throats and the foliage is considered to be in the gray-green tones. It is written by Scott Ogden in his publication “Garden Bulbs for the South” that they are “fast-multiplying bulbs that grow shallowly and need winter protection, except in the lower South.” However, I have not seen the need for winter protection in my yard in Tyler and they even survived the winter storm of 2021.

Maybe the Asian jasmine gives them some needed insulation from the cold.

So if you want to give these precious pink lilies a try in your own garden, we will be offering them in our annual October bulb sale. You won’t be disappointed, in fact, you will be as delighted as I was.

For more information regarding the Smith County Master Gardener’s From Bulbs to Blooms Sale and Conference please visit our website at www.txmg.org/smith/events .