The Belamcanda chinensis are competing for attention in a rather crowded field of flowers today.
These beauties are really in the iris family, but are called Blackberry lilies.
There are several colors.
My dark “Leopard Lily” must have crossed with
my yellow “Candy Lily”
to produce this unusual tie-dyed look.
Another surprise in the garden!
Flow
Most of the Asiatics have long finished their show.
The daylilies are slowing down.
The Stargazers are turning brown.
But it is not over yet!
The blackberry lilies are going strong.
I started out with a spotted orange type.
Then added a spotted magenta
and a yellow non-spotted candy lily.
These are all Belamcandas.
Other names are blackberry lilies, or leopard flowers.
The name leopard refers to the spots on the petals.
The name blackberry refers to the seed pods which open to expose clusters of black seeds that resemble blackberries.
One of the fascinating things about these is they cross pollinate to produce hybrids.
My two favorites this years are this water-marked form
and this red-orange mix.
I love surprises! I never know what will show up until the flowers open.
I appreciate any flower that keeps going in this heat.
While the FLOWER wilts, the blackberry lilies bloom.
FLOW
floweralley 