The lilies of spring

Some of the very first flowers to appear each spring in the hills above Peshastin are two bright yellow lilies:  yellow bells (Fritillaria pudica), pictured above, and glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum), seen below (tho’ we call the latter pine lilies!)  They don’t last long, so we enjoy their brief and glorious show while it lasts.  The yellow bells can grow in little more than decomposed sandstone, harsh sites that dry out quickly, while the pine lilies prefer somewhat better soil and more moisture.  You can see masses of pine lilies in areas with some shade from a nearby Douglas fir.  It’s not hard to collect seed of either of these (if you remember to return a month or so after bloom).  The dry seed capsules are filled with stacks of the flattened seeds that are easy to extract, and sowing them in the summer, so that they get a warm period for after-ripening before the needed cold and moisture of winter, will usually result in germination the next spring.  They are very slow to develop into plants big enough to sell, however, which has led this somewhat impatient grower to leave their propagation to others.  After three years my yellow bells had developed corms of which the largest was smaller than a pea.  Instead of selling them, I planted them into an exposed bank in my nursery and, six years after I first sowed the seeds, I finally had blooms.  Ah well, I enjoy them all the more now, blooming on their own in the hills.