Lilies are so pretty. But dam do they smell when it is time to throw them out.

[applegrove]

There is nothing worse. Don't think i'll get lilies again.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

1. Paperwhites stink the minute they bloom...hate those things!

[csziggy]

9. The vintage varieties don't have much smell

The newer ones have been selected for scent.

When we bought this property in 1978 there was one clump of paperwhites living behind the old shack that was the only living place on the acreage. I dug the clump up, divided the bulbs and planted them around our house. Over the years I have dug and divided many times. We now have a lot of paperwhites from that one original clump.

They have no discernible smell - I'd notice if they did since I am allergic to most flower scents. They are pretty much unkillable. Once, the dog in digging a hole threw some of the bulbs into the top of a sago palm. The paperwhites thrived there and bloomed profusely in the top of the palm for years. When we dug up the palm to move it to the new house, those bulbs fell to the ground and were only covered by leaf litter. They bloomed this year again.

Once while we were getting work done on the exterior, I dug the paperwhites around the house and left them in a burlap sack for six months. I finally got them transplanted, and they bloomed happily the next winter. I've got to dig the ones on the south side of the house and I'm running out of places to plant them. I may just stick them randomly across the lawn - by the time we need to mow, they've stored their energy and the tops have died back and they won't sprout until after the last mowing of the fall.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

12. That's really interesting csziggy...

I just assumed they all had a horrible scent. A friend gave me a gift of potted Paperwhites, ready to bloom...At that time I had three adolescents and spent most of my day, or so it seemed, in the kitchen...so I kept the Paperwhites on the center island....good glory, when they bloomed I had to move them to the patio where the scent wasn't so overpowering! I just assumed they all smelled like that...glad to know they don't as they are so pretty. I bet your house and lawn look beautiful when they are in bloom!

[csziggy]

13. I never realized that the newer ones had a scent

Until I was looking at daffodil bulbs. The nursery person was trying to sell me paperwhites, too, until I told them about our old variety. She asked me about the scent and told me that only the newer varieties smelled.

My landscaping is a mess at this new house. Right after we finished building, I volunteered for the 2008 Obama campaign, then had shoulder surgery. Then my knees got so bad I couldn't walk the terraced beds around the house.

Last year while I got my new knees the weeds took over. I had someone come in and weed whack everything down. I need to go out and dig some bulbs so I can kill off the weeds in those beds and start fresh.

I've got some azaleas up the hill that are blooming but volunteer oaks are trying to crowd those out. I'm going to have to pay someone to clean that are aup and try to save the azaleas!

Even with all of that the paperwhites still bloomed like crazy. The other bulb I've had good success with are African irises. They bloom most of the summer and survive just about anything.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

14. In NJ, we had magnifent azaleas along our driveway and across the back of it....

pulling into the driveway was such a pleasure when they were in bloom your eyes smiled, filled with that luscious azalea pink! We also had a huge Peony bed, singles, doubles and even a few triples. I would fill the house with Peonies.

Moved to south FL 25 years ago...so different.

[csziggy]

15. If you like gardening go to Floridata.com

A great resource for looking up Florida plants. http://www.floridata.com/index.cfm

I use it some but the micro climate here on the farm is more like South Georgia than North Florida. It figures, we're about ten miles from the Georgia line as the crow flies! I have friends that live south of Tallahassee that can grow bananas and semi-tropical plants. We get enough cold hours to harvest apples - or did until our apple trees died of old age.

If I still lived in Polk County, Floridata would be a great guide for what to plant. It's equally good for South Florida since it has a lot of tropical plants.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

16. I'm in a condo now...

for the past 15 months...but thank you. I could kill a cactus in Tucson, myself....the ex or the landscaper always took care of everything, I just had to choose.

I will admit, however, I had much better 'luck' planting on my own here. I'd buy from a local nursery and follow the instructions, to the letter...When the landscaper came to cut the grass, after my first venture, he noticed. He came to the door and said..."Mrs. D.
I see you've been experimenting. Just want to let you know I'll keep an eye on them." He did such a fine job, my 'experiments' always did well!

[csziggy]

17. ah - no yard anymore

I'm not sure I could handle that - I'm too used to having the privacy of my 60 acres.

I think Floridata also has some patio type plants, too, so if you have a balcony you could put plants there unless your condo association blocks that.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

18. No, they don't...

I've been thinking about it...but like I said earlier...I can kill cactus in a desert environment.

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY...so people living cheek-by-jowl is not unfamiliar to me.... I can live anywhere actually...once I get used to either the noise or the silence!

[csziggy]

19. LOL - I've killed many cacti in my time!

I grew up in a typical suburban neighborhood but I always sought solitude. The worst time in my life was living in a college dorm.

After my knee replacements, I stayed at a rehab hospital - about nine days each time. I was worried I wouldn't be able to handle it since that was the first time since college that I had to share a room with someone other than my husband. Either I have mellowed with age or the drugs helped, because I didn't have a problem. But it was so nice getting home and being alone again.

This song does not sound depressing to me though many people think it is:

[Sekhmets Daughter]

20. LOL

No the least depressing to me either! I can find solitude in a crowded room if I wish.

How are you knees now? I have been very fortunate to date...

[csziggy]

21. The new knees are great

The worst problem I have is if I sit too long, they get stiff. That's getting less and less as time goes by, but it does keep me moving. Before the replacements, I could not stand long enough to load the dishwasher and my total standing time was about an hour a day.

I'd worn through the medial meniscus on each knee - left in 2001, right in 2007. They hurt enough with that, but then with each I folded over the torn edges which was complete agony. The doctor took out the damaged meniscus which left me bone on bone for all those years. Not fun at all.

Now I can walk as much as I want and have no pain, just some stiffness. It's WONDERFUL!

[Sekhmets Daughter]

22. That is wonderful indeed!

I've herniated the L5 S1 disc twice...first time in 1981...9 months of physical therapy and 9 years of 24/7 back pain. 1990...3 months of chiropractor...no further problems...Go figure.

I broke my right wrist 10 years ago...everyone said to expect arthritis to set in...none yet. I am very lucky!

[csziggy]

23. I can sympathize about the back pain

I fell off a horse thirty years ago and wracked my pelvis and back, doing a lot of soft tissue damage. Fourteen years ago I started having back spasms. Not a lot they can do for it, so I just live with it. At the time I hurt it, the doctor told me that I would have done better if I had broken my pelvis and/or back since the soft tissue damage would lead to arthritis. Unfortunately, he seems to have been right!

[Sekhmets Daughter]

24. I am so sorry...

Back pain is the worst..it works on your nerves.

[MiddleFingerMom]

2. I worked my way through college in a small family-run wholesale greenhouse.

.
.
.
One of the plants we marketed was what's called an "Oriental Lily".
.
It had an exotic spice smell and was my favorite flower in the place for fragrance.
.
.
.
Though I never had to deal with it when it was time to throw it out.
.
.
.

[hedgehog]

3. I like the yellow pollen they drop on everything!

[applegrove]

4. Yeah and it stains.

[Paulie]

5. Can't decide if worse than basil

Which can make a house smell like cat pee.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. Tell me about it.

My boyfriend had surgery, his father die and his stepfather die all in the last month.

And Lilies are his favorite. Everybody knows it.

Just had another load delivered today and he ain't even here.

I drove a bunch home from the hospital and they stunk up the car.

But I grin and bare it. It's nice to know people care.

[applegrove]

7. I know. It was so sweet of my dad to thank me with them. I should not complain.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. I told the boyfriend to be VERY careful.

I have a feeling that old water is like bong-water x 10.

Aww. Sweet pops.

[applegrove]

10. Yes he is very sweet. All the men in my family are sweethearts.

[Petrushka]

11. "Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds." --- William Shakespeare

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnet_94

[raccoon]

26. Ya beat me to it! nt

[Petrushka]

27. Wonder which weeds wrinkled Willie's nose . . .

. . .

[amuse bouche]

25. The only 2 flowers I dislike

are red roses and lilies

They remind me of funerals and creepy church rituals