Sunday, March 15, 2009

Solitary Squill


I have in my garden a solitary squill. That's not the name of it. It's Scilla siberica by name. I mean there is only one. I originally obtained it from an elderly neighbor, Alice, who lived in a farmhouse half a mile down the road. The clump of squill never had a chance to proliferate in my garden before the Great Relandscaping Disaster of 2002, and after, a solitary squill would show up in the new lawn every spring, but eventually it petered out.
Two years ago, however, I noticed a few blades of "grass" growing where I had the dog run. As the grass hadn't really broken dormancy, I investigated more closely, and decided it was a bulb of some sort. I moved the dog so she wouldn't crush it and kept close tabs on it. When the clump finally bloomed, I was thrilled to see it was a solitary squill. How did it get from under the locust trees in front of the old house, where I originally planted it, to the side of the old barn, where the dogs run? I had no idea. Rodents, maybe? Seed? It is a mystery.
Before the plant could die off into oblivion, I transplanted it into my flower bed. It bloomed last spring, weakly, but it's coming up strong this year. I'm so happy! The photo above doesn't quite capture the true shade of electric blue of it. I hope it spreads wildly.
I saw a grassy field of them blooming at St. Charles Seminary near the cemetery and it seemed such an appropriate final resting place for saints. Fragrant, sighing conifers above, and a heavenly blue carpet of scilla below--very serene and peaceful. I'm sure there's scilla in heaven, and I could have a bit of heaven on earth in my garden if I could just get this solitary squill to be fruitful and multiply. I'll let you know how it goes. Scilla Siberica photo by John Crellin.

9 comments:

  1. I love scilla. They are the most adorable of the little bulbs. thanks for sharing.

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  2. I have a giant bulb squill. I am wondering are they relatives? I've never seen mine blooming. Yours is beautiful. Such an innocent blue color...

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  3. What a beautiful sky blue colour! I have scilla in my garden, but they are anything but solitary.... in fact they have naturalized to the point that I have decided that this year I will have to pot some up and send them to the annual hort society plant sale.

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  4. Such a pretty blue. True blue flowers are a favorite.It is amazing how nature and plants surprise us sometimes and find a way grow back.

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  5. Oh, This was growing in the lawn in the shade of our big tree when I bought this place 11 years ago. It comes back in early spring every year, thanks for your post...I never knew what it was called before.

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  6. What a beautiful flower! Nice photo, too! It looks like a postcard.

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  7. What a beautiful blue, I hope it spreads with abandon!

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  8. Hi JulenaJo, I'm a first visitor. Love your scilla. It's such a proud feeling to rescue a little plant and have it thank you with beautiful blossoms.

    I read Beverly Nichols' books years ago. Very entertaining. I like how he numbered his cats. I like the quotes you chose for your side bar. It's true. The REAL gardener is going to head right out and see what's blooming. :)

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  9. I have a solitary squill in my garden too...
    Do not ask me how it arrived in my garden (we don't have neighbouring gardens, as we live in a rural area), but last week I suddenly found one under our hawthorn hedge...

    (It was because of that found, that the title of your blogpost caught my eye on botanical)

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