Spring, summer or autumn there are Lilies for all occasions, even hatches, matches and dispatches.

Beware garish garden centres selling plants that defy belief or at least defy the seasons. I have just returned from a weekend break and can contrast a plant nursery that I visited with a so called garden centre. The later was selling these lilies in full April flower.
These colours are not those you expect or associate with spring flowers! I am all for ‘shock and awe in the garden but you would want plants that last longer than a couple of days and look more natural than these Lily photos.

Some garden centres sell more dry goods and sundries than they do plants and this was definitely the case in Clitheroe. The large premises sold furniture and even bathrooms before it sold plants and I think the horticultural element may have been designed to get planning permission near a rural location rather than to supply gardeners.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be so judgmental because the Asiatic Lily plants were putting on a good colourful show that helped create these images.
All the photographs are unaltered without any digital manipulation.

Oh did I mention the electric blue Orchids. Wow more gentian than a Gentian, was ever a moth so bright.

Phalaenopsis or the Moth Orchids are popular indoor plants but I was convinced this plant had been dyed to get the colour. This happens to some gaudy Chrysanthemums later in the season. It may have been fed some exotic food to achieve this colour but I could find no other blue Moth Orchid in the google image search

Returning to my theme I will not be returning to this garden centre as it did nothing for me as a gardening experience. I will return to the contrasting nursery which is to be reprised in the next post.