As another year is quickly fading into memory, and we celebrate the season of good wishes, all the members of the South Saskatchewan Lily Society wish everyone a joyous Christmas and all the best in 2014.

We have also been allowed to share a poem written by member Violet Lochore, who gave each of the lily members one at their Christmas potluck held earlier in the month.



The Candle

Watching the strength of a candle
This induces inner peace, one can handle.
Most of our worries begin to ease,
Oh, treasure and enjoy that peace.

How amazing is a baby's power,
Who will insist to use it at any hour.
Observing the flame, it wavers a bit,
As the baby grows to be a "kid".

Miracles of God keeps life versatile,
Children know what to do. Smile.
The candle keeps burning steady and bright,
Producing the everlasting light.

Watching our family growing up,
Bringing their children to see mom and pop.
The candle's flame is still burning strong,
Trying to build a brotherly bond.

Moving more slower as time goes by,
Old age, what about the twinkle in the eye?
The candle's flame never quavered,
It is like God's love, it never wavers.

With Spring finally here and our lily bulbs poking their heads up through the soil, it is now time to start watching for the most common disease of lilies Botrytis.

Botrytis is a fungal disease that affects the stems, leaves and in extreme cases, the flowers and buds of lilies and is spread by spores located on the undersides of the leaves, on the ground, and in old garden debris.
The spores are spread by wind and rain or water splashing up onto the lilies, and are encouraged by damp, wet and humid conditions, which we often see in June on our prairies.

Beginning as a small white or brown spot on a leaf or bud, the spot grows into a larger brown spot with a lighter center, until it engulfs the entire leaf and then the  stem and buds, if action is not taken. The damage can be held back or avoided by using preventative sprays of chemical or organic nature.

This disease is limited to the plant growth above ground, and does not carry over into the bulb from year to year. However if
the stems are completely affected and totally brown to the tip early in the summer, the bulbs do not increase in size. It will sprout and grow again the next year. but if Botrytis is experienced 3 years in a row, under extreme conditions where the stems are totally brown by mid summer, the following year the bulbs will not sprout, their quality seriously deteriorated due to the ongoing disease.

So lily growers be always wary of this deadly disease lurking!

"The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble sheep a threat'ning  horn:
While the Lily shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat  stain her beauty bright."
by William Blake





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