It's Alive!

Not only that, it's blooming!  This is Schizostylis coccinea, commonly known as Kaffir Lily or Crimson Flag, one of my impulse purchases in Seattle during last summer's Garden Bloggers' Fling.  I planted it out front in an area where I'd see it every day as I walked to the mailbox and could monitor its progress or lack thereof.   Hey, some people play the slot machines or craps ... I gamble on plants!  Since many of the links I found in a Google search were from the UK, I didn't really expect that the plant would do well here.  I'm happily surprised that it's thriving and even increasing - new fans are poking up through the soil.   

That spot of red in the lower left corner of the picture isn't the S. coccinea but another South African bulb, the subject of Wednesday's post.  I didn't expect them to be so similar in color or to combine so well with Pinecone Shrimp plants (Justicia brandegeana) and Salvia greggii 'Cherry Chief'.   I'm delighted that it worked out that way.  Long may the Crimson Flag wave on my corner of Katy!