Rebecca and I hit the road hard earlier this month. She was able to spend some time in Austin as I was tied up in some commercial filming and book writing, but we were able to spend a lot of it together. While on the road, we try our best not to eat out. Rebecca is great about making sandwiches, making sure we have water, and accepting food items from all of our stops with friends and family. I don’t think we ate a single fast food restaurant, except maybe one morning when we needed just a small breakfast burrito.
On one of our stops, we were able to go visit our friend in the country near Columbus. Mary Ann is a former president of The Southern Garden History Society, and she had some oxblood lilies she wanted to share with us. Her home has always been a peaceful rest stop for me over the years. We were of course thrilled first to see her and Bob, and meet their daughter, but were also thrilled to have her share an amazing collection of oxblood lilies with us.
Mary Ann also kept me updated on her Crinum powellii roseum pictured below. She went out to trim up some of the leaves that had browned in our extreme heat and counted over 30 former bloom stalks that had come up that season. She also shared some pictures of some clumps that she had seen blooming in town. Thank you for your friendship Mary Ann, the bulbs, and sharing these photos with all of our readers.
Chris Wiesinger, the Bulb Hunter, founded The Southern Bulb Company to share his finds with the world. 
Great lady. Great images. Any chance the crinum is ‘Cecil Houdyshel’? She’s known for being an exceptional bloom producer. -GG
Great patch of Oxbloods-will they do okay here in Central Mississipi? Clay soil is the best we can do.
Hi, Jerry! Felder Rushing has not had success with them in Mississippi, and Jenks has not had success with them in South Carolina. The trick is keeping them drier during the summer months, so well drained soil would help do the trick.