Lilies are a joy in early summer and this is a good time to plant or replant bulbs. They do well in pots and containers and I mostly choose to grow them this way so I can easily move them around. I’m then able to select a prominent place while enjoying the wondrous display, find a discreet spot when the show is over or provide protection over the winter.

There’s a daunting list of different lily types but you’ll probably be offered three types. The Asiatic group is relatively short, prefers slightly alkaline soil, and usually has upward facing flowers that have little or no scent. Oriental lilies prefer acid soil, so should be grown in ericaceous compost in a pot.  And finally there are my favourites, Martagon or Turk’s Cap lilies, with swept back petals and huge stamens hanging below.

Martagons prefer semi shade, which mimics their natural habitat, woodland edges, making them work well in Scottish gardens. They are fully hardy and are happy in most soil types. One added advantage of growing martagons in pots is they can be moved during a hot sunny spell.

Because lilies need a lot of feed, the compost needs replacing after one year.

When growing lilies in pots I always avoid the very tall types that need so much staking. Choose a large deep pot to give you at least 30cm depth of compost and preferably more. The larger the volume of compost the easier it will be to keep moist. 

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All lilies produce roots from the base of the bulb but some also root from the base of the stem and need to be planted at a depth two and a half times the height of the bulb with basal rooting ones at a depth just the height of the bulb. All bulbs should be planted no closer than 5cm apart.

Make sure the compost is relatively moist but free-draining. You can, of course use a general purpose compost but I use a mix of home made compost, leaf mould and horticultural grit. If the compost or soil seems wet when planting, sprinkle a thin layer of grit before placing the bulbs on top. Gently firm the compost as you fill to prevent it settling too much over winter. I also mulch the surface of the compost with horticultural grit and top up in spring before the bulbs emerge.

My visiting badgers and squirrel will trash a pot while digging up any bulbs, so I place a piece of coarse meshed wire over the surface and cover with grit. Because the emerging lily shoots are quite fat, the mesh should be 2-3 cm wide. Check over the pots in spring in case part of the mesh is being hit by emerging shoots.

As you’d expect, slugs and snails may nibble the new growth, but the main pest is the scarlet lily beetle. I was horrified to find some on one of my lilies this year. They must have been good fliers to reach me.

The adults are easy to spot and brush off into a deathly brew of hot salt and vinegar or crushed under foot. But be prepared, as they quickly drop from the plant to play dead. The larvae also live on the leaves and stems and have the endearing habit of covering themselves in their own excrement so look like black slimy blobs. Scrape them off in to a fatal brew as well.

All parts of all lilies are highly toxic to cats, so you may have to forgo the pleasure of lilies and grow one of the many alternatives like gorgeous Hemerocallis or Alstroemerias. 

Blueberry ‘Rubel'Blueberry ‘Rubel' (Image: free) Plant of the week

Blueberry ‘Rubel' has intensely flavoured fruits and crops over a long time so that there are still plenty of the little berries as the leaves start to take on their fiery autumn colours.

Closely related to the wild blueberries collected in the forests of New Jersey early last century, the berries are smaller than the more highly cultivated varieties but with superior flavour and are said to contain much higher levels of anthocyanins.