Few flowers command a garden quite like a lily in full bloom. Tall, architectural, and often intensely fragrant, lilies have been cultivated and celebrated for thousands of years — appearing in ancient Egyptian art, Greek mythology, medieval European gardens, and the cutting gardens of the modern world. Their flowers are among the most structurally dramatic in the plant kingdom, with bold, reflexed petals, prominent stamens dusted in pollen, and a color range that sweeps through white, cream, yellow, gold, orange, pink, red, burgundy, and deep purple.
One of the most common frustrations among lily enthusiasts is the relatively short window that any individual variety spends in flower. A single lily cultivar may bloom magnificently for two to three weeks before fading, leaving a long stretch of summer with nothing but foliage where those glorious flowers once stood. The solution — and it is a deeply satisfying one — is to plan a succession of varieties that collectively cover the entire growing season, from the first warm days of late spring through the long bright days of midsummer and on into the cooling weeks of late summer and early autumn.
The lilies in this guide have been selected with that goal in mind. Together, they represent the full sweep of the summer season, with early, mid-season, and late-blooming varieties chosen to ensure that at least one lily — and often several — is in flower at any given point from late spring to early autumn. The selection includes true lilies from several major divisions, including Asiatic hybrids, Oriental hybrids, Trumpet lilies, and the spectacular OT and LA hybrids that combine the best traits of multiple lily groups.
It is worth noting that the term “all-season blooming” applied to lilies refers to succession planting across multiple varieties rather than any single plant that flowers continuously for months. With the right combination, however, the effect in the garden is exactly that — a rolling, continuous display of color and fragrance that transforms the summer border from early June through late September.
‘Tiny Bee’ Asiatic Lily
Tiny Bee is a compact, dwarf Asiatic lily that opens the summer lily season with cheerful energy, producing upward-facing flowers in a warm, soft yellow with delicate darker freckling at the throat. It is one of the earliest lilies to bloom each season, typically flowering in late May to early June in temperate gardens, making it the perfect opener for a succession planting scheme. The plant is small and well-suited to container growing, front-of-border positions, and small garden spaces where larger lilies would overwhelm. Despite its modest size, it is a vigorous and prolific bloomer that sets a vivid, sunny tone for the season ahead.
‘Enchantment’ Asiatic Lily
Enchantment is one of the most famous and widely grown Asiatic lily cultivars in the world, a classic variety that has been gracing gardens since the mid-twentieth century and shows no sign of losing its popularity. It produces cup-shaped, upward-facing flowers in a vivid, uncompromising nasturtium-orange with black spotting on the inner petals — a color combination that is bold, joyful, and impossible to overlook. It blooms in early to mid-summer, bridging the gap between the earliest Asiatics and the mid-season varieties, and it is a robust, reliable, and vigorous plant that multiplies freely over time.
‘Grand Cru’ Asiatic Lily
Grand Cru is a showstopping Asiatic lily with a distinctive bicolor flower that demands attention — the broad, upward-facing blooms are a rich, deep yellow at the petal edges with a vivid burgundy-red center that creates a striking contrast of warm tones. It blooms in early to mid-summer and grows to a medium height, making it suitable for the middle of a mixed border where its bold colors can be seen without overwhelming smaller neighbors. The name borrows from fine wine classification, and the flower has a corresponding richness and complexity of color that justifies the association.
‘Matrix’ Asiatic Lily
Matrix is a reliable mid-early Asiatic lily that produces upward-facing flowers in a clean, strong red with a slightly lighter center — a straightforward and deeply satisfying color that works well with both hot-toned and cool-toned planting schemes. It is a sturdy, wind-resistant plant with strong stems that hold the flowers upright even in exposed positions, and it multiplies reliably from year to year, building into increasingly impressive clumps. It blooms in early to mid-summer and provides a bold, dependable splash of red at a point in the season when the earliest lilies have finished and the mid-season display is just beginning.
‘Landini’ Asiatic Lily
Landini is among the most dramatic of all Asiatic lilies — a deeply saturated, near-black maroon variety with unspotted petals of extraordinary depth and richness that contrast magnificently with silvery foliage, white flowers, or the pale yellows of nearby plants. The flowers face upward in the typical Asiatic manner and appear in mid-early summer on tall, strong stems. It is a variety that brings sophistication and a slightly mysterious quality to the summer border, and it is much valued by garden designers working with dark and moody color schemes. It pairs beautifully with warm copper and bronze perennials.
‘Conca d’Or’ OT Hybrid Lily
Conca d’Or is one of the finest OT hybrid lilies — a cross between Oriental and Trumpet parents that combines the large flower size and fragrance of the Oriental with the vigor and heat tolerance of the Trumpet. It produces enormous, outward-facing blooms in a rich, buttery yellow with a slightly deeper golden throat, carried on tall, strong stems that may reach five or six feet in ideal conditions. It blooms in mid-summer and the scent is powerful and intoxicating — warm, sweet, and complex in the way of all the best trumpet-type lilies. It is considered one of the greatest achievements in modern lily breeding.
‘Black Beauty’ Oriental-Trumpet Lily
Black Beauty is a legendary lily variety of considerable age and continuing fame, producing pendulous, reflexed flowers in a deep, velvety crimson-red edged with a narrow white margin — a color combination of striking elegance and considerable drama. It blooms in mid-summer on exceptionally tall stems that can reach six feet or more, and it is one of the most vigorous and long-lived of all lily cultivars, increasing reliably from year to year and eventually building into extraordinary multi-stemmed clumps. The flowers have a pleasant, light fragrance and appear in impressive numbers on established plants.
‘Casa Blanca’ Oriental Lily
Casa Blanca is perhaps the most iconic pure white lily in cultivation — a tall, stately Oriental hybrid that produces large, bowl-shaped flowers of immaculate, paper-white purity with prominent orange-red stamens that provide a vivid focal point at the center of each bloom. It flowers in mid to late summer, filling the garden with a rich, heady fragrance that carries over considerable distances on warm evenings. It is a classic choice for white garden schemes, formal borders, and cutting gardens, and it remains one of the most widely grown and deeply admired Oriental lilies after decades of cultivation.
‘Stargazer’ Oriental Lily
Stargazer is almost certainly the world’s most recognized lily variety — a vivid, upward-facing Oriental hybrid with deep pink to red petals edged in white, heavily spotted with darker markings and possessed of one of the most powerfully sweet fragrances of any garden flower. Bred in California in the 1970s, it was named for the upward-facing habit of its flowers at a time when most Oriental lilies nodded downward. It blooms in mid to late summer and is as spectacular in the garden as it is in a vase, combining visual impact with an extraordinary scent that makes it one of the most sensory-rich flowers available to summer gardeners.
‘Regale’ Trumpet Lily
The Regale lily is a classic trumpet variety discovered in the wild river valleys of western China by the plant hunter Ernest Wilson in the early twentieth century, and it has been grown in gardens around the world ever since with barely diminishing enthusiasm. The flowers are large, white trumpets flushed with rose-purple on the outside, warm yellow at the throat, and possessed of a fragrance so powerful and so deeply, quintessentially floral that it has influenced the development of countless commercial perfumes. It blooms in mid-summer on tall stems and naturalizes freely in well-drained garden soils, building into impressive stands over time.
‘Yelloween’ LA Hybrid Lily
Yelloween is a vigorous LA hybrid — a cross between Longiflorum and Asiatic parents — that produces large, outward-facing flowers in a clean, warm yellow with a slightly greener throat. LA hybrids occupy a useful middle ground between Asiatics and true Orientals, producing flowers that are larger and often more elegantly shaped than Asiatics while being more vigorous and adaptable than Orientals. Yelloween blooms in mid-summer, fills a natural gap in the yellow color range between earlier Asiatic varieties and later OT types, and is an excellent cut flower variety that lasts well in the vase.
‘Debby’ Asiatic Lily
Debby is a soft, romantic Asiatic lily that brings a warm, peachy-pink tone to the mid-summer garden — a color that sits comfortably between the bold oranges and reds of the more assertive Asiatic varieties and the deep pinks of the later Orientals. The flowers are upward-facing and lightly spotted, carried on sturdy stems at a medium height suitable for the middle of a mixed planting. It blooms reliably in mid-summer and combines well with soft blues, lavenders, and creamy whites to create the kind of gentle, harmonious planting scheme that brings a sense of ease and warmth to the summer garden.
‘Scheherazade’ OT Hybrid Lily
Named for the legendary Arabian storyteller, Scheherazade lives up to its romantic name with flowers of exceptional drama and beauty — enormous, outward-facing blooms in a deep red-burgundy that transitions to creamy white at the petal edges, with heavy spotting and prominent yellow-green stamens that add a final touch of exotic interest. It blooms in mid to late summer on very tall, robust stems, and the flowers are lightly fragrant with the clean sweetness characteristic of OT hybrids. It is one of the most visually commanding lilies available and makes an extraordinary statement at the back of a large summer border.
‘Nymph’ Oriental Lily
Nymph is a delicate and beautiful Oriental lily that offers a softer, more refined alternative to the vivid colors of Stargazer and similar varieties. The flowers are large, bowl-shaped, and a soft blush-pink edged with a deeper rose, fading toward white at the center, with a light dusting of darker spots. It blooms in mid to late summer and carries the rich Oriental fragrance that makes this group of lilies so deeply desirable. The overall effect is gentle, romantic, and quietly sophisticated — a lily for gardeners who prefer their summer planting to whisper rather than shout.
‘Muscadet’ Oriental Lily
Muscadet is a large-flowered Oriental hybrid of considerable refinement, producing wide, bowl-shaped flowers in a clean white with a delicate rose-pink edging and light freckling on the inner petals. The flowers are elegant and graceful without being fussy, and the fragrance is the characteristic rich sweetness of the Oriental group — full, penetrating, and deeply satisfying. It blooms in mid to late summer on strong, tall stems and is an excellent cut flower variety that holds well in water. The combination of large size, pure coloring, and exceptional fragrance makes it one of the finest white-and-pink Orientals available.
‘Acapulco’ Oriental Lily
Acapulco is one of the most intensely colored of all the Oriental lilies — a vivid, hot cerise-pink with broad, recurving petals that give the flower an open, extravagant quality quite unlike the more cup-shaped forms of other Orientals. The color is bold, warm, and unapologetically attention-seeking, making it a powerful focal point in any summer planting scheme. It blooms in mid to late summer and carries a strong, sweet fragrance that confirms its Oriental heritage. The long, strong stems make it an exceptional cut flower, and it is particularly valued by florists who need a dependable source of highly colored, fragrant lilies late in the season.
‘Citronella’ Turkscap Lily
Citronella is a Turkscap-type lily with strongly reflexed petals that sweep backward from the center to create the distinctive swept-back, hanging flower shape characteristic of this group. The flowers are a light lemon-yellow with distinctive dark spots scattered across the petals, and they are carried in elegant, multi-flowered clusters on tall, arching stems. It blooms in mid to late summer and has a light, pleasant fragrance. The reflexed flower form gives Citronella a graceful, nodding quality that is quite different from the more upright, cup-shaped forms of Asiatic and Oriental lilies — a visual variety that adds considerable interest to a mixed lily planting.
‘Tiger Babies’ Lily
Tiger Babies is a charming hybrid with the reflexed, pendulous flower form of a Turkscap lily combined with a warm, rosy-salmon color and the typical dark spotting of the tiger lily group. The flowers hang delicately from arching stems in mid to late summer, giving the plant a graceful, relaxed quality in the garden that contrasts pleasantly with the more formal upright lilies. It is a vigorous and long-lived variety that builds into impressive clumps over successive seasons, and its unusual flower color — somewhere between pink, salmon, and peach — fills a gap in the lily color palette not easily covered by other types.
‘Vermeer’ Oriental Lily
Vermeer is a striking late-season Oriental lily with flowers in a deep, velvety pink with white edges and dark spotting — a color combination that calls to mind the richly saturated tones of Dutch Golden Age paintings that inspired the name. It blooms in late summer, extending the Oriental lily season and providing richly fragrant, deeply colored flowers at a point when many earlier-flowering varieties have finished. The stems are tall and strong, the fragrance is powerful and sweet, and the overall effect in the garden is one of luxurious, end-of-summer abundance.
‘Satisfaction’ Oriental Lily
Satisfaction is a late-flowering Oriental lily that lives up to its uncomplicated name by delivering a thoroughly rewarding display at the tail end of the lily season when many gardeners are beginning to think about autumn. The flowers are large and bowl-shaped, in a rich, warm pink with deeper spotting and the penetrating sweet fragrance that defines the Oriental group. It blooms in late summer to early autumn and its late timing makes it exceptionally valuable in a succession planting designed to carry lily color and scent as far into the season as possible. A well-established clump of Satisfaction in flower in September is one of the most satisfying sights in the late-summer garden.
‘Speciosum Album’ Oriental Lily
Speciosum Album is one of the last lilies to flower in the garden each year — a late-season Oriental that brings the lily season to a close with enormous, pure white, reflexed flowers carrying a central green stripe down each petal and prominent, richly colored stamens. It blooms in late summer to early autumn, often still in flower when September is well advanced, and the fragrance is rich, sweet, and deeply satisfying in the way of all the finest Oriental lilies. It is a tall, statuesque plant that has been cultivated since the nineteenth century and remains one of the most elegant and distinguished lily varieties available — a magnificent note on which to end the summer lily season.