In the country you can drive along gravel roads and see the field lilies blooming. If you think about it you can place the source from which they came. It has spread down the ditch of an old farmstead where nothing is left of the property. It could be down the hill along a big interstate and the house that sat on the top of the hill, but was removed because of the road construction, was it's source. New road construction actually spreads the plant as in my wife's former home as the grading of the ditches has spread it way past from it's original site. I found my start of this plant on a gravel road east of Woodward, in the ditch far from where any sight of inhabitants once were.
Once you have the plant, it then has you. It spreads and destroys your other plants and if you don't pull it out like a dandelion, it will choke out hostas and phlox and Asiatic lilies. I have to revisit my many beds of this and start again to reduce it's growth.
I really like the flower of it and it's healthy foliage. I discovered last night while out with the small dog, that it closes up its blooms at night. I think I remember noticing that from last summer but had forgotten the fact.
As a flower to photograph, it is superb. I love it's many rich colors and it's fancy petals. Some of you may call it the local name of Ditch Lily but whatever you call it, it is a great bloom.
