'silk road'

The first blossom opened on the 'Silk Road' lily. I'm still not sure how I feel about them. I didn't get these lilies because of the color (a bit garish to me) or their form (flowers seem clunky to me), but because they are supposed to be tolerant of heat (yes! they are!), and extremely fragrant (it is fragrant).

Last year, I planted them in too much shade and they were spindly. This year, they are much happier in frighteningly hot full sun.

They get enough sun to wither and stunt this dahlia, in fact they are the plants shading it. I didn't know you could give a dahlia too much sun. 'Casa Blanca' lilies grown in the same space are not so happy, but these last 2 weeks of 90+ degree temps did not faze 'Silk Road.' So 'Silk Road' is very tough. I could smell the one open flower from 5 feet away, even though up close it didn't seem all that strong.

How can you not like a plant that tolerates intense NM sun and wind, grows from ground to 4-6 feet high and blooms by the end of June with big fragrant colorful flowers? I guess you could say they are growing on me.