Agapanthus africanus, another African Lily

The garden keeps surprising me this year.  One plant that I didn’t think made it was the Agapanthus africanus, or the African Lily/Lily of The Nile/African River Lily.  It has several common names, which is why I tend to just call it by it’s latin name.  Anyway, it is from South Africa and is supposedly hardy to about 10 or 15 degrees with good drainage.  The really cold temperatures in December this last winter made their mark on my garden.  The spot where the Agapanthus sits saw down to at least 8 or 9 degrees.  I’m a big fan of it’s wide green leaves and I was begrudgingly accepting of the fact that it probably froze to death.

Fast forward to today.  This weekend’s warm temperatures have most of my plants ahead of schedule as far as emergence.  Making the rounds today, I happened to see some green poking out where it shouldn’t have been.  The Agapanthus has survived our winter!  I’m amazed and happy to see it coming up out of the ground.