I think that planting 3-5 of the same lily fairly close together, then interspersing other plants with different foliage looks best with lilies. Usually "lily beds" that have only lilies in them look pretty funny, because of their admittedly freakish foliage/stems. But how many flower can compete with the beauty of a lily bloom? With all the hundreds of varieties and hybrids, they can suit just about any need - and they are just so darn dependable! They can usually manage to be planted fairly close to other plants, as long as there is still some breathing room so they don't get disease. Just don't forget where your bulbs are and spear them accidentally!

I agree. Mine aren't quite as far along as yours but I'm a couple zones colder. It's commonly called wild ginger.

1. How far apart from each other should I plant the 5 lillies? ANSWER ---> Plant them about 1 foot on center, e.g. each stem planted about 12" apart. I like to plant them in a small group instead of a line, so the figure 5 on a dice is what you are looking for, or 3 lilies behind 2). See this picture (if you do not see a picture in your email, go to gardenweb and look on the posting) 2. I plan to kill the grass by smothering it with wet newspaper, then add soil on top the paper, plant the lillies, and cover the soil with cedar mulch. Then, I'll add edging to define the bed. Does this sound like a decent idea? ANSWER ----> Yes, but dont cover the lilies with the newspaper. I have a couple friends who have planted lillies without amending the soil or anything and they have done great, so I was planning on just putting them in the ground. ANSWER --> YES THIS CAN BE DONE, BUT THE LILIES LOVE RICH ORGANIC SOIL, SO MIXING IN A BAG OF COMPOST (AVAILABLE IN BAGS AT GARDEN CENTERS) INTO THE PLANTING HOLE IS A VERY GOOD IDEA AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. DIG A HOLE 12" DEEP AND AMEND THE SOIL WITH A 3-4" LAYER OF COMPOST. AFTER PLANTING, WATER THE LILIES IN WELL BY WATERING DEEPLY FOR A LONG TIME. 3. Are Oriental lillies much harder to grow than asiatic? I like asiatic, but I **looooovee** Oriental lillies. They're my favorite type of flower, and I'd love to grow some. ANSWER --> THEY ARE BOTH EASY TO GROW. ORIENTALS WILL BLOOM LATER AND DO NOT MULTIPLY AS PROFILICALLY, BUT CAREWISE THEY ARE JUST AS EASY TO GROW AS ASIATICS. WHY NOT BOTH ?? 4. If I made a bigger bed, would it be possible to plant the lillies towards the rear of the bed and start some zinnias from seed in the front of the bed? YES, BUT ZINNIAS GROW FAST AND MAY OVERTAKE THE LILIES. ALSO LILIES NEED TO REMAIN WITH GREEN FOLIAGE TO IMPROVE THE BULBS FOR NEXT YEAR AFTER FLOWERING. YOU CAN NOT JUST SMOOTHER THEM WITH ZINNIAS. WHY DONT YOU PLANT GROUPS OF ZINNIAS AND GROUPS OF LILIES. THE GREEN STEMS WILL BE NICE ACCENTS. ZINNIA SEEDS YOU CAN JUST DISTRIBUTE AND PRESS INTO THE TOP OF THE SOIL (BEST IF YOU AMEND WITH COMPOST IN THE TOP FEW INCHES). KEEP THE AREA WELL WATERED UNTIL THE SEEDS SPROUT. THEY WILL GROW FAST IN WARM SOIL. WHEN THE ZINNIAS ARE 6-8" TALL AND HAVE SEVERAL SETS OF LEAVES, PINCH (OR CUT) OFF THE TOP. THIS WILL MAKE THE ZINNIAS BRANCH OUT AND BECOME FULL WITH MANY MORE FLOWERS. I think your idea of zinnias and lilies are good. Here are a mix of orientals and asiatic lilies from my garden. Again, if you can not see the pictures in your email, go to gardenweb and look up your post.

Just so everyone knows, daylilies - Hemerocallis species and hybrids - are not lilies despite that common name. They are not bulbs like true lilies (Lilium species and hybrids) but just a fleshy rooted perennial. But the buds and flowers can be browsed by various plant eating creatures just like true lilies and a host of other perennials and shrubs. In my garden with a moderate deer presence, the deer will often eat the flowers or flower buds off of just about anything, even for plants they normally avoid. So my vote would be deer damage.