Celebrity opening "Greatest Lily Show on Earth" at Keukenhof Flower Gardens

[Lvandelft]

Today when I was cycling in the area, I passed the famous Keukenhof Flower Garden and then I decided to go in and have a look.
I was lucky because there was just the opening of a big Lily Show in the glasshouses.
For the sports people among you, the opening was done by a famous German speed skater, Anni Friesinger, who has won
about championship which are possible to win.
She also was asked to name a new Lilium with her name.
Here some pictures of Anni Friesinger: 
           
                           
4: Anni Friesinger  naming the lily with bubbles.                             
5: Anni Friesinger with her husband Ids Postma, who was a famous Dutch speed skater.   

[Lvandelft]

and here some pictures of the new Lilium:
                                   
Lilium Anni Friesinger   

[Lvandelft]

Finally some pictures I want to show of the flowers.
There were so many huge lilies, mostly grown for the cutflower industry, but these big ones are not really my taste,
so I choose a few other ones.

Lilium 1   
Lilium Pot lilies

Lilium Arabian Night                             
Lilium Illusive                                   
lilium Russian Morning                       
Lilium Russian Morning cl.                       
Lilium regale   

[Maggi Young]

I recognise both these athletes, Luit, even though they do not ride bicycles!
Tell me, in photo  Lilium Anni Friesinger1 : is Lilium Anni Friesinger  VERY large or are those skates VERY small? 

What a selection of flowers... I'll bet the fragrance was good!

[Lvandelft]

Maggi, these lilies have very long stems, I believe (as you might see the stems in the vase) they will reach almost 1.5 m.
The skates are not so big and will depend on the shoe measure. Maybe these were Anni's skates, she is rather small.
And I forgot to tell that the couple is awaiting possibly a new champion  

[Maggi Young]

Now I look closely I see that the shoes are probably "real" size ! The lilies are very tall and beautiful.

I spotted that a baby champion was expected..... it bodes well, with such parents: a good-looking child... very fast on its feet!

[Lesley Cox]

You (the Dutch) do display your flowers beautifully Luit. It must have been a lovely show, especially the new white lily, well named for sure. But I really like 'Russian Morning." I suppose it has some martagon blood in it?

[Brian Ellis]

I'm with you too, I like both Lilium Arabian Night and Lilium Russian Morning, were they both from the same breeder?

[Lvandelft]

Indeed these are Martagon forms.
Both are shown by the same breeder, but I am not sure if Russian Morning is really bred in Holland.
I heard some rumours about a Martagon lily with such dark color found in the wild in N. Russia or maybe Lithuania.

 

[Lvandelft]

 a good-looking child... very fast on its feet!

[Tony Willis]

Luit

very lovely displays.

I also like Russian Morning which I think will be similar to Red Russian which I have bought last autumn and waiting for it to flower. Probably from the same breeder and definitely martagon blood in them.

[Boyed]

What a wonderful display Luit! Very beautiful arrangement!
I liked all the lilies you showed, each one is beautiful in its own. Lilium Regale is my favourite, Illusive has nice up-right blooms not very common for longiflorums, martagons are super!

I would like to make sure if lilium 'Anni Friesinger' is from oriental division or it is interdivisional hybrid.