Gentle Ed

This post title is not some declaration of the true character my inner self but is the varietal name of a plant.  The flower is somewhat understated.  Its petals are short and rounded with barely visible ruffled edges.  A yellow eye spot sharply contrasts with maroon petals but is controlled.  White midribs strongly anchor the petals.  When searching the catalogs for new plants, I must admit that this name was a strong factor in my choice.

Elegant Candy was never selected for purchase here.  A visit to a local one man breeding operation placed me in contact with a huge pot of an expensive and much desired plant.  Its price was more than reasonable but when we returned home the pot's contents of three plants became obvious.  One was the named plant while the other two were these.  Strong ruffles and a vigorous growth habit contribute to my feelings of having purchased a bargain but a sense of having been slickered lingers.

Blueberry Candy was clearly chosen.  Pale peach ruffled petals sharply contrast with the purple eyespot.  This plant is well proportioned with the smaller flowers matching a mid-sized plant.  Dreams of a large Daylily bed persist but deer relish their flower buds.  A fenced large bed would look horrible and the deer would simply jump the fence to get to the buds.  Urine sprinkled on the ground keeps the deer away but the desired garden would be close to the public road.

Indian Giver is the horrible name of this beautiful flower.  It is offered for sale at $50.00 or more and may be well worth that price but I am slow to part with that much money.  This was the third plant purchased with Elegant Candy.  It has grown large enough to divide but I remain reluctant to hack apart a plant this beautiful.  Here we have more white ruffled edges on purple petals.

Ivory Edges is a rather obvious name for this stunning flower.  An exploding eyespot close to clearly defined ruffled edges makes a statement that can be easily seen from some distance away.  More than three dozen Daylilies grow here and I sometimes wonder what will become of them when I am elsewhere.  These plants hold their own against the weeds and would likely expand over a decade of no care.

Yellow Chiffon looks a little beat by mid afternoon on a cloudless hot July day.  Many mail order businesses offer a free plant with orders.  Usually these plants were unique enough to obtain varietal names but failed to gain wide acceptance.  This plant is modest in size and the flowers fade early in the day.  It arrived here hiding a horrible secret in its root mass.  A never before seen  sedge soon grew from the daylily root mass.  We have been diligently weeding it out for years but it remains an ever present wandering pest.  The triangular stem of that pest reminds us of the free plant with a secret that just keeps on giving.

The Garden Is Finally Open

Nearly all of the snow is now gone from the garden.  Outside air temperature of 40 degrees F and a forecast for rain opened a narrow window for early cleanup.  This planting of young day lilies seemed like a good place to start.  Many of the different varieties have already pushed green growth above ground.  We have read that it is sound practice to pull the bark mulch clear of the plant crowns at this time of year to lessen the likelihood of leaf fungus later.  Dead leaves pull clear as do the cut remains of last year's flower stalks.  Indian Giver, I hate that name, was the winner with eleven flower stalk stubs.  One of the many catalogs delivered here listed this variety at $50.  That of course is an exaggeration since common thinking among merchants requires that the price end with ninety-nine cents.  A new shoot appeared away from the central crown so we should soon have another of this beautiful plant.

Rain came and ended my outdoor fun.  The many returning birds seemed quite unaware of the light rain grading to mist.  Flocks of geese have separated and now we see pairs flying overhead.  Slate gray Juncos are finding much that pleases them in the driveway.  My trip to the mailbox sent up a group as I neared the road.  I disturbed them again at the top of the hill on my return trip.  A truly nasty weed grows in the gravel drive and it seeds profusely.  Perhaps the birds are feeding on those hated weed seeds.

The good news is that time spent kneeling today caused no knee pain.  Soreness in the thigh muscles is another matter entirely.  Today was wonderfully pleasant but I do miss my youthful body.

Monarch Butterflies And Day Lilies

Yesterday I passed by this stand of milkweed plants that have been repeatedly cut off with the mower.  They always re-sprout and by my way of thinking it is good for the Monarch butterflies if plants in varying stages of maturity are available to them.  A female Monarch was working among the lower leaves close to the stem.  It would have been noble of me if my choice had been to not disturb this possibly egg laying butterfly for a photo attempt but in all honesty I had no camera with me.  A return to the plants today revealed no eggs to me.  My eyesight is not what it used to be and these eggs have never before been seen here.  Hopeful return visits to look for chewed leaves will be frequent. Becky saw two Monarchs yesterday as well.

Our Day Lily nursery bed did not disappoint.  In the three years that these mail order plants have been here they have grown into impressive specimens.  If all goes as planned, these plants  will be moved to a foundation planting in front of the house.  Near the center of this photo is a line of five purple colored flowers.  Directly in front of them are two flowers with cream colored petals with a rose colored ring.  There will be more to say about these flowers later.

Wineberry Candy is just coming into flower.  This plant was nearly lost when invasive pasture grass reclaimed the bed where it was planted.  The bed is lost to us but this plant was saved.

Swallowtail Kite is our tallest day lily.  Its yellow green center spot is so bright that it looks like an actual source of light.  This one is destined for a prominent spot in the foundation planting.

Indian Giver is the varietal name of the row of five flowers in the above picture.  The flower is beautiful while its name is insensitive.  The two flowers in front of five purple ones have previously bloomed as Indian Givers.  The change in color appears permanent as only one plant still produces purple flowers.  We have never read about plants changing their colors but perhaps this is suggested in the pejorative name.

Blueberry Candy is our last newly opened variety.  It is very similar in overall appearance to Wineberry Candy but subtle changes can be seen.  These minute differences make me glad that I do not sit on the board that decides if the plant before them is indeed worthy of a unique name.  I will plant these two with generous distance between them.  No need to make fussy comparison easy.