Dazzling First Daylilies

As a child of the fifties growing up in Newfield, N.Y., walking to school placed me close to sewage in the roadside ditches.  In areas where only the moisture gathered, orange Daylilies grew in great numbers.  Clever children that we were, they were named sewer lilies.  As an adult gardener, I had no interest in placing sewer lilies among my coveted plants.  Susan of Afton needed to clear out some of her plants and three different varieties came home with us.  Their varietal names have long ago been forgotten but their mixed coloration made Daylilies worthy of a second look.

Destined To See was the first fancy lily purchased.  The simpler structure of the single flowers resulted in their widespread presence at Stone Wall Garden.  Ruffled edges and pleasing scent are considered necessary characteristics for new purchases.  This plant has been divided once and if the new ground is ready next spring it will be divided again.  Many winter hours were spend with plant catalogs considering which would be planted here and our first choice remains among the plants we truly treasure.

Aurora Raspberry displays the coveted characteristic of pie crust edging.  It is hard to believe that this beautifully complex flower will last for only a single day.  Many find the dead blossom remains prohibitively ugly and therefore do not grow these plants.  We find a mid-morning walk among the flowers peaceful and snapping off the spent flowers is simply another reason to sample the scent and sight of newly opened flowers.

Molokai is perhaps the most vigorous of out many varieties.  Planted in a bed that was taken back by the quack grass, Molokai fought the invaders and relished transplantation.  Twice divided, the hardiness and clear bright yellow color make this a favorite here.  Once again a ruffled edge completes a beautiful picture.

Chicago Arnie's Choice is another early purchase.  Its hardiness alone makes it a candidate for division.  Now we understand Susan's need to find new homes for plants that are overcrowding their allotted space.  Several people have expressed their willingness to take our extra plants if we dig, divide and deliver them.  Somehow working with plants that will remain here seems a better use of our time.

Lazarus Lilies

As winter gave way to spring here, our weather experienced extreme shifts.  Daytime temperatures can range across seventy or more degrees on consecutive days.  An early appearance of a strong warm system from the south tricked many of our plants into early robust growth.  Then an equally powerful cold northern air mass changed everything.  Overnight temperatures fell perilously close to ten degrees.  This was way beyond a simple frost.  Our plants were hit with a hard freeze.  New daylily leaves that were nearly one foot tall were transformed into yellowish limp slime.  We were certain that all of the daylilies were totally dead.  Not knowing how to deal with the mess, we simply turned away to other tasks in other parts of the garden.  After more than four days had passed, new growth began to appear above the rotting slime.  Nearly normal leaf growth finally produced properly appearing plants.  Relieved that our plants still held life, we tidied up the bed, but expected no flowers from them this year.  These pictures show that we had seriously underestimated the strength of these plants.  We love the colors of this variety but hate its name, Indian Giver.

Molokai was poorly placed near the field grasses.  Quackgrass rhizomes have pierced the crown of this daylily but its leaves prevented the deer from finding and eating flower buds.  When a more civilized area is ready for desireable plants, Molokai will be moved to a better spot.  Big yellow and beautiful, this flower can be easily seen through the heavy rain from inside the house even though it is at the far end of the garden,

Chicago Arnie's Choice displays the moisture from early morning rain.  We have watched moisture laden systems pass north or south of us for months.  Today we will likely see measurable amounts of rain all day.

Ivory Edges sports small flowers with rather flat petals.  Shades of purple marked with white is a favorite combination here.  Safe inside of a fenced area, yesterday's flowers are beyond my reach.  Sliding my hand through the 2 inch by 4 inch openings would allow me to snap off the spent flower but then the back of my hand would have spots of color similar to the purple of the flowers.

The storm clouds have opened and bright sunlight now fills the air.  We will be drawn outside to work knowing that the rain will return and we will be soaked before we can reach shelter.  This is how July in the garden is supposed to be here.  The gardeners don't look nearly as pretty as the daylilies when drenched with rain, but we are enjoying the rain just as much!

Daylily Season Begins

To say that hybrid dayliles have captured our fancy would be a major understatement.  We presently work with thirty-five different varieties.  I vowed to purchase no new ones this year but winter seemed unending and the mail order catalogs were here early.  Eleven different new varieties were ordered, delivered and planted.  We have no idea where all of this beauty will be planted as they grow.

Molokai is the varietal name of this clear bright yellow blossom.  Ruffled edges and the pure color made me buy this one.  It is scentless but it catches the eye across great distance.  It should be moved and divided this year or early next spring.
 

Spiritual Corridor has been with us for several seasons.  It must be the fussiest flower that we own.  Light colored pie crust edges surrounding a flaming yellow eye spot makes a strong statement.  This one is pleasantly scented in an understated manner.  Twenty-two separate bud bearing stalks were counted.  This year the blossom count for this single plant should exceed one hundred.   This flower opened following a heavy overnight rain.  Sunny days will lead to brighter cleaner flowers.

If we are to plant so that the season of blossoms is long, we need a written record of when what flowers open.  Written here we will be able to find our notes when we are ready to plant the day lily garden.

First Lily Flowers

This orange spotted Asiatic lily has been with us for several years.  Purchased as part of an assortment, it is nameless but hardy.  Two bulbs have become a dozen.  Two large pots were filled with emerging plants this spring so that they could be moved into the basement when frost threatened. While the potted lilies enjoyed the warmth of the basement the others were left to make do with plastic bucket covers.  The ones near the fence in the background are ready to bloom.  One planted out in the main garden experienced a colder night as it was located in a natural frost drain that sweeps across the  slightly lower land.  It is totally dead as are the daughter plants that surrounded it.  We will check the condition of those bulbs.  Weeks of growing time preceded the killing cold so the bulbs may have stored enough energy to fuel an attempt to flower next year.  Fall visitors are always welcome to surplus plants here.  These lilies have created an abundant surplus of mature bulbs.

We are captivated be the color, variety and fragrance available in Daylilies.  Mail order purchases give us a wide range of choices.  In the past our purchases have been small apparently lifeless pieces of crown and roots sealed in plastic bags.  Amazingly enough, plants treated this way usually grow but seldom flower the first year.  This year we tried a dealer that sells field dug plants.  Trimmed green growth was present on each plant when it arrived here.  All have grown and most are sporting flower buds.  Next year we will only purchase freshly dug field grown plants.

Molokai is the varietal name if this plant purchased from Gilbert H. Wild and Son.  Its bright clear yellow petals with ruffled edges made this a stand out.  No fragrance is claimed in the catalog listing but Ed thinks a slight scent is present.  Our flowers have opened late morning and have carried through the second day.  Still in a pot, we really need to give this beauty a spot in the garden.

Note added July 28 2012: Before you click on the link above, you should know that we seem to have gotten leafy sedge along with some of our plants.  Satisfaction from this company is guaranteed, but " No complaints will be entertained after 30 days."  We were extremely happy for longer than the first month.  Ignorance is bliss!