The Latest Daylilies

Nanuq is with us because of our search for the perfect white daylily.  Its color is what we are looking for but both the flowers and the plant are comparatively small.  If we can just remember these details when we plant the display garden, this plant will be located front and center.

Jedi Free Spirit has been with flowers for some time but getting its picture has been a problem.  Nearly all of these plants grow behind protective wire fencing to deny our deer herd free access to tasty daylily buds.  That barrier also makes it difficult for us to get close to our plants.  The wire fence is removable but now with so many plants growing into the wire damage results if we try to get inside.

Swallow Tail Kite is our tallest daylily.  Its flowers and my nose are the same distance above ground.  We find the colors and their placement relative to each other appealing.

Princeton Silky is pure class.  The raised white ribs cleanly divide the peach colored areas.  This one was among our first purchases and we remain pleased to have it in our collection.  It is a rather late bloomer so it shines when most of the others are nearly finished.

Lime Frost is another example of our search for a pure white.  The ruffled edges always please here and the blossoms have substance.

This one has been in bloom for some time but we are unsure about its name.  Earlier in the day the pink center ribs are more brightly colored but this is the picture that we have.  Our list of purchased plants includes the names Fragrant Pastel Cheers and Spring Fling.  We believe that one of these names match this plant.

Now there are just two names of plants that we have purchased but we cannot find them.  Ruffled Parchment was among the most expensive plants ever purchased but the tiny pieces shipped barely stayed alive for its first two years here.  Now no trace of it can be found.

Wineberry Candy is simply missing in action.  When fall cleanup is underway we will keep our eyes looking for a stone bearing that name.  With these two missing plants all thirty-eight varieties have been accounted for.  A solemn vow has been taken that no additional plants will be purchased until all of those already here have been properly divided and generously spaced. 

Evening Walk About

At this time of year the scent of summer sweet fills the garden.  Gentle breezes carry the understated aroma for great distances.  One never knows when they will walk into an unexpected cloud of sweet aroma.  Diluted by the wind, the smell is unmistakable and pleasant.  It might be overpowering if brought into the house as a cut flower.  We prefer to enjoy it where it grows.  Even this close to sunset the bees were furiously working the flowers. These two were so intent that they did not respond as I brought the camera close.  Despite their calm demeanor, we look twice before bringing our noses close to the flowers.
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The eye sees the dill as different in color than the grass.  The camera does not record this difference.  The dill marks the location of our new asparagus bed.  Self seeded, the dill was simply too splendid to weed out.  We will watch to see if these two plants will grow together without harm to the other.  Dill is usually scattered around the garden.  We have long wanted a dill patch but we also want an asparagus bed.  The smart thing would be to prepare soil for a dill bed now and cut the seed heads moving them to the new ground.

Late Morning is new to us this year.  Despite the challenges of covering lilies to protect them from late frosts, I cannot stop myself from buying more bulbs.  Spring planted, this variety should bloom earlier next year.  We also hope it grows taller.  We would like to sample its fragrance, but cannot get our noses this close to the ground.

Princeton Silky has been with us for several years.  Many other varieties of day lilies present tattered flowers this late in the day but this one is presently perfect.  Slow to open, this flower will still look good tomorrow morning.  We need to have more days when the tools are put away early and we take the time to savor the beauty that is all around us.