Serious Storm

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If aged memory serves me correctly, the severe storm visited here Saturday evening.  Strong winds from the south pelted huge raindrops against the windows with attention getting force.  Our power remained on and we retired by 10:30PM as usual.  Anxiety got the better of me by 2:30AM and I ventured out to see just how much of our driveway remained.  There were deep ruts but we were lucky!   I also checked to see if any of the house siding had been dislodged.  None had moved.

The reported rainfall of four inches in little more than one hour must have been a somewhat limited local event.  Our Unadilla River is unusually brown and full but did not appear to have spilled over into farmer's fields near here.  Storm damage likely occurred but fortunately we were spared.

Early Sunday morning I ventured out with a shovel, rake and the lawn tractor with trailer.  Thirty shovels full made a manageable load and it was dumped in the deepest section of the new ravine.  The uniform spreading of the fill hints at my Irish ancestry but many more loads will be needed to finish this job.  As it was, three loads were followed by a break then three more loads finished me for the day.  No chest pain was felt but it was definitely time to quit after the sixth load.

All that rain may have dampened my spirits, but the daylily flowers loved it.  Spiritual Corridor is the name of this variety.  The fern like leaves of Sweet Cicely behind it identifies this plant's placement inside of the stone square.

Sunday Gloves is pictured here along with the messy remains of yesterday's flower and an insect.  Removing the disgusting mess of old flowers usually precedes taking the picture but no sticky hands could touch the camera.

 

Swallowtail Kite has an unusual series of perhaps four colors as the petals open outward.

Aurora Raspberry features the much favored ruffled edge.

Huckleberry Candy is intensely colored as is the pollen load.

 

Big Bird has a somewhat disheveled general appearance as did the Sesame Street character.

 

Frosted Vintage Ruffles has been with us for many years.  It appears to find its placement next to the stone path at least satisfactory
 

Nearly Perfect

Daylilies are frequently described as the perfect perennial.  For those of us that try to garden where polar blasts of frigid air are frequent visitors during the early days of the growing season, these plants are survivors.  Early tender growth blackened by frost is simply replaced with new growth.  Providing frost protection with plastic buckets or tarps is not necessary if hardy daylilies are planted.  This Prairie Blue Eyes is a visual treat.  White midribs combined with a light ruffled edge create a sharp contrast to the yellow eye spot.  It endured several late frosts but looks perfect now.

If bark mulch is used to suppress weeds and conserve soil moisture it should be pulled away from the crown of the daylily early in the growing season to reduce problems with leaf rot.  Leaves that do brown can either be pulled clear or cut away.  That is the only care that these Frosted Vintage Ruffles required this year.  This beauty is pleasantly fragrant in addition to its complex flower configuration.  In this instance the rewards from the blossoms far exceed the work required to maintain the plant.

Ordinary orange flowered daylilies are frequently seen along roadside ditches.  They appear there as escapes from colonial gardens.  The number of multicolored new varieties now available is in the thousands.  Cost can seem excessive for some of the newer varieties but many inexpensive attractive and hardy varieties are available.  A daylily clump will increase in size each year and soon supply more plants by division.  This Spiritual Corridor was an early purchase here and it will be divided early next year.

The only downside to daylilies is that the flowers only last for one day.  What was a beautiful flower becomes a slippery slimy ugly mass.  Left alone it will dry and drop to the ground or hang up on an unopened bud.  It is not a totally unpleasant task to walk near the bed each morning snapping off spent flowers.  That activity places one near the new flowers and their scents on what could be a daily basis.

We need to complete the foundation plantings in front of our home.  Part of the reason that this task has remained undone for so long is that I wanted to do it right.  Many different varieties of daylilies will anchor the flower bed to be placed in front of the living room wall.  Pleasing scents from the flowers will drift into the house via open windows.  Our daylilies will continue to bring us pleasure after we have come inside for the remainder of the day.