Daylily Survivors

After a lengthy hiatus I was inspired this week to share images and names of the daylilies in my 7b/8a garden that are blooming their hearts out without any special care at all from me. As I try to rekindle my passion for gardening it is very interesting to see which plants have prevailed amidst the weeds without supplemental water or even in many cases removal of the previous year's dead remains.

The small bed close to my deck was my first "flower bed" and has evolved into mainly daylilies and salvias which seem to make good companions.

In the above pic are Daylily 'Helaman' ~

and Daylily 'All Fired Up' with 'Wispy Rays' in the background.

On the other side of the same bed is Daylily 'Galaxy Explosion' with tiny 'Siloam June Bug' behind it.

From another angle Daylily 'Bela Lugosi' opens its ffo right next to 'All Fired Up'.

Hanging out over the edge of the same small bed is Daylily 'Let it Rip'. These are not all of the daylilies in the bed but all of these pictures were taken on one cloudy, overcast morning this week.

Kudos must be given to Daylily 'Lotsa Dots' for doing so well in the big bed in spite of encroaching Centipede grass and haphazard trimming from the lawnmowing crew.

Moving on to the newest bed that was never properly finished but has lots of hemerocallis. Not pictured but now blooming are Daylilies 'Star Asterisk','Vintage Bordeaux','Norma Jean' and 'Moses Fire' along with some unnamed plants. I have pictures of  'Bengali Princess'

and Daylily 'Kilauea' ~ both Brian Mahieu selections.

In yet another bed I have Daylily 'Chesapeake Crablegs' with a tough seedling of Salvia 'Henry Duelberg' as a flowering partner.

and stalwart Daylily 'Matt' with the weeping flowers of Blue Love Grass cascading over its flowers.

Of special note in my observations is that the daylilies do not like being crowded by the Mother of Thyme that thrives and wants to take over in my garden. So even though the gardener lost her way ~ these daylilies did not. Isn't it grand?

Daylilies 2010~ Part Four

Daylily bloom season is past peak now in my zone 7b garden but not over by any means. Although some plants are through blooming there a still others that have yet to begin. Rain is getting precious again as summer really heats up fast. I have yet to hook up the sprinkler this year but will probably break down and do it this weekend if we get no showers.

This daylily ~ Kilauea ~ from Mahieu is classified as a ufo, crispate. The blooms are large and real presence in the garden.





Dream Catcher ~ from the late Ned Roberts. I love the shape and variability of these blooms.





From Gilbert Wild~ Painter's Splash



A classic spider from Rosemary Whitacre~ Red Rain



Jo Barbre Holman 1974 is a spidery double in a clear lemon yellow. An inexpensive choice for something a little different in a daylily.



Curt Hanson's Primal Scream is well named and unmistakable. I really must plant this one but can't decide where...



Flutterbye from Frank Childs~ I love it but wish it performed better for me.



A strong performer here~ Desperado Love from Stamile



After a couple of years to settle in On Silken Thread ,a Lambertson, is really showing off. Nice and tall.



I just noticed that Tinker's Gardens Database needs one of my many photos of Twister Time~ Pyne 1995 DOR Re. I can't remember if I ordered this one or if it was a bonus but it came from a Dan Bachman at Valley of the Daylilies where I found a good selection of spiders and unusual forms that are off the beaten path.



Smaller than parent Moonlit Masquerade(in my garden) but I'm sure a much better performer than its other ancestor Cleopatra is Dan Trimmer's Egyptian Queen. She has behaved more like a dainty diploid for me than a EV TET.



Another Valley of the Daylilies find was Lillian Kathleen by Fred Manning. A great performer for me~ she is elegant and tall with a large sculptural bloom.



Hope everyone is having a great weekend ~ Stay cool:)

Daylilies 2010 ~ Part 3

It's been quite a week here with bloom season still going strong. The days are so long now that by the time I finish deadheading and defogging the camera lens the sun is higher in the sky than I would like for it to be for shooting.

Spindazzle Wilson 1983 DIP SEV ext Mid Spider





The first year blooming for this one I think~
Spider Spirits Brown-E.W. 1987 DIP EV Re Mid



Raspberry Candy Stamile 1989 TET Dor Re Ext Early



Ra Hansen Talbott 1986 DIP Ev Re Early Mid



Pale Moon Windmill Crochet DIP Sev Re Early ufo Cascade



I've waited a couple of years for this one to start blooming. I planted it in the middle of my small bed because it was a favorite of mine~ at least in other people's photos.

Helaman Roberson 1981 DIP Ev Re ext Early Mid



These are the first blooms for me on this one too.

Dragon Flight Hansen, Dan 2003 TET Ev Re Early Mid



Bengali Princess Mahieu 2001 DIP Dor Early mid



So Many Stars Kaskel 1999 TET Ev Re Mid Late



For those of you who may be new to daylily love I'll share with you my reference for all of the stats on these daylilies.Tinker's Gardens daylily database is a treasure but be forewarned~ that many daylily photos have been known to lead to irrational lust for these addictive flowers.

I Heart Daylilies T-Shirt by littlewingdesign

Daylily Season 2010~ Part Two

The bloom season is in full swing and may be at peak now. Thank goodness there are some late season bloomers here since it would be depressing for it to end so soon. I don't feel like I've done the garden justice with my pics this year but I'm happy to share some of them.

Blue-eyed Butterfly ~ Lambertson 1996 TET sev ext Early Mid

Star Asterisk ~ Stamile 2002 TET ev re Early



Jolly Red Giant ~ Stamile 1999 TET ev re Early

Jan's Twister ~ J. Joiner DIP ev re Early mid



Galaxy Explosion ~ Burris 2003 DIP dor re Mid



Eyed Twister ~ Lambertson 2000 TET sev re Early mid



Moses' Fire ~ Joiner 1998 TET dor re Mid ~ This photo was taken very late in the day. The color is gorgeous when fresh in the mornings but the blooms don't open completely until I've already left for work.



Bela Lugosi ~ C. Hanson 1995 TET sev Mid ~ This is *the* finest dark daylily I have seen. Outstanding:)

As I sift through all of the pics I'll be posting more here. If you're already a daylily addict check out my daylily section on zazzle.com for some cool stuff made just for us.

It's the Most Wonderful Time: Daylilies Part 1

Daylily season is an exciting time in my garden. I open the back door every morning with anticipation to see what's blooming today. Due to an unbridled obsession with daylilies in 2007 I have loads of them both in the ground and still in the pots. Many I've never seen bloom and often they take turns with some blooming this year and others the next. Since the obsession has passed I no longer go around and check to see which ones have buds I simply enjoy each day as it comes.

Not untypically many of my first blooms where blotchy, ugly ducklings which is why you often see daylily pics classified as FFO- First Flower Open(of the season). Many are in full swing now though so lots of photos will be coming.

This small bed close to the house was my first. I never even tried to border any of the other freestanding beds since they are ever expanding. Over the years this one has evolved to be mostly daylilies and salvias.



'Wispy Rays' TET EvRe Mid Joiner 1998 ~ This is a favorite of mine.




'All Fired Up' TET EvRe Early Stamile 1996~ a reliable bloomer for me. This one hasn't taken the year off yet:)



'Chesapeake Crab Legs' DIP DorRe Ext Reed 1994 Early Mid Spider variant. This is FFO this year. Not in the small bed~ LOTS of buds:)



'Vintage Bordeaux' TET EvRe Ext Early- Kirchoff 1986~ This is a great dark daylily. It's tall, holds its color well and could be purchased inexpensively if you can find it.



Another view of the small bed with 'Kindly Light'(DIP Dor Ext Bechtold 1950) in the foreground and 'Bahama Butterscotch'(TET SevRe Salter 1990) behind it with Blue Oak Sage and 'Wispy Ray' backing it all up.



I'll be back with more of the show as soon as I have time. Until then, take a cue from Hemerocallis and live each day like it's the only one you've got~ life sure would be interesting if everyone did:)

Daylily Season~ FFO 2010

The very first daylily flower open this year in the garden. It's an unnamed cross by a Garden Web plant swap friend. I have alot of "Dana's" plants in the garden~ daylilies and other kinds of plants as well. This one I call Dana's Purple and it's always an early season bloomer for me. This is the first picture taken this morning just as it came from the camera.

I love daylilies:)