Daylilies Begin 2009

It is time once again for the showing of the daylilies that grow here at the Fairegarden. The brilliant idea of adding the names inside the photos came in a dream. That will be better for my record keeping and better for those readers who only look at the photos rather than read the text, you know who you are. These will be shown in order of bloom time, with the above Pardon Me leading the pack, as usual. This daylily was brought with us in the move from Texas in 2000, purchased at the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham. The dead flowers could have been removed before the photos were taken, but we have often accidentally broken whole scapes off when doing that. It’s not worth the risk. Raspberry Rasper came from our neighbors, Mae and Mickey. The unnamed roadside daylily is prized just like the other named varieties growing here. It is tall and carefree, planted amongst the tall grass Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’. This is a fine match. Pardon Me also grows in that area. One year the brilliant idea to have a section of the garden for the smaller flowered, or miniature daylilies occurred in a dream. Tiny Temptress was the first purchase, from our friends at Sunshine Hollow, for that bed. Other smaller daylilies were moved from various parts of the property to find a more suitable home with others of their same stature. My daughter Semi, who has a thing for daylilies and has been joining me on the yearly treks to Sunshine Hollow, shared Cosmopolitan with me. It is another of the minis and the color is reminiscent of the martini drink. We try not to buy the same daylilies, knowing they can be so easily shared, yet sometimes we simply must both have one and can’t wait for it to grow to division size. Not very thrifty of us, but we are helpless to the charms of these flowers. Another passalong from Mae and Mickey, Ruby is a strong grower and really is prettier than this too sunny photo reflects, a darker deeper red. All Fired Up was the first purchase made from Champion Daylilies, a grower who lives in a suburban neighborhood on the road to Semi’s house from the interstate. The gardens behind his home are phenomenal, with raised beds around the edges of gravel paths lined with pots of daylilies. He is breeding his own cultivars and has some fantastic specimens. Needless to say, Semi is a frequent visitor and is often gifted with free plants for her loyal patronage. Another of the small flowered set, Jason Salter is a passalong from Semi. I am not sure where this one came from, she may or may not know either. This segment will end with a masterpiece of breeding, Golden Globes. From the name, one would think this would be yellow, but the colors are fabulous and the flowers large and numerous on tall thick stalks. This came from Sunshine Hollow.
~
When another handful of varieties opens, the daylily posts will continue. Keeping up is sometimes difficult, but someone has got to do it.
Frances