It’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, and since it’s June, it’s daylily season. Time for me to flit about the garden and wax rhapsodic about these big, bright perennials which take over for about two months each year. As I walked the back garden this evening, I pondered why daylilies garner so many gardeners’ imaginations including mine. I think it’s because they make the garden new every single day.
Special thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for sponsoring Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Hop over to her site and see what’s blooming all over the world.
Click on the galleries below to enlarge the photos and read the captions.
No day during daylily season is the same. Flowers emerge fresh and beautiful each morning. If only we humans could do the same.
Every day, just after the break of dawn, I run outside to catch new cultivars blooming for the first time, while earlier ones flower on new scapes (stems.) It makes for a whole different aspect each morning and evening as darker colors fade. As I look, I’m considering how my daylilies mingle with other plants creating new vignettes at daybreak. Maybe that’s why daylilies captured me, body and soul, years ago.
We are in the middle of Season Hemerocallis, and I don’t mind the takeover. I really don’t. I love all my flowers and fauna, but the daylilies hold a special place in my red-dirt-girl heart. Maybe it’s because they shelter the little green frogs in my garden. I like any plant that shelters or feeds a creature. Speaking of which, many daylilies are beloved by pollinators. Look closely, and you may see golden pollen spilled on many of the blooms as you go throughout your own garden. I find the little green metallic bees especially love daylilies.
Oh, and we must not forget fragrance. Many daylilies are very fragrant. It may be a scent more subtle than true lilies, but it wafts over the garden like a sultry Samba dancer most mornings. The scent is another good reason to grow these beauties.
However, if we’re honest, we mostly grow daylilies for their sweet faces which can take almost any form from round bagels to wild twirling UFs floating on the Oklahoma breeze.
In the beginning, I was all about the bagel form of daylilies because I loved their round shape. I still do, but I’m finding my newest purchases are Unformed or UF daylilies, crispate or cascading. I say I’m especially fond of cascading, but I’m not really sure that’s true. I have a lot of the crispate too. I think UFs blend into the garden landscape more readily than the large ruffled forms. I still grow those too though. I guess I’m not a daylily specialist.
Then, there was my pink period where I only collected pink cultivars especially those of Patrick Stamile. Now, you might say I’ve branched out a bit.
In addition to the daylilies, there are plenty of other plants blooming for GBBD. One I wanted to be sure and point out is ‘Phenomenal’ lavender. I’ve never seen a lavender thrive quite like it. Last year, during Garden Bloggers’ Fling in Washington, D.C., we were given a sample plant of this lavender, and Lloyd Traven told us we would love it. He was so right! Mine multiplied in size over the winter and is now huge. I liked it so much I bought three more plants to edge the potager. It thrives, and get this–pollinators love it. You should order some. I ordered four more ‘Phenomenal’ lavender plants from American Meadows today. They’re on sale for half price and will ship in the fall. Bear in mind though, mine are planted in the raised beds of the potager. All lavender wants excellent drainage.
In other words, don’t plant it in Oklahoma red clay. It will most likely drown.
Before we go, assuming you’re still with me, here are some shots of the garden right now. I think it’s quite pretty. Now, I’m going over to Carol’s blog to see what everyone else is growing. You should too.
I love, love daylilies! You’ve described so many great reasons why we love them, but when it comes right down to it, it’s their pretty faces that get me every time. ‘Bullfrog Kisses’ is a beauty, even without its little friend–what a great photo! I have one lavender plant that is doing well, but I lost the tags so I don’t remember if this one survivor is ‘Phenomenal’ or not. I visited a small lavender farm last week with local Master Gardeners and got some tips on growing lavender, so now I’m eager to plant more. You mentioned in a comment on my post that you like ‘Wendy’s Wish’ salvia, too, but you can’t always find it. I had that problem for several years, too; in fact, one year Cindy of My Corner of Katy even sent me two plants because she knew I liked them so much, which was so sweet. A couple of years ago, though, our local small-town nursery happened to get a few in the spring, and I bragged about them so much to the manager that she orders them every year now. I think I’ve made a lot of local converts to ‘Wendy’ because they don’t stay in stock long!
Thanks for this amazing post.
I need to get hopping. I want so many daylilies. Yours are beautiful! And those Cheyenne Spirit echinacea are exceptional! Thank you for the tour.
Peggy, you’re so welcome! I do love the daylilies. They are bright spots in my summer garden. Fun, fun, fun. Thanks for coming by and commenting!
Still waiting for daylilies here. I think of them as July plants. I have mostly sunny yellow ones. I have had a Phenomenal lavender plant for several years. I have it in a specially prepared better draining bed, but it still dies back completely every winter and is only now leafing out. But I would tell any cold climate gardener that it’s the first one you should try. But free draining soil is key.
Yes, it’s all about that well-drained soil. I can understand why it dies back to the ground for you each winter. I think yellow daylilies are among the hardiest too.
Daylilies are great friends of mine. I love all of their sweet faces no matter their shape or size. What other plant is so reliable and disease resistant. I like your stone rose statue. No worries about shallow soil, disease it will always be with you. Maybe it will become evergreen too. I love your new shade garden. It looks so welcoming with the dappled sun spots. Happy GBBD.
Lisa, I felt with your comment that we were truly walking along the garden together, and I enjoyed our stroll so much. Thank you for always stopping by and commenting. It makes me feel like we live a bit closer somehow.
So June is daylily season in Oklahoma? Not here, Dee, so your beautiful pictures give me something to look forward to! I’m still not sure about UF daylilies and don’t have any, but love all the regular ones. ‘Bullfrog Kisses’ with the little green frog is a very special capture! Can’t wait to see you in Chicago! P. x
Pam, I’m thrilled to see you too! I hope we get to spend some time together there. ~~Dee
Daylilies are some of my favorites and these are absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you Tee! I think they are reliably easy and give so much than they ask for. ~~Dee
I love daylilies too, especially brightly colored UFs and cascades. I’ve also added a bunch of miniatures this year. Your garden is beautiful.
Thank you Rebecca! I’ve added a few miniatures myself. Once upon a time I didn’t like them, but now I think they’re really cute! ~~Dee
Dee,
Your garden is just beautiful. I am a daylily lover from way back. My grandmother was a kinda famous hybridizer and shared her daylilies with almost everybody that had a garden in my hometown. People are still talking about her.. I guess I should write a blog about her this time of year. I really enjoy your garden so much..
Love, Mona
Mona darling, who was your grandmother? Yes, you should write a post about her girl. You must be so proud of her. I’d love to read it! Thank you for coming over and visiting and commenting. It made my day my friend. Love, Dee
I agree – daylilies make a garden fresh every day. Most of mine have finished blooming although I know there are a few more to come. If we continue to see pop up rain showers through summer, I may have daylily blooms for several months!
Interesting about your ‘Phenomenal’ lavender. I’ve been unimpressed with mine so far and it’s in a raised bed as well. Last year I bought an ‘Ellagance’ one and although small, it continues to have nice dark blooms. We’ll see in the long run which of the varieties does best.
Hi Jean, it just goes to show that one person’s Phenomenal is’t another’s. In other words, maybe our climates are different enough that it performs superbly here, but not there. Weird how some plants just take off wherever while others don’t. I am trialing another blue lavender this year. It’s looking pretty good so far too. I’ll write about it another time. Can’t wait to hear how your Ellagance does.
Beautiful!
Love the little frog!
Happy Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
Happy Bloom Day Lea!
I totally agree with you about daylilies. They work in our climate and our light. I was smitten with miniatures in my first small garden and still have a few. Also had a “Siloam” period. Mine are mostly peach and yellow (oh that lemony fragrance) with a few red and purple for good measure. I need to go out now and check mine this morning!
Hi Linda, I had to giggle when you wrote you had a Siloam period. I think many of us did. Ms. Henry was something else, and I still have a few of her cultivars. I think daylilies work in much of the U.S. They don’t do all that well in the Pacific Northwest though. Not enough sunlight long enough I guess. Happy Bloom Day!
Thanks for joining in! I love how you can hover over the pictures to get the descriptions. Oh, and I loved the UF daylilies the best of all.
Thanks for hosting bloom day Carol! It gets me writing.~~Dee