Daylily Season Begins, 2015

Pixie Parasol

Daylily season peaks towards the end of July, but the first blooms are beginning to open. Every day brings a new face. Here are the flowers that have been kicking off the bloom season over the last few days.

Suzy Wong

Brookwood Lee Causey

Starman’s Quest

Broken Heart

Willow Wind

Lavender Blue Baby

Coyote Moon

Mata Hari

Hold Your Horses

Tangerine Horses

Fencing Master

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Daylilies August 12th

Wild Child (Salter 2002)

The daylily season is gradually winding down. Many of the early bloomers are finished for the year and late bloomers are now flowering, along with a selection of excellent plants that bloom over a long period. One of my favorite daylilies is a late bloomer, Wild Child, shown above. This hemerocallis is aptly named. With its large, spidery shape, brilliant colour, spotted sepals and fancy petal edges, it does look wild. I smile every time I walk past this rambunctious flower. The curly edging on the petals, by the way, is sometimes called ‘chicken fat’, not a very flattering name. Some daylily growers dislike the effect, but I quite like it, at least on a few flowers.

Pink Super Spider (Carpenter 1982)

I noticed this flower on Pink Super Spider a few days ago. While Pink Super Spider usually has the usual 6 sepals and petals of the standard daylily flower, on this day it turned out a giant flower with extra petals and a touch of doubling at its centre. Pink Super Spider is wrapping up the season with a florish!

Vesuvian (Benz 1992)

Vesuvian is an excellent daylily. It begins blooming well into the season and produces many flowers on strong, sturdy scapes that stand about three feet tall. I have a large clump situated in front of the Tiger Eye sumacs, where the rich, velvety red of Vesuvian shows off brilliantly against a lime green background.

Stephane Grappelli (Hanson 99)

Stephane Grappelli was new this year. It takes several years for a daylily to really fill out and hit its stride. Some people pick any buds off first year plants so that the plant will concentrate its energy on growing roots and settling in. I usually just let mine bloom and enjoy a little taste of what the future holds. I purchased Stephane Grappelli because this namesake of the famous jazz musician reminds me of my violin-playing daughter.

Suddenly Blue (Lambertson 03)

Suddenly Blue was also new this spring. I liked this attractive flower. There are no blue daylilies, and the quest to breed a blue flower continues with hybridizers. Most daylilies with the word blue in their name require an act of imagination to really see the blue.

Northern Fancy (Stamile 02)

This is the third summer for Northern Fancy and I have been pleased with how it is coming along. It bloomed pretty well, and it has gorgeous flowers. I think it will be a future star.

Blue Voodoo (Rice 2005)

Blue Voodoo was also purchased two years ago, so this is its third summer too. It performed well and I have enjoyed its lovely flowers.

Flaming Wildfire (Rasmussen 1996)

Another late bloomer is Flaming Wildfire. The brilliant flowers bloom on 36 inch scapes and it is among the most vivid flowers in the garden.

Here is a sampling of other daylilies that have been flowering over the past week.

Still Night (Stamile 1992)

The Goldilocks Effect (Hanson 05)

Laura Harwood (Harwood 1997)

Autumn Wood (Dougherty 1991)

Borderline Crazy (Mason 2004)

Golden Tycoon (Klehm 1988)

Jean Ivelle (Branch 1989)

Tigerling (Stamile 89)

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Daylilies July 30

Self Determination (Hanson 2004)

Are you a hemeroholic in need of your next daylily fix? Here it is, a selection of photos of the daylily faces lighting up the garden right now.

Give Me Eight (Reinke 1994)

Dragon Dreams (Salter 1991)

Asiatic Pheasant (Knower 1973)

Rose Emily (Pierce 1982)

Roswitha (Trimmer 1992)

Nile Plum (Munson 1984)

New Series (Carpenter 1982)

Pony (Durio 1972)

Texas Gal (Hansen 1988)

Priscilla’s Dream (Shooter 1993)

Singular Sensation (Stamile 2005)

Mapping Kentucky (Shooter 2002)

Cat Dancer (Moore 1992)

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Daylilies July 19th

Mokan Butterfly (Lenington 1984)

I haven’t posted any daylilies since Monday. Lots more daylilies have bloomed since then! For the hemeroholics out there, here is another batch of pretty faces.

Old King Cole (Moldovan 1995)

Trahlyta (Childs 1982)

Blonde is Beautiful (Harris Benz 1985)

Siloam Little Girl (Henry 1970)

Border Sentry (Whatley 1995)

South Seas (Moldovan 1993)

Banned in Boston (Simpson 1994)

Alpha Centauri (Hanson 1992)

Outrageous (Stevens 1978)

Ruby Spider (Stamile 1991)

Wisest of Wizards (Salter 1994)

Karen’s Curls (Reinke 1997)

Blue Voodoo (Rice 2005)

Ghost of Thunder Road (Hanson 2001)

Seminole Ruby (Kirchhoff 1993)

Pandora’s Box (Talbott 1982)

Chance Encounter (Stamile 1994)

Scarlet Pansy (Stamile 1986)

Troubled Sleep (Hanson 1998)

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Daylilies July 14th

Rosella Sheridan (Spalding 1976)

Here are the some of the daylilies blooming over the last couple of days. We had rain on Sunday, so a few are spotted with raindrops.

Willow (Russell 1960)

Key West (Trimmer 1999)

Starman’s Quest (Burkey 1989)

Fencing Master (Munson 1988)

Asterisk (Lambert 1985)

Velvet Thunder (Benz 1994)

Femme de Joie (Hayward 1979)

Giggle Creek (Culver 2000)

Ghost of Thunder Road (Hanson 2001)

Custard Candy (Stamile 1989)

Seminole Ruby (Kirchhoff 1993)

Jerry Hyatt (Hanson 2004)

Galena Gilt Edge (Blocher)

Mata Hari (Brooks 1981)

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Daylilies July 11th

Later Alligator (Reed 1997)

The daylily season is heating up as each day brings a few more new faces and clumps begin to bloom in full splendor.

Mystical Rainbow (Stamile 1988)

Electric Man (Culver 2007)

Elegant Candy (Stamile 1995) with hollyhock

Dallas Star (Ferris 1976)

Pink Super Spider (Carpenter 1982)

Anne-Evan (Yancey 1985)

Willow Wind (Bryant 1987)

Born Yesterday (Lambert 1972)

Chesapeake Crablegs (Reed 1994)

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Daylilies Today

Mati Hari (Brooks 1981)

Here’s a selection of daylilies blooming today.

Hold Your Horses (Trimmer 2004)

Bill Norris (Kirchhoff 1993)

Big Smile (Apps 1999)

Brookwood Lee Causey (Sharp 1998)

Earth Angel (Stamile 1987)

Northern Fancy (Stamile 2002)

Moonlight Orchid (Talbott 1986)

Galena Gilt Edge (Blocher)

Inky Fingers (Stamile 2000)

Handsome Prince (Couturier 1993)

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Just a Few More Daylilies

We had a very rainy early summer, and I was worried that the lack of sun might suppress flower production among the daylilies, but that hasn’t proved to be the case. There is a fine display of brilliant blooms. Walking through the garden during daylily season reminds me of Emerson’s line from Hamatreya, although the context is not the same: Earth laughs in flowers. And I laugh too.

Jerry Hyatt (Hanson 2004)

Choo Choo Fantasy (Pickles 1995)

Alpha Centauri (Hanson 1992)

Mystical Rainbow (Stamile 1988)

Raspberry Bouquet (Bomar 1994)

Geneva Firetruck (Hansen 2000)

Tangerine Horses (Kaskel 1996)

Doug’s Red Mercedes (Williams 1996)

Galena Gilt Edge (Blocher)

Moonlight Orchid (Talbott 1986)

Blue Voodoo (Rice 2005)

Coyote Moon (Kirchhoff 1994)

Ruby Spider (Stamile 1991)

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More Happy Faces

Flutterbye (Childs 1981)

Here are a few more daylily faces. It’s traditional to show single daylily blooms in photographs so that the intricacies of the flower can be appreciated. Lest you should think that daylilies just bloom one flower at a time, however, I’ve included a few clumps.

I demonstrated great restraint this spring, and didn’t add a single new daylily cultivar to the garden, leaving the hemerocallis count at 140 varieties, so these photos represent just a modest sampling, taken at random according to what looked good to the camera.

Earth Angel (Stamile 1987)

Rue Madeline (Carr 1992)

Prague Spring (Lambert 1989)

Chesepeake Crablegs (Reed 1994)

Asterisk (Lambert 1985)

Slow Burn (Salter 1996)

Blonde is Beautiful (Harris Benz 1985)

Magic Carpet Ride (Kirchhoff 1992)

Beautiful Edgings (Copenhaven 1989)

Electric Man (Culver 2007)

August Morn (Carpenter 1995)

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Happy Faces

Country Melody (Klehm 1987)

I love the spring season in the garden, when new growth is everywhere. It’s very exciting and inspiring. But for brilliant, happy, boisterous colour, there is nothing like the midsummer daylily season. These easy-care no-fuss perennials come in a wide range of colors and shapes and sizes, and brighten the garden for weeks. As each individual flower blooms for just one day, every morning brings a new bouquet. Here are some of the daylilies blooming right now. Each flower is labeled with its name, hybridizer, and the year the hybrid was registered with the American Hemerocallis Society.

Angelic Grin (Joiner 1992)

Giggle Creek (Culver 2000)

Ghost of Thunder Road (Hanson 2001)

Cameroons (Munson 1984) with Chance Encounter (Stamile 1994)

Serena Dancer (Marshall 1986)

New Series (Carpenter 1982)

Key West (Trimmer 1999)

Karen’s Curls (Reinke 1997)

Big Smile (Apps 1999)

Mata Hari (Brooks 1981)

Troubled Sleep (Hanson 1998)

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