A Day for Daylilies

With over 60,000 registered cultivars of Hemerocallis, I don't know where to begin or when to end, but I will dedicate this one day to the daylily. Each new daylily bloom lasts just one day and then turns into a slimy mush-mummy which eventually dries and drops to the ground. A fanatic gardener will remove the spent blooms daily.

 Mid-July is prime time for the daylily in West Michigan, although the season is long, with early and late varieties planted abundantly in this zone. Daylilies remain very popular because they are hardy, beautiful and easy for any moron to grow! With new hybridizations appearing by the thousands, they appeal to the collector, as well. There is not yet a white, but shades of all colors are now available, including nearly black. And the names are delightful.

As promised, today I captured my to-be-shared-exclusively-daylily  in bloom. It is a brighter color than I had imagined--not really a maroon--but it does have a lovely gold throat. I will not reveal its name because I want to protect the exclusivity and not compromise my anonymity.

My daylily day started out by first capturing the best bloom of the day on my most dramatic "spider" daylily, featured on the blog previously. The petals and sepals do not overlap on the spider as they do on most daylilies. I actually just learned to note these difference myself.

Peacock Maiden

I then visited a garden of an acquaintance near my aunt's house that has over 600 cultivars, most of them labeled. No one was home, but I browsed quickly through the gardens and selected a few blooms with interesting names to feature here.

Fooled Me

Flutterbye

Pince Nez

Finally, I took photos at my aunt's house. Most of her best daylilies were featured last year. I found this one on the berm, which is an overgrown area of the property where only a few brave souls dare to venture:

An unlabeled beauty, stunning in the filtered sunlight

One more on the berm, paired with sumac:

Finally, a view of her border of hostas, hydrangeas, daylilies and more--way too many plants to deadhead, although the hosta stalks do eventually get a trim.