Daylily Delirum

'Raspberry Eclipse'

Okay, ProfessorRoush tried to be cute here, but the blogging program just wouldn't allow me to format the text below with the pictures.  I couldn't even get the font of "Wisteria" to show up right.  Sometimes, the correct formatting just isn't worth the time it takes.  I gave up after spending hours of wasted effort.

But I was trying to let you know I just can't stop taking pictures of daylilies this year!   Click on any picture to enlarge!

'Rocket Man'

'Timbercreek Ace'

'Redmon SDLG 08-25'

'Storm Shelter'

'Wisteria'

Unknown

'Laura Harwood'

'Sonic Analogue'

'Swallow Tail Kite'

'Bestseller'

'Beautiful Edging'

'Alabama Jubilee'

'Awfully Flashy'

(Raspberry Eclipse is my newest daylily.  I purchased it ready to bloom this week and it was the most pot-bound plant I've ever seen.)

 ('Rocket Man' was a dazzling red surprise to me and quickly became a favorite.  It's not large, but it has a striking presence, orange-red to a burnt red eye.)

('Timbercreek Ace' is a consistent performer for me, full of flowers and a treasured gift from a client.)

('Redmon SDLG 08-25' is the designation I think goes to this one, from a local breeder.  I have a weakness for spider daylilies.)

('Storm Shelter' has a fabulous coloration with the petal edges matching the darker eye.)

(Isn't 'Wisteria' just subtly gorgeous?

(I don't know what this one is but it's planted next to 'Laura Harwood' and makes a striking contrast of form and complimentary color palette with her. A happy accident.)

(It's easy to stop and stare at 'Laura Harwood'; fetching lass, she is.)

('Sonic Analogue' is uniquely marked, right?) 

('Swallow Tail Kite' takes my breath away with her lavender eye.)

('Bestseller' is a daylily I lost after planting and then found again when it bloomed because of its unique coloring.)

('Beautiful Edging' is, to me, the most beautiful of all on the right day in the right lighting.)

('Alabama Jubilee' is quite a striking bit of orange, eh?)

(A fitting end picture,'Awfully Flashy' is just that, isn't it?)

Edged Wonders

'Storm Shadows'

It is quite definitely Daylily Season, and ProfessorRoush is both enjoying the show and lamenting his poor records.   As usual, my maps are only approximate, even though I thought them precise, or names were lost on planting or moving, so in this blog entry, I can be reasonably sure of about half of these daylilies.   Regardless, as I've noted before, the daylilies that I may have liked one year are not so appealing the next and I often have a set of similar favorites in a given year.   One year apricots, the next reds, the next light yellows, and so on.  This year, it's the edged daylilies that are drawing me in.

'Cosmic Struggle'

I'm reasonably sure of 'Storm Shadows' and 'Cosmic Struggle' and 'Bubblegum Delicious' here, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell one from another without the map.  'Storm Shadows' (Mitchell-K, 2004) has an incredibly thick ruffled cream-yellow edge and it holds up well in the heat. 'Cosmic Struggle' (Emmerich, 2009) opens early, but seems to be spotted easily by rain and it tears in high winds.  

'Bubblegum Delicious'

'Bubblegum Delicious' (Mitchell-K, 2009) was a solo purchase I made at a local nursery, so it was easier to keep track of (and more likely correctly labeled), than the inexpensive fans from the local annual Daylily Society sale.

'Popcorn Pete'?  Nope it's 'Vatican City'

I'm much less sure of 'Popcorn Pete' (later correction, it's 'Vatican City') and 'Bestseller' and 'Indian Giver', however.   My notes on 'Bestseller' are actually just an entry that I once held it in my hand and an "I don't remember where I planted it" statement.  Each is in the general vicinity of where I think I planted it, and each vaguely resembles the internet pictures of the flower, but I'm certainly not an expert at daylily identification.  Sometimes neither are the experts, because 'Bestseller' is of unknown providence to everyone.  I'd be more sure of 'Indian Giver' if one of its many descriptions would talk about the petals being "recurved."  I do wonder what's eating the petals of 'Popcorn Pete', however.   I haven't seen the Japanese Beetles bother my daylilies yet.

'Best Seller'?

'Indian Giver'?

'Mulberry Frosted Edges'

There are two unedged daylilies I'm going to show you just because they're especially beautiful right now.  'Mulberry Frosted Edges' (Hansen, 2000) is a nice, large, showy daylily with lots of character and, bonus, I'm reasonably certain of it's identity.   Her white edge is often understated in my garden, but I love the lilac halo around the golden throat.  

'Laura Harwood'

'Laura Harwood' is a treat that can't be mistaken for nearly anything else, so I'm quite sure of Laura.  She's a show piece, 5-9 blooms of 7" diameter coming each day on a nice compact healthy plant.  Hybridized by Harwood in 1997, 'Laura Harwood' is a keeper, one of those daylilies that I've already determined will eventually move with me to retirement.   I've got a list of plants for that, a special list kept in my head for a small garden to grow old with.   Provided that the Good Lord gives me that gift of growing old with a smaller garden, of course.  

Daylily Spectacular

'Forbidden Fantasy'

Daylily season is just moving beyond its peak here at Garden Musings, so I thought I would provide some colorful entertainment in the form of some of my favorite daylilies.  There will be, of necessity, less of my usual colorful commentary, however, as this is a pretty long post full of photos.  I'll start off with the daylily that I think is the most spectacular my garden:  'Forbidden Fantasy'.  Go ahead, let go of the ruffled rim and slide down that purple surface into the bright yellow and green center.  Titillating, isn't it?

'Alabama Jubilee'

All daylily affections are dependent, however, upon your personal color palette and taste.  Mrs. ProfessorRoush, for instance, likes the oranges, the more gaudy the better, and she has expressed her appreciation for 'Alabama Jubilee, a somewhat tasteless addition from last year.

'Amethyst Art'

A long time stalwart in my back garden beds, however, is 'Amethyst Art', which has unfailingly provided me with loads of flowers for the past decade.  I think the shade of pink-purple here matches the center perfectly.

'Bubblegum Delicious'  2015

I purchased 'Bubblegum Delicious' about 3 or 4 years ago and it has developed into the most prolific clump of flowers.  Look at that display coming on in the photo at left!   I'm disappointed, however, that this year the colors seem muted compared to last year.

'Bubblegum Delicious' 2014

'Butterflies in Flight'

'Slender Lady'

Sometimes, in some years, my tastes change and I enjoy the yellows again, either in subtle, tasteful forms such as 'Butterflies in Flight', or, when the spiders catch my eye, as in 'Slender Lady'.  The latter is quite the image of a bulemic model, isn't she?

'Laura Harwood'

'Southern Wind'

'Southern Wind' (left) and 'Laura Harwood' (right) are two new daylilies for me this year, two of the few times that I've selected a daylily by seeing the actual bloom instead of just the plant tag.   'Laura Harwood' has an enormous bloom, larger than my outstretched hand.  And everyone knows that anything over a handful is wasted.

'Margaret Mitchell'

'Margaret Mitchell' is a wonderful symphony of subtle color; here she blooms hidden deep inside a lilac. She's a canvas of pink, purple, white, and yellow, all designed to lead those pollinators right to her luscious core.  I need to make a mental note to move her out into the sunshine this Fall.

One of my favorites this year, and always, is this bright red daylily that I have evidently split into several clumps and spread near my Griffith Buck rose bed.   Here it blooms alongside yarrow 'Pomegranate'.  I think this is most likely 'Seductor', since it bloomed with the 'Seductor' that I have identified in another spot, but another possibility is 'Old Barnyard Rooster'.  Anybody want to weigh in?

'Seductor'???

I hope you enjoyed the show.  I certainly have enjoyed them this year.  And to all the daylily aficionados who have recognized that these are not even close to the newest and fanciest daylilies out there, you just keep sneering and keep dividing your daylilies for club-support sales.  I'm happy to take any of the newer ones off your hands at $3.00 a start.