Red is matter, brutal and heavy...

"Blue is the male principle, stern and spiritual. Yellow the female principle, gentle, cheerful and sensual. Red is matter, brutal and heavy and always the colour which must be fought and vanquished by the other two."  ~Franz Marc

Valentine's Day seems to be one of the few occasions that I allow the color red to be pleasing to my eye.  My wedding was the another rare occasion, when I shocked most folks who knew my taste in flowers by choosing to carry a very traditional 2 dozen scarlet roses in my bridal bouquet 10 years ago.

Today, celebrating love, life and laughter for Valentine's Day, I went through my photos in search of some wonderful interpretations of red in my garden.

H. 'Betty Ford' (Kirchhoff, D.)  An award-winning red that I adore.

I tend to not enjoy red for the spectrum of red that it produces, much like my quandry with my beloved pinks.  Its either too brick, or too brown, or too purple, or too maroon, or too sour or too tomato-y.   So, although even my non-daylily afflicted husband has expressed his like of the red daylilies, I do not have too many examples of it in my collection.  But, going through the pictures, it seems I have more than my mind could immediately recall.

H. ' Dark Dragon' (Bennett, P.)  A stunning, veined double with saturated color.

   

On the above left, H. 'Megatron' (Gossard, registered at 10.5") and on the right, H. 'Wispy Rays' (Joiner, registered at 7.5") 

Two giant reds, whose size surpasses their color.  Note that neither one of these daylilies are registered as an unusual form and can be shown in the extra large section of an exhibition show.  H. 'Megatron' is new in my collection this year and is the largest, fuller formed daylily that I have ever laid my eyes on.  The photo above was taken in Columbus, OH.  It.  is.  huge.

H. 'Seminole Blood' (Kirchhoff)

The above example shows saturation at its finest.  It is plush and royal and has the texture of a crushed velvet smoking jacket.  I also love the throat color streaking down the sepal, a quality it consistently exhibits.  Very distinctive.

H. 'Kente Cloth' (Weston)

Another reason reds sometime get a reprieve in my garden is a unique characteristic that sets it apart from others.  H. 'Kente Cloth' is a perfect example of unique.  The polychrome stippling is very intriguing.  The stippling seems to intensify, not fade as the day passes.

H. 'Stellar Double Rose' (Brown, C.)  Amazing veining and texture here!

So, although I started off saying I didnt much care for red in my daylilies, it sure seems I have some good ones.  There were many more pictures of gorgeous reds, but I'll save those for a 4th of July "Red, White and Blue" post!

I hope this hallmark holiday of love and adoration was wonderful for you.

I hope you enjoyed my parade of red.

I hope Spring comes soon.

I just hope.