Daylily Haiku Thursday | Last haiku for 2010...

pleating (pleading) lines -
carved into fleshy petals

of color and joy.

This is H. 'Old San Juan' (Santa Lucia 1998)' one of those extremely wide-petaled/blunt-sepaled diploids that I don't see around enough.  I moved this one around a few times before it found a spot it really liked.  I notice in my garden, it needs extra watering and extra sunlight to perform as registered.  And when it does perform- it is stunning.  A creamy-peach base color is nicely complimented by a slightly stippled eye (note the edge of the eye- it's spotted!)  Every time I see it, Im transported to the first glimpse I ever had of it, in Iron Gate Gardens - the home of its hybridizer - during the AHS National Convention.  H. 'Old San Juan' was unlike any other daylily I had ever seen, so wide and so, so plush.

Strange, sometimes daylilies need to be moved into more or less sun to perform better.  In my experience, most daylilies need 4-6 hours of direct sunlight to perform at their best but there are always exceptions to this "rule."  Less sunlight generally contributes to fewer blooms and smaller flower size, but sometimes the break from the sun allows for darker colors to last longer or thinner substances to hold up to the shady heat.  I noticed on this cultivar in particular that the more sunlight it received, the more textured the surface became.  Always something new to learn and discover!



2011 AHS Region 2 Tour Gardens Preview - "Great Lakes Gathering"

In just about 200 days, the Southern Michigan Daylily Society invites you to southeastern Michigan to a "Great Lakes Gathering!"

Guests of the AHS Region 2 Summer Meeting will be treated to 5 meals, 8 tour gardens, 10 open gardens, a massive boutique and plant sale, an unprecedented off-scape exhibition show, at least 4 gift plants, early registration incentive, a live auction, ultimate basket raffle, and a keynote presentation from Jamie Gossard.

Here is a video sneak peek of what you will see on the tours!

Registration opens in January 2011.   Stay tuned for more details!  Website Coming Soon!

The dates of the meeting are July 15-17, 2011.  Mark your calendars!

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Threshold of a Dream

time painfully spent-

standing (balancing) on the

threshold of a dream.

This is H. 'Threshold of a Dream,' hybridized by the slightly different and fully fabulous Paul Owen.  It is a 2010 introduction and was planted here in the early spring of this year.  This daylily sent up the scape the week after I planted it and, as you can see, it showed a quiet, peaceful and soothing face.  It has a registered bloom size of 6.25" and I do have to say it was close to that in its first bloom after being dug up and relocated from the serene, rolling hills of North Carolina to the bustling urbanness of Detroit.   I will stand on my own threshold of a dream next summer and wait for this one to show its glorious face and its amazing scape.  You can see photos on Paul's website of the established plant in his garden.  WOW.

Miniature Gardening - Mission Accomplished!

I like to do it myself.  DIY- no problemo.  Consider it done.  I see some assembly of say, a garden art piece, I immediately think of how I could re-create it in my own style.  I would never buy a "kit" that someone else put together.  Id rather seek out the individual pieces and put it together as a whole myself.  At least, that's how I used to feel. 

The very-necessary blog Garden Rant recommended Two Green Thumbs Miniature Garden Center (TGT).  (Go back and read that again- I said, miniature garden center.)  Considering my recent discovery of fairy gardening, you know I had to check out what they were recommending.  

Four hours of surfing later, I declared Two Green Thumbs Miniature Garden Center the Most Fabulous Place of 2010.  Here is the website. 

Race over there right now.  I'll wait here.

Was it not the Most Fabulous Place?!?

I struggled with my fairy garden plans all summer.  I started and stopped the project more than once.  I was a little more than disheartened.  My brain was taking a long time to grasp the concept of miniature gardening. 

I do things big.  HUGE, if possible.  I don't really "get" small.  But after seeing so many inspiring ones this summer, I really wanted to try it.  I put together what I thought were miniature gardens, but really were just pots full of adorably irresistible sedum, thyme and other creepers.  I love the plants, overbought felt compelled to enjoy several of them, but wasn't really getting the visual impact of a miniature garden that I was seeing planted all over the place.  I just wasn't good at it.  But visiting the TGT site, I finally "got" it!  What if I just imagined that I was an inch tall.  What kind of garden would I have if I were an inch tall?

Epiphany: Inch-tall me has to plant the miniature garden, not five-foot me! 

It's just regular gardening when it comes to mixing textures, height and structure.  Those concepts are also important for great design in miniature gardening!

Duh.

So as I looked at the plants on her site, the miniature patios to die for, the intricate garden benches, the miniature hanging pots that are actually growing real, rooted sedum...it clicked.
And I bought a kit.  It arrived today.

I felt like I was cheating a bit buying a pre-assembled kit, but I got over that feeling real quick when it arrived.

The box was really exceptionally and thoughtfully packaged.  Note the red arrow drawn on the top of the box.  This helped me with the special instructions on opening the box and removing the stapled-in-for-safety contents.

When I opened the box, I found it brimming with miniature goodness - every item wrapped carefully and thoughtfully.  Each item had printed directions or comments to help me unpack and use it properly.

What I found the most awesome about the whole package (see the contents as they were unpacked on the left- below) was the business card that Janit, the owner and fellow miniature gardener had included- see it in the photo on the right, below.  Wow.  What a clear statement.  I get it now.

 

And the church said amen.

It got here in just three days from Washington state and I received real good communication from TGT and Janit.  I am a new fan.  I am bursting with excitement and a clear direction for this project.  This kit is exactly what I would have picked out for myself!  The smell of fresh dirt and evergreens filled the kitchen as I unpacked and discovered all that was included in my kit.  The full-color, step-by-step instruction book that Janit has published and includes is worth the price of the kit all by itself!  I am now armed and dangerous to create as many miniature, authentic patios as my heart desires!  The manual is well written and well illustrated.  She really has spent the last 10 years perfecting this process.  You can further see that from the galleries full of miniature gardens on her website.

Here is the miniature garden I created in three super-fun hours.  I spent most of that three hours devouring her instruction manual, which is full of explanations for all the mistakes I would have made if I didn't read it before starting.  Thanks, Janit.

 

I chose to make the curved patio for my selected pot.  I thought it looked best with the roundness of the pots rim.  I'll try one of her other recommended shapes for the next one.  I'll keep you posted on my miniature garden construction over the Christmas holidays.  I am almost finished with this one; my patio is curing right now and will be ready for a final brush off soon.  I absolutely LOVE the final product.  It is exactly as advertised and I am already planning the next one.  This is a very dangerous addiction.

Here are more photos.  The middle photo shows a close up of the teeny-tiny hanging pot that actually has real rooted sedum in it.  LOVE IT.

click on the photos to enlarge and enjoy...

In the meantime, Janit over at Two Green Thumbs Miniature Garden Center may just be able to meet your last-minute Christmas needs...check it out.  Tell her "that crazy daylily blogger" sent you!



Daylily Haiku Thursday | Glee over Three...

three is just better

than one big beautiful bloom.

more to drool over!

You know I don't always love the unusual form daylilies.  Dan Bachman's H. 'Belly Button Slipknots' is an exception to my daylily form exception.  I have shown it before, but when I was organizing my digital photos a couple of weeks ago, I found that I have several really stunning shots over the past couple of years of this one.  The first time I mentioned it was here, and this photo shown on the left from 2010 really shows how it has matured.

Rebloom in Michigan is something I don't take for granted, since it doesn't always happen.  H. 'Belly Button Slipknots' rebloomed twice in 2010 and the rebloom scape was about 4 inches taller than the first set of scapes!  This photo shows three blooms on three scapes.  The throat is screaming green in the morning, which is another great quality.  I also noted that it was almost a nocturnal opener, which is indicated a bit by the next day's buds already starting to crack open at the top of the photo.  Neat.  Neat.  Neat.

Here are a few other bright, colorful photos that might warm up your chilly day.  Here in Michigan it is barely 30F, so I need the warmth!

   

(H. 'Cosmic Thunder' and H. 'Lunar Kiss')   

Eureka! It's Winter! | Daylily Blog on photo inspiration...

The snow has fallen and my excitement about the 2011 growing season has risen!  Yesterday I picked up my copy of the 2011 Eureka Daylily Reference Guide.  This book has been an annual coffee table book at my home for 11 years and this year is no exception.  I buy it new each year primarily for the photography.  It has become the inspiration print book for daylilies.  I can count on it to show me new cultivars and help me develop my photography skills - there are countless examples of stunning photography to study during the winter months or long bus tour rides.  I bring it along on garden tours to look up cultivars I may see in the garden and want to know more information about.  Its spiral bound, and very easy to use.  The cover selection is always of interest to me.  Landing this cover is, in my opinion quite an accomplishment.  Claude Carpenter's photo on this years cover could have been any one of the dozen A-MAZ-ING photos he has featured in this edition.  Not only is the composition stunning, but his lighting, exposure and choice of subject in all his photos are impeccable.  Way to go, Claude!  (So many wonderful photographers featured - I won't name any more for fear of forgetting someone...)  The image of the cover seen above is from the Eureka Reference Guides website.   If you want to know where to buy daylilies, you want to sell your daylilies or you want your photography considered for publication, check out the site. 

I also bought my 2011 wall calendar and started marking off plans already made for the new year.  The first quarter will be busy- I'm starting off the touring year near Kansas City, Kansas for the Region 11 shindig.  Ill have three seminars at this event - all new programs for 2011.  Bob Faulkner is the keynote speaker at this event...hopefully some of his new 2011 introductions or select seedlings will be in the auction!!  If you are able to get to KC in February, please make an effort to attend. 

Here are three daylilies that I'm looking to buy, trade or otherwise own.  Got any ideas where I can find them?

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Two by Two...

Two pair.  Four faces.

Short-lived, unique, and treasured

blooms fade too quickly!

In the foreground is Larry Grace's H. 'Destined to See.'  This is the first daylily I ever paid triple-digits for, and it has been worth its cost in beauty forty fold!  It never has just one flower open on any given day.  One day this past summer, 14 blooms floated above the foliage.  This is a great trait for daylilies.  If you can find daylilies that clump up and put up at least one scape per fan, you will have what is referred to as a "bouquet" of blooms each day.  Since individual daylily blooms only last one day, its important to have lots of buds on lots of scapes to keep the blooms coming.  H. 'Destined to See' does that really well.

Behind is Charles Douglas' H. 'Pick of the Litter.'  It is the first cultivar of his that I grew here in Michigan (certainly not the last) and I bought it after seeing it wonderfully exhibited at the Long Island Daylily Society's exhibition show many years ago.  This is an excellent show flower.  If you have ever seen pink velvet, (the pale pink kind that changes from light to dark as your hand runs across it) that is what H. 'Pick of the Litter' looks like on the show table. 

Yummy.

(Surprise!) Color Me Happy | Daylily Blog

(from left: H. 'Abilene Crab Claws' (Maddox), H. 'Arnie Oseland' (Kulpa), and H. 'Andrew Christian' (Harris-Benz)

I spent some time getting lost in my digital photos this weekend and found a few that brought some good memories to mind.  Some wonderful splashes of color brightened my chilly birthday weekend and some surprisingly super bloomers this year are shown above, and not all for the same reasons. 

H.'Abilene Crab Claws' was moved in early spring and proceeded to double in fan count and rebloom.  I love the pale tangerine and wild-formed blooms.  Look at the sepals in this photo.  Now you see where it gets its quirky name.

The middle photo, H. 'Arnie Oseland,' was a new purchase in the spring of this year.  I got it as five potted fans at the SMDS March Banquet.  They always have an amazing silent auction and this rare offering from John Kulpa was up for bid.  I hovered over that silent auction bid sheet until the end of the auction to make sure I got my hands on this one.  When you can get a John Kulpa intro, you should grab it.  On paper, this is not a flower I would think to purchase.  I don't normally drool over bicolors and the color description doesn't immediately whet my whistle.  But holy crackers in person it was stunning.  Crisp color and substance all day.  It is spectacular.  And toothy, too!  Consistently toothy here in the north. 

H. 'Andrew Christian' is a perennial favorite.  I have said it before and I repeat now- this is the best yellow daylily I grow.  The best.  If it were introduced today at $200, I would buy it if I saw it in person- its that good. 

Daylily Haiku Thursday | All My Senses

I remember the feel

of hot bright raspberry joy!

Alas, Winter has come.

Oh, H. 'Joan Derifield,' where are you now with your saturated hues of raspberry?  In my opinion, this is Curt Hanson's best introduction. (Although H. 'Beyond Thunderdome' and H. 'Atlas Shrugged' are two close favorites...)

The color is so intense- one of those colors that looks as good as it tastes and smells.  I like flowers that evoke more than just one sense...

The pedigree of this daylily is as follows:  (Hanson-C., 2000)  height 35", bloom 7", season EM, Semi-Evergreen, Tetraploid, Rose violet self above chartreuse throat. ((Julian Cohen × Royal Heiress) × Robert Lee Batt)

Its only fault is its tendency to "canoe" in hot heat.  I have it planted in a spot that gets only a few hours of hot sun each day now, and the blooms are more like this one than not.  The edge is quietly ruffled, which is nice it doesn't upstage this flowers best feature- its color.

The snow continues to fall here in southeast Michigan today. 

Welcome, Winter.