Daylily Haiku Thursday | Bite-Sized Pieces of Perfection...

This I know - daylilies are never boring.  There is always some facet to explore and enjoy.  I have discovered that I am now enamoured with the miniature and ultra-miniature ones.

Get small, y'all!    According to the standards, a miniature daylily is registered to measure less than 3" in diameter.  The AHS Daylily Database shows 1422 daylilies registered that match this size constraint.   (Use this advanced search on their website to see how I figured that out...) It was fun to page through the search of 1400+ cultivars, looking at some of the pictures in the database.  I already grow several of Leo Sharp's "Brookwoods" because they are small or miniature and perfectly formed. 

I love H. 'Two To Tango.' (pictured above)  This one is not only considered miniature, but it is also dormant, diploid and double.  WOW!  Most years it also blooms 100% double.  It is an amazing show flower and multiplies very quickly.  I have it in the front of a bed and it does just fine there on its 14" scape.  I would love to see a stark, dark, intricate pattern splashed on something this color and size.  The fact that it is diploid could make that happen!  (hint, hint- pattern hybridizers!)

H. 'Spacecoast Tiny Perfection' and H. 'Siloam Grace Stamile'

I could not talk about mini's without mentioning H. 'Spacecoast Tiny Perfection.'  This one never has a bad hair day.  It has been a candidate for the Stout Silver Medal and it has won my vote.  It is registered at 2.87" and just shines with a heavy substance and clear color.  I love the seersucker texture on the sepals.  In 2005, I sold daylilies from my garden as a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina Relief and this was the top seller.  I sold 24 double fans of it!

Pictured on the right above is H. 'Siloam Grace Stamile' which is a tiny, luscious, little kiss of a daylily. Registered in 1984, the bloom is only 2.12" and is a wonderful scape to take to a daylily show. This is a true red to my eyes.  Below is one of what I think is the most famous illustrations of big and small daylilies.  It is not my personal photo, but it is courtesy of Floyd Cove Nursery, home to Patrick and Grace Stamile in a prior life and now the thriving business of Guy and Karen Pierce.  Yes, that is a tiny little ultra-mini daylily in the throat of H. 'Judy Farquhar.'  

What are some miniature daylilies that excite you?

Today's Daylily Haiku Thursday is brought to you by my serious case of seasonal affective disorder.  I'm crabby and busy and overwhelmed and in need of some dirt time. 

Please pardon the melancholy.

digging in the dirt.

making a mess. I'm changing

landscapes of my mind.