Daylily Haiku Thursday | Just being...

be in the moment,
soak up the morsels of life-
smiling all the way!

Every day I write posts in my brain, or have an experience that I think would make a great blog post, but they just don't make it here.  And that's because I'm busy exploring, engaging, experimenting, baking, laughing, planting, working, creating, mothering, living and best of all, being just being me...finding my laugh again. 

Daylily season is taking off here in Michigan - finally!  About six or seven daylilies are blooming now, and last night I deadheaded in my own garden for the first time in 2011!  WOW!

We traveled to my parents house last weekend in southern Illinois, where my seedlings are growing beautifully.  I had so much fun discovering daylilies I had forgotten since last summer and seeing new ones for the first time.  Five of my favorites are shown here.  The first one up there on the left is from MOMENTUM X BITTERSWEET HOLIDAY.  It will certainly be introduced soon.  Bud count was at least 24 on each scape and it grows 32" tall.  I divided a clump of 36 fans into smaller divisions last fall to see how it made it through the winter after being divided and it passed the test with flying colors.  The smaller divisions could even use dividing now!  It is so prolific!  I really enjoy the very pronounced stippled sepals, too.  The color dilutes as the summer day matures, much like the ice in a glass of whiskey mellows out the color in the sweating glass.  This one is named in the garden "Another Shot of Whiskey" and I'm sure that name will stick if it ever gets registered.  I am growing this one in Michigan, too, so I can see how it does in our winters.  The scapes here are still weeks away from blooming.  Seems to be about 3 weeks behind the divisions in southern Illinois.

Three of the crosses below involve H. 'Sabine Baur,' one of my all-time favorite eyed and edged daylily.  The top two below are from that cross and the one on the bottom right is, too.  Some very diverse children coming from that daylily!  The daylily on the bottom left is not from h. 'Sabine Baur' but is one of my favorite dream crosses ever made, and that was GRAND OLD FLAG X GOLDEN TENTACLES.  That flower is 9"!  The edge is ruffled and toothy, and it is a creamy, dreamy mix tropical colors.




The seedling shown on the right above measured 9.5" and really showed its stuff as the day went on.  It was gargantuan.  Here is a close up:


I noticed a funny thing happening with my seedlings, too.  Bi-colors (of any sort) and red daylilies are not two types that tend to like, and yet I saw five red and two bi-color seedlings that were stunners in my own crop.  How in the world does a person who doesnt like red daylilies get five red seedlings that she loves?  Seriously, those five really caught my eye and I actually am thinking about introducing some, but I know I will never live it down if I put out a red - seeing as I have soapboxed about my red-aversion many times before.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit I like them so much.  I'll show you those later to see what you think. 

Who would of thunk it?!

ON ANOTHER NOTE:  If you dont have any plans for the weekend of July 15, you should plan to come to Michigan for a major daylily event.  All are welcome to attend the bus tours of 8 area gardens, enjoy 5 catered meals and partake in all the fun!  Full details can be found at the Great Lakes Gathering website.  There are still 22 spots left - but I am sure they will go fast.  You can pay your registration fee with PayPal on this website and get your spot reserved.  Gift plants abound for guests, and garden shopping opportunities are amazing!  Go to the website above to get a registration form and get your questions answered.  I hope to see you there.

I'm headed to Northern Mecca (google it) on Saturday to enjoy some fellowship and see how southern Ohio is doing daylilies.  I plan to be at River Bend Gardens, also the home of Pretty Petals, all day soaking up the sun and fun in the fields.

Another season is here.  I am so happy to be a part of it!

1 comments:

~~Rhonda said...

Love your crosses! The throat of the large purple one in the last photo just shimmers. So pretty! We are in southern IL, about an hour SE of St. Louis, and love daylilies. We're in peak bloom time right now. The garden is beautiful! Love this time of year. Thanks for sharing your blooms and your thoughts. So enjoy reading your blog. ~~Rhonda

 

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