Daylily Haiku Thursday | Celebrating my Birthday with a treat!

drowning in a sea
of blinding color and light.
still looking for more!

Oh, these grey days of fall/winter, when the view out my window is deceiving.  The bright blue skies look like they belong in June and not in December.  Stepping outside to get the mail, I am quickly reminded the year is almost over and winter is coming soon.  

We've just returned from the desert - to enjoy a vacation to celebrate the first anniversary of my 39th birthday.  I turn 40 today and life has never been more clear.  I'm entering a new decade in a new home with new gardens and new priorities.  Its all-around awesomeness.  

One thing that moving your home and gardens will teach you is how to simplify and gain focus on what is necessary.  As I went on installing the new gardens this summer, I found a niche for the doubles in my collection.  Some folks do not enjoy the "unnecessary" extra petals in a double, but I do.  More is better in most cases.  There are many forms of doubles, and they are not created equal.  Their scapes are not always sturdy enough to hold the weight of the big, full blooms, and sometimes these petalicious beauties do not open completely, but these bad hair days are not enough to exclude them from your collection.

From the top left and going clockwise, the double cultivars you need to have are H. 'Cluster Muster', H. 'Almost Indecent', H. 'Double Breakthrough' and H. 'Stellar Double Rose.'  These were photographed at the 2008 AHS Region 2 Summer Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin.  I bought all four after seeing them on tour.  H. ' Stellar Double Rose' is very unique with its deep red veining and crisp white edges.  All of these are almost 100% double, too.

So, today is my birthday and true to tradition, I will go to the Lily Auction and buy myself one daylily from my wish list - any one my heart desires.  Many years ago I started this tradition by buying a clump of H. 'Destined to See' the year after its introduction at a price I will never admit to - but for a birthday treat was priceless and necessary!  ;)