What a difference 8 months make! | Daylily Blog on Progress...

In August of 2011, this is what my new backyard looked like. Barren, dusty and full of potted plants waiting for new homes...

As Summer passed, Fall descended on a fledgling lawn, unedged island beds and lots still to do.

As Winter fell, I made lists. More lists. More plans. Spring appeared and so did 99% of the plants! There is little to no winter losses in this garden. Two confirmed daylily deaths have been recorded and mourned. CAJUN COLLABORATION and ROSE OF SWAN LAKE did not make it through the winter. <sniff> I worried about IRISH HALO, RED SAPPHIRE and KENNESAW HORIZON from Bill Waldrop, as they were the last plants to go in last October. They are prized plants, and ones that I am very anxious to see bloom. I did not need to worry about them at all...they have survived and thrived, and all three have scapes showing. Thank you to Bill of Kennesaw Mountain Daylilies. I already grow his PASTOR LORRIE MOELLER (below) and KENNESAW MOUNTAIN LEMON SORBET - two very photogenic plants. I still want to add his VARSITY ORANGE and LYDIA'S REGAL ROBE.

Very rarely do I like one hybridizer's entire catalog of offerings, but Bill is an exception. Almost everything he has introduced appeals to me. I plan to visit there next month when I'm in Atlanta judging a daylily show! Two real big treats - the show and a visit to Bill and Diana's.

Here is what that barren dustbowl looked like as spring 2012 appeared.

The realization that I am now able to garden in 3D hit me! Visitors can now walk around and see all sides of the garden and not just stand in front of it and look at it. This is the most awesome discovery every! In past homes, I was only able to garden with a fence or house as the "fourth wall" of the garden. There was always a hardscape as a backdrop, preventing visitors to enjoy all sides.

Two weeks ago, here is what is happening!

It is quite a change. Over 300 daylilies planted, stone walls have been added, and the grass is being patched in where it needs help. Last summer, I promised myself I would get this one island bed done (five more are in the works on paper...) before the bloom season in 2012. I still have work to do on defining the edges more succinctly, but overall - we did it, and are already seeing tons of scapes and promise from these plants. There is so much green space left in the yard! The thought that amazes me the most is all the daylilies in this bed seen above are ALL the daylilies that were scattered and shoehorned in eight beds at my old house- which was filled to the max! Here, they all fit in one bed, and I have room for at least five more islands about this size - not counting the front yard at all. We are truly blessed and thank our lucky stars every night for the opportunity to spread our wings.

I still have about 70 daylilies in pots waiting for the next project to start, but in the meantime, we are stopping construction and big projects of any kind and are waiting for bloom season to start...