Daylily Haiku Thursday | Pink and Orange

<posted March 28, 2013> This is the daylily, H. 'Wide Wide World'

I love pink and orange together.  On my shoes, in my swimsuit, and splashed around my garden - EVERYWHERE!  It is a wildly reckless color combination.  Check out this Pinterest board; your eyes could possibly fly from your head with glee when they see what's there.  She even has some daylilies featured on her inspiration board.  Pretty cool.  It also reminds me of Easter, so this picture jumped out to be featured in today's haiku.

Anyhoo, I wanted to remind you of a few stories from my past four years here that I enjoyed reading again.  According to Google, these are six of your most-visited stories, too.

Skin In the Game - A post on "getting better."

Speak Up! - A post on presentations and the audiences who sleep through them.

Eliminating the Mediocre - A post on collections.

Collection of (for) me - Another post on collections.

A Little Bit of Strategy - A post on getting your seedlings considered for AHS awards.

What's Overrated - A post on keeping up (or not) with the Joneses.  

Enjoy today, and enjoy this upcoming weekend with your families- whether they be formed by law, by blood or by good old fashioned love.

Til next time-

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Daylily Haiku Thursday | Daylily Blog about a Blank Slate!

<posted March 14, 2013> 

This is the daylily H. 'Cave Creek Canyon.'  I just love its edge, which seems to stand erect off of the petal, and not just sit on the outskirts of it.   Its tightly sewn, showing off the brilliant gold-metallic coloration!

Here is the spring project, friends.  The boulders and the sandstone stairs are finally in and placed just so.  It's a blank slate for the start of our real front yard.

Will it be round or spiky; tall or short?  Wispy and full of motion, or organized and tidy?  Evergreens, trees, boxwoods, hosta, hydrangea, daylily, daisy, canna, sage, plumbago, phlox, wooly thyme or roses?  YES!

My neighbors are as curious as I am as to what it will become...

C'mon Spring!

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Daylily Haiku Thursday | Daylily Blog worth reading again...

<posted March 7, 2013> 

This is the daylily, H. 'Pistachio Eyes' growing in my Illinois garden.

As gardeners, I think we all yearn for that moment where we can look out over our gardens and say, "Right here, right now, there is nothing else I would change about this view."  Our gardens are designed to create magical moments that carry us away from our inside lives.  My garden is a mini-vacation on an ever-changing landscape that I don't need a passport to enjoy.   Take a moment today to smile about the garden you have carved out for yourself!

Spring is starting to tease us and lists of all sorts are starting to appear...   

What annuals will I use for accent plants this year?  

What hanging baskets will I plant?  

Where will I put the bird feeders?  

When will the plant sale be?  

What shows will I exhibit in this year?

How many plants need new tags?  

What giant clumps need dividing early in the spring?

How will I find 28 hours in a day?

Oh, dear.  

The one big, winter task I set for myself was to update my PlantStep database to enter all the daylilies (with pictures.)  I have not updated it since 2010, and as you know many things have changed since then.  After about 30 hours of work spread out across this whole winter, I am just about finished.  I think I'll also publish an online catalog of my collection using PlantStep's easy catalog publishing feature.  It has not been published yet, but you will be the first to know when it is!

As I've mentioned before, if you aren't using the software for managing your daylily business or personal collection, you are missing out.   It beats any homegrown Excel or Access database with its depth and function.  Love it.  Check out the website here for more information. (and that's not a paid endorsement, it's just my personal opinion.)  

H. 'Little Jazzman' and H. 'Elegant Candy' at the 2012 Atlanta-area daylily show.

While looking for some pictures from my blog to pin to Pinterest, I found two old posts you might have forgotten you had read.  The first one hurt my heart a bit but the yellow daylilies I featured in it hurt my eyes, too!  

My Haunting Yellow Memories

The second post (which was one of the first blogs I ever posted) answers the most asked question when people ask me about daylilies - "How did you discover daylilies?"  There are actually two layers to that answer, and this is the first one:

Read the story of my first experience with daylilies.

A tad off normal topic, but my friend, AHS member and fellow daylily superfreak Shelly Stasney in Texas is also a teacher in a high poverty area and would never toot her own horn about this, but she is using DONORS CHOOSE to help raise money for her classroom to study diversity.  It is frustrating that teachers have to raise their own money (especially ones who love daylilies), and I supported her with a quick, tax-deductible cash donation THAT WAS MATCHED IMMEDIATELY by a Donors Choose grant because I typed in the code INSPIRE when I was checking out here:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=974244

Just supporting my daylily friends who have amazing lives outside of the garden, and thought maybe you'd want to know about it as well. :)

Til next time-  

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Daylily Haiku Thursday | The end of 2012....

Daylilies are a delicious diversion to daily crazy.  Much like the unbearable pain in Connecticut, they remind me that life is breathtakingly brief. 

Hug someone extra hard.  I did.

This will be the last post until after the new year- I will take a couple weeks off from the computer to enjoy the holiday, soak up my family and read to my son.  Maybe I'll scrapbook.  Or maybe I won't.  I'll surely stoke a lot of fires, cook a lot of soups, and give a lot of hugs.

Have you seen some of the new collections for 2013?  I liked these:

Slightly Different Nursery

Pretty Petals

The Lily Farm

Ladybug Daylilies

Herrington Daylily Garden

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and be nice, y'all.  It's easier.

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Daylily Haiku Thursday | Black and White

reach deep down into

the loamy soil of your time

and open, open!

H. 'White Wizard' (which has a gorgeous pearly sheen not easily captured on film) and H. 'Brookwood Black Kitten' (which is a tiny little flower) to remind me that there are few issues that are truly black and white.  

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Thankful | Daylily Blog about things that matter...

I keep a traditional pen-and-paper journal in my garden toolkit and I find myself writing in it many times throughout the year when a thought hits me in the garden.  I love doodling, I love handwriting, and I love the memories it will evoke when I read it sometime in the future.  I paged through that journal this weekend, looking for a list I made of soil amendments for a new raised bed.  I found the list, and found other inspiration, too.

As an ode to Thanksgiving, here are some things inspired by my journal for which I am thankful...

ONE | Diversity.  What brought me to daylilies was the rich diversity of form, size, shape and color.  I found once I got to "daylilydom" that the people who love them are just as diverse.  This mix always provides great conversation starters!  I'm thankful that there are always choices, and if we don't like the path we are currently on - we can choose to change.  

TWO | Hybridizers. The people who choose to focus full-time on bringing us new daylily hybrids are the oil in our engine.  Their imaginations, innovations and instinct propel our hobby to new places each year.  New catalogs are starting to arrive and websites are getting 2013 updates.  My wallet has never been thinner.  If you are curious on "who" these people are, please check out this link for a real comprehensive list (by person).  

 Nicole Harry's H. 'Dust and Gravity'

THREE | Learning new stuff. Every day there is something new to learn in daylilies.  There are lots of good discussions now on e-robins, Facebook group pages and other blogs.  Right now two hot topics I'm learning more about are raised bed edging options (all of the beds in my new gardens are raised) and cheating with Photoshop to either become a better photographer or hybridizer.   Regardless of what side of the debate I am on, I enjoy the opportunity to contribute to an intelligent discussion with other passionate people.  (that last sentence was a great mix of sincerity and sarcasm...LOL!)

FOUR | Real Books.  For as much as I love my Kindle Fire HD and other gadgets, I love real, paper books.  Above is a shot of some of my recent reads.  There are so many good books about daylilies out there to chew up this cold season.  Every winter I seem to re-read Sydney Eddison's A Passion For Daylilies.  That never gets old.  Buy a copy for some of your daylily friends.  It is an enthralling and colorful story of ALL our lives.  Here is a search on Amazon showing more daylily-related books you might want to check out.

Mort Morss' H. 'Curtis Montgomery'

FIVE | Committees.  Yep, committees.  This time of year the AHS organizes its many committees for the coming year and I am excited to be a part of a few again in 2013.  I am a firm believer that if you have a beef, the best way to get some resolution is to follow the proper protocol, even if you do not believe in the politics behind the protocol.  I always try to keep skin in the game.  I join committees not because I have scads of free time for meetings and more email, but because I believe in improvement.  I'm thankful for rational, kind minds that lack ulterior motives. 

 Ted Petit's H. 'Bella Isabella'

SIX | You.  A Girl and Her Garden grows because of you.  I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those whose lives touch me more than they will ever know.  Every time I have a crazy adventure in the garden, I think of how I will share it with you.  Every photo I shoot that takes my breath away, I race to share with you.  Because of you I strive to be a better writer, better photographer, better grower and a better gardening steward.

H. 'Carolina Pink Pinwheel' from Gene Tanner at Browns Ferry Gardens 

Click here to see the fabulous Browns Ferry website.

FYI: this was the best pink and best branched daylily in my garden for 2012.  I have never seen true 5 and 6-way branching in my garden before (Michigan or Illinois) and this one had it in spades. Registered as an evergreen, it is not phased by cold winters in my experience.  Although it comes from two parents that have not done well for me despite several tries, this daylily is amazing.   

Click here to read a haiku about pink.  And here for more pink.

And click here for another post on pink.

2013 has some wonderful things in store for this little place in the blogosphere, and I hope you will continue on this journey with me.  Thanks for sticking with me 4 years and hundreds of stories!

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Region 11 Summer Meeting - 2012 | Daylily Haiku Thursday

Sometimes I feel like I live inside the gazing ball - looking out at everyone else's straightened life while mine is a swirl of tilted views and skewed landscapes.   I'm visiting Michigan this week for work, a place that was my home for the almost 13 years, and my brain is struggling to remember what it was like to live here.  

There I am on the surface of this gazing ball, Auntie Em- and we ARE IN KANSAS!

In June I was invited to attend the Region 11 Summer Meeting on the Missouri/Kansas border. I was very excited to attend and help them with their auction.  I also have seen very few daylily gardens west of St Louis, so it was looking to be an exciting trip.  

One of the two great gardens I was able to see on their tour was the home garden of the Hart's (Lois Hart- Region 11's treasurer and director-elect.)  Their "Thin Wallet Ranch" reflected their fun and casual aura.  Even the name cracks me up!  I can totally relate.  We deboarded the bus and enjoyed a long walk up their long, shaded driveway.  Neat art projects dotted the way until we reached the end and the garden spilled out before us.  Lois had the daylilies from Region 11 hybridizers prominently marked and I saw many that I immediately needed to add to my wish list.  A star performer in two gardens I saw was H. 'Catspaw Sunrise Sunset', shown in the first photo below.  It was the clump award winner for their meeting and I understand why.  In the two gardens I saw it in, the clumps were LOADED with well-branched and heavily-budded scapes.  The little flowers were perfectly formed.  I will certainly be seeking this one out in the spring.

Here is the registration information: Catspaw Sunrise Sunset (Plahn-D., 2007) height 20", bloom 3.5", season MLa, Dormant, Diploid, 28 buds, 3 branches,  Red yellow bitone above green throat. (Siloam Paul Watts × Spell Fire)  I think there are some neat hybridizing opportunities here.

H. 'Catspaw Sunrise Sunset' and H. 'Color Me There' (a R2 hybridizer)

  

 H. 'Music Please' and H. 'Raj' 

Lois' sense of humor was found in many of the art pieces accenting the garden.  Their house loomed above these art glass spikes; the dreamy, full wrap-around porch overlooking all this beauty.  

shining in the light

stretching to find a sparkle

in the summer sun

I love glass in the garden. Something about the refinement of glittering glass outside screams confident whimsy.  

In my own garden, I have featured a glass collection.  This collection is on my patio and is partially protected from the open elements by two house walls.

I have been collecting this type of glass for about 20 years; I always seem to find another piece in a random roadside flea market - and rarely have I seen two alike.  I like the way they defy the ruggedness of the garden and bring the inside out in a fun way.  Many were broken in the move last year, and I gave many away before I packed my favorites.  This is all that remains of my collection now.  I took this picture this morning.  Sometimes I fill them with water and put different blooms in them each day during the bloom season.  Some are filled with marbles from my dad's childhood and others hold tiny bog plants not afraid of a little soaking.  They are fun, colorful, and like Lois' garden, they add a bit of happiness to my green days outside. One of the first thing first-time visitors ask about the glass is "do you leave that outside all year?!"  And the answer is no.  I bring it in after Thanksgiving and put it out sometime in March and I have never lost a single piece to the weather elements like wind, snow or rain.  Like my infamous super ball collection, friends have taken to picking these up for me when they find them on the road.  Im happy to reimburse them when they present me with the cool finds!!

But, I digress.  Back to Lois'...  

This is a double from Kropf...H. 'Scarlet Marie.'  I love the infusion of color.  I traded for a big clump of this one, so next year I will enjoy it in my own garden.

And this is a shot of the cool garden railroad set up on one of her patios.  I got some background on the pieces and just had a hoot learning more about it.  Look at those cars.  They are "bug themed" and perfect for a garden train adventure.  I bet if my son saw this he would immediately want one in our own yard.  Maybe that is a thought...Lois' husband said he had a hard time finding all these matching cars, but I have never been one to back down from an internet shopping scavenger hunt!  ebay and etsy here I come!

The garden was on all four sides of their house, anchored in the middle by the pool.  I love the long beds, easily accessed from both sides.

You can see in this picture below where she has marked all the Region 11 hybridizers with blue flags.  It was a treat to see them featured.

There were so many stunning views in her garden - even in the shade I found some great pictures!

The bus boarded and we were off to find more treasures along the Kansas/Missouri central border! 

I just love the colors of the midwest...

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Right now... | Daylily Haiku Thursday

It is officially Fall and many tasks associated with the garden are in full swing.  First, you must meet the newest member of the family, Floyd.  He is a Boston Terrier and at 10 weeks old is the biggest tornado in a cute suit that I have ever seen.  He is full of energy and curiousity about the garden.  So far he has only uprooted one plant tag and eaten a few daylily leaves.  Oh, Floyd.

This is also my favorite time of year to get all the plant tags updated and replaced so that I know what is where when the snow melts in 2013.  I went to using a new tag this year (thanks, Nic) but still love the Avery 5160 clear labels.  I run them through a laser printer and have great success.  Some tags I have had printed this way and in the garden for a decade.  I don't notice any fading in the label at all.  The trick is to USE A LASER PRINTER and not your inkjet.  In some cases, the metal stakes have rotted before the label is out of life.  This is the only label I have ever used and do not experience peeling or fading in the least.  Office Depot carries a 3M version of this label that is cheaper, and works just as well.  I bought this after my huge supply of Averys were gone.

These are the tags I needed for last summer and early fall purchases.  I really made great strides in my "one-in-one-out" rule for new purchases.  If I want to buy something, it must be better than something I already have in order to make room for it.  Although I have tons of space now, I have only been here one season and Im resisting the urge to just dig beds all over the place simply because I can. I want the beds to be mixed perennial beds that have color, texture and deliberate  rhythm.  I cant do that if Im just bailing water to get daylilies in the ground.  I am already stressed out about the 40 or so pots that are still waiting for homes.  I look at those pots and think - did I really need to buy this so it could sit in a pot and wait for a home?  Nope.  So, I regret some impulse purchases made this summer.  Some that I bought I "needed" because I was in love with a photo I had taken of it or in love with the memory of when I saw it for the first time.  From now on, Ill love the photo and the memory instead of insisting I own it.  I'm afraid some of those things I HAD to have wont make it to see Spring and that's all my fault.  "Ill try to not make that mistake next year."  (said everyone.)  But the good news is that all the plants in the ground have proper markers and are almost ready for winter.  One last application of Milorganite to the whole collection and I will be done.  Ill probably do that after Halloween, just in time for the early winter rains.

The rebloom has been the star of fall here, and I am amazed at the amount I have here this year.  Here is H. 'Spacecoast Color Scheme' blooming on its second set of rebloom scapes.  These buds have a large amount of thrip damage to them - more than earlier bloom cycles.  I'm sure the critters in the garden are enjoying the late show as much as I am.

The small circle garden I put in last year to divert some water flow and raise a low spot in the yard is already getting a a revamp.  This is what happens when you rush to do something.  I enjoyed the show in it this summer, but the colors didn't play well with one another and it didn't have enough textural contrast for my tastes.  So, as you see below, I have selected a new crop of "better" daylilies to feature in this spot and also have two upright Japanese Maples ready to go in here to add height.  Everything in here will be dug out and reset.  This bed is also where I saw the garter snake for the first time.  It slithered out from between the wall bricks and headed toward that back island.  Behind that island is where I inadvertently ran it over with the lawnmower.  :(  

Below is the photo that I have on my desktop right now, full of Fall and waiting for Winter.  So many textures and colors and flower sizes here.  The sedum (or "Live Forever" as my grandmother called it) is actually from her garden and now must be 60 years old.  I took starts from her house in 1990, 10 years after she had passed away.  My mom has photos of that patch of sedum from 1956, and it looked established then.  I love having these same flowers, not just the same kind, but the actual same root stock in my own yard.

Those hardy pink mallow in the background bloomed up to 12" flowers when it first started flowering.  I just planted those last fall, and now I am in love.  This one is Hibiscus 'Peppermint Schnapps' and it is spectacular with its red veining. 

   

I'd like a pink daylily THIS pink.  Look at rebloom on H. 'Kings Cloak' in the foreground above.  It looks almost tan compared to the pink of the mallow.  I like REAL pink.  I have H. 'Pistachio Eyes' and H. 'Cerise Masterpiece' and H. 'Cotton Candy Pink' and tons of other "pinks."  

Who's got some recommendations for THIS pink? 

In the meantime, Ill keep enjoying the photo below of the raspberry-kissed eye of H. 'Thundercat' by Jamie Gossard.  This photo below was taken in his yard during the National Convention.  My kindred spirit, Teresa gave me this as a gift this summer so I am very excited to see it bloom here!

right now is turning

into the what-should-have-beens.

jack frost is coming!

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