Favorite Old Daylilies

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A rainy day here on the mountain. I have been fighting with Blogger for half an hour trying to get this blog out and the new format is having a few problems today. Not the only thing with problems. Gail just returned to the house after a walk with Karl the Wonder Dog and her hair looks like she just attended some ceremonial event where confetti was freely tossed. Her hair was covered with spent blossoms from the Miss Kim lilac by the walkway and it probably took me ten minutes to pick out the flowers. Now the kitchen floor is dotted with lavender colors and I have been chastised once again for not trimming down the lilac two years ago. I love starting a day with "warm" comments. Oh well.

As the daylilies begin to show color at the flower farm, web orders come in and we begin digging from the fields as people passing by on Route 2 see something they want in their gardens. Many gardeners enjoy the old fashioned daylilies. These are not anything special color-wise and many are shades of yellow or orange which are the two original species colors from a couple hundred years ago. Many have nice fragrances and some bloom in the evening, not the morning at sunrise. Up top is Hesperus and next down here is Hyperion.

Many of the older daylilies are very strong growers and they provide a jump start to early summer garden blooms. Dumortieri pictured below, is a vigorous grower and with its bronze back it provides real nice contrast. This clump is pictured from the display garden where it is backed up to a granite boulder.


I have always loved Citrina, pictured next. It is a night bloomer, fragrant, 5 feet tall over time, and is now used by more and more hybridizers because of these traits. It is a lighter yellow with a slight ripple to the petals. Very nice!


Bitsy, just above here, is an early bloomer that goes on and on. The dark stems are very nice and it works well in late spring arrangements with Trollius, perennial Bachelor Buttons, peonies, bleeding heart and a couple field-friendly lupines. The daylily blooms might have to be pulled from the arrangement after the second day but their presence is welcome for a while.

Apricot, just below, was the first daylily ever registered back in 1883. It is a neat daylily, a sparkling orange, and upfacing. The upfacing part requires a little more thought--as if you are planting Asiatic lilies, but it sure is nice, very hardy and it has a nice deep green foliage.

Golden Chimes is another small flowered daylily with a bronze back and dark stem. Like Bitsy, it works well in arrangements and this one has a long, dark stem.

I have to get going here as we have crates and crates of daylilies ready to get divided and planted or mailed. The loons are calling from Peacham Pond and remind me I'd rather be on a pond some place right now but work beckons. Despite the rain, stop by the flower farm and say hello if you have a chance today.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
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And ready every day to help you grow your green thumb!