High Bud Count, Etc.

When I was at the daylily gardens, I was trying to tell the owner what it was I liked, which sort of flowers caught my eye. I stuttered something like "dark purples" and mentioned my latest bloomer at the time, which was 'Grand Masterpiece'. But then Betty said, "I bet you didn't get too many flowers from it though, did you?"

And she's right, I guess. Bud count is not one of the things I consider when I choose a daylily. I do have some daylilies that are solid performers in that regard, but to tell you the truth, most of them are not my favourites.

Although I do like 'Cricket Dance'.

'Cricket Dance' Has a High Bud Count



The problem with high bud count is that it results in high spent bloom count, too. Very messy plants. Especially if the flowers are large and fleshy, you can get ugly results. 'Daring Deception' is a case in point.

'Daring Deception' Has a High Bud Count



Note that the two flowers down in front are 'Sabine Baur'.

As far as I know, the Siloams usually have a high bud count. For example, 'Siloam Merle Kent', 'Siloam Doodlebug', 'Siloam Plum Tree' are ones that I have. 'Siloam Merle Kent' is my most well-established of the three.

Siloam Merle Kent Has a High Bud Count



But look at how the spent blooms make the plant look messy, and interfere with the current blooms. Sometimes the buds negatively affect the blooms, too. And deadheading becomes harder when you are working around buds and current blooms, hoping not to dislodge any with an extra enthusiastic snap or tug. So really, I am not especially a fan of high bud count. I see as many problems as advantages.

New Plants and First Blooms

These are my new plants and first blooms today.

All American Baby (New)



Bela Lugosi (New)



In the photo above, try to ignore the blemishes and picture it as a uniform purple. It's a new purchase and this is the only bud I got with the plant.

Smith Brothers (New)



Can you see how similar 'Smith Brothers' is to 'Root Beer'? Only the ruffles and the greenish tinge to the throat make it look different.

'My Hope' First Bloom Today


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Executive Decision

I've been in touch with Betty about "Apollo's Chariot" -- my daylily that didn't look like it was supposed to -- and she's offered (in an executive decision) to exchange it for an "Executive Decision". One that is much more expensive. I feel bad.

So tomorrow we are going to pay Betty a visit and return the current plant for a new one.

White Daylilies and More

One of my new daylilies didn't come true to form. Sigh. (I'm going to have to get in touch with Betty.) Apollo's Chariot is supposed to be a red self, and it came up (yet another) pink daylily with purple eyezone and yellow-green throat. I already have plenty of those. And one of them is named 'Always Afternoon'. Hmm. Another A.

In the last few days I had two new blooms, both white: 'Ice Carnival' (white tinged with lemon yellow) and 'Joan Senior' (a creamy white bloom).

Ice Carnival



Joan Senior



This morning while I was out taking photos, I managed to catch a little chipmunk in a rare moment when it wasn't scurrying madly about with cheek pockets full of seeds.

Chipmunk in the Garden



In this view you can see my 'Lullaby of Spring' irises, which I have divided and moved to the east fence.

I planted the heuchera in a pot to save it from the rabbits, which like to munch on them. Maybe that's why Dolce names all their hybrids after sweet treats (like 'Creme Brulee' and 'Peach Melba') -- because they are dessert for rabbits.

And here is something sweet that I discovered early this morning. It survived the rabbits, only just. It is my 'Razzmatazz' echinacea. It was a lovely huge plant last year, very much reduced in size this year. I suppose I should be happy it's alive and blooming at all!

Razzmatazz Echinacea


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Floral and Hardy

I finally visited a daylily farm!!!

Floral and Hardy Gardens



Floral and Hardy Gardens, run by Betty and Marv, has close to 3000 daylily cultivars to choose from. Of course I bought eight, which I will list later.

Betty's own gardens are gorgeous. She even hosts wedding photos there. I just have a few pictures of spots that I would love to call my own, and I'm going to try to emulate in some small way.

Betty's Garden by the House



Betty loves hosta, heuchera, and hemerocallis just as I do. As well as the daylilies, she has close to 500 varieties of hosta, and over 120 varieties of heuchera (including heucherella and tiarella).

Hosta, Heuchera, and Hemerocallis



I fell immediately in love with two plants in her garden: 'Postman's Pride' sedum and 'Blue Mouse Ears' hosta, which you can see in the photo above forming a triangle with the unmistakeable 'Lime Rickey' heuchera.

Notice how Betty labels everything in her garden? She asked me did I have labels in my garden. I told her no, I used an album. Not good enough! No excuses! And since it's getting harder and harder to keep track of my plants now, I may just take Betty's advice and start labelling them.

And here is another lovely combo from Betty's garden.

More of Betty's Garden



Do I wish Betty's garden was my garden? You bet I do!

Oh, and my purchases? Here is a list:

• All American Baby
• Apollo's Chariot
• Bela Lugosi
• Darkside
• Highland Lord
• Persian Ruby
• Root Beer
• Smith Brothers

There is very little difference between 'Root Beer' and 'Smith Brothers'. I had given up on finding 'Smith Brothers' and chose 'Root Beer' instead, but then I found a 'Smith Brothers' that was located so far from the 'S' section that finding it was just lucky. It is slightly more ruffled, has a greenish throat, and will grow slightly taller than 'Root Beer'.

'Root Beer' Planted in My Garden



Finding 'Darkside' was also a fluke, as Betty had thought she was sold out of them. They were handmarked with odd labels (none of which said 'Darkside'), but looked just like the 'Darkside' demo plant. See, I told Betty I liked the dark purple daylilies, so that is what I got a lot of.

'Persian Ruby' Planted in My Garden


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

However, 'Persian Ruby' and 'Highland Lord' are actually reds, and 'All American Baby' is a small, cream flower with delicate watermark. It is similar to another lovely daylily that I would have bought if someone didn't name it after the kind of lingerie you need to go to a special store to buy. I can't even put the name of it in my blog because I would get all kinds of undesirable hits from people searching for ... that sort of thing.

A Short Post About Daylilies

Since I've done a post already today, the daylily one will be quite short. First, here is a collage of several of today's daylily blooms.

Collage of Today's Blooms (Not All of Them)



Left to right, top to bottom, they are: 'Light Years Away', 'Siloam Plum Tree', 'Kwanso', 'Black-Eyed Susan', 'Lavender Rainbow', 'Elegant Candy', 'Strawberry Candy', 'Dad's Best White', and 'Wayside King Royale'.

I had one new bloom today, 'Grand Masterpiece'. This is one that I bought "on spec" last year at the end of the season and planted without having seen the blooms. I can say that I'm not disappointed! I think it is aptly named.

Grand Masterpiece



And finally I can report that the daylily 'Snowy Eyes' that I was worried about is still partly okay. Of the three or four fans the plant is currently made up of, one is still looking good, while a couple of the others are now producing miniature yellow triangular flowers. Hopefully the fan that's still good will survive being divided when the blooms have finished.

These 'Snowy Eyes' Are Still Okay


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Big Garden Views

Newer readers of this blog who want to know about the structure of my garden would probably be interested in this post, where I describe (with photos) the evolution of the garden.

The difficulty with taking photos of those same views now is that the backyard is (quite intentionally) all trees and shrubs. We are literally overlooked by our neighbours, whose houses are "walkouts" that sit atop a slope.

Photo 1 (See Explanation Below)



When we bought our home new from the builder, we were told we would have a row of townhouses behind. However, by some magic of city politics the developers were allowed to build high-end homes on thirty-foot lots instead. How do you fit a 2000-square-foot home on a thirty-foot lot, you may ask? Well, you build up from a small footprint. (Keep in mind these homes are already above ours because they sit on a slope, and now they have three finished stories.)

Photo 2




Anyway, grumbling aside, that is why our yard is full of trees. For privacy -- but also because we happen to like trees. But what this means, gardenwise, is that most of the garden beds are planted under or around trees. The rest of the slope consists mainly of mulched paths (some of which are becoming difficult to maintain as plants and shrubs increase in size).

Photo 3



I'm not sure if these photos successfully convey the sense of "levels" that are an integral part of this garden. I think it is a testament to the art of the landscaper (who is now retired, unfortunately) that many people are not aware from the photos just how much of a slope we were dealing with.

Photo 4


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Most of the transitions between levels are subtle. You do not use the mulched paths to walk flat most of the time, but to climb or descend. The transition from the patio to the garden is marked by a set of stone steps that create an entrance to the sloped area.

Photos:

1. This is the view looking roughly northwest. The photo is taken with a wide-angle fish-eye lens, so there is some distortion in the outer corners. The grass you see in the foreground is "eco-grass". We planted it late because we had some difficulty obtaining the seed (I ordered it in time from a web site that promised to ship within two days, but it took them several weeks to ship it), so it has not germinated evenly. We will overseed again in the fall. It's very nice stuff! You can see how green it is when all the other grass has gone dormant. We don't water it!


2. This is the view looking roughly northeast. In the lower left of the photo you can see a "climbing" path that moves from one level of the garden to another. This view pretty much illustrates that most of the backyard is trees and shrubs.


3. Looking east from the base level. This view shows how natural stone defines the structure and transitions. Also from this view you can see that we had bark-splitting problem on the Deborah maple this year. Luckily, maples can survive this sort of thing and the tree is still doing well (touch wood).


4. The final view shows the stone steps close up, and the main path through the garden that we have defined with flagstone stepping stones. Again, I'm not sure if the change in levels is obvious the way the photo is taken, but the flagstone path is a climbing path.

Flowers and Garden Views

Only one new bloom today, and a sad little bloom it is, although I am remarkably cheered that this daylily managed to flower at all.

Very late in the season it sent up a couple of spindly scapes. This one had a bud that actually managed to bloom -- barely. The other scapes and their buds are slowly shrivelling. Sigh. I'm not even sure what plant it is, but I am guessing it's 'Royal Palace Prince', based on its location and colouring.

EDIT: I guessed wrong. See below.

Unknown First Bloom Today



This is what 'Royal Palace Prince' looked like two years ago, when it would have been a new plant:

'Royal Palace Prince' 2005



However, today's bloom could also be 'Mariska', which looked like this last year.

EDIT: It is 'Mariska'.

'Mariska' 2006




Now from first blooms to last blooms. Here is Barbara Mitchell's farewell flower.

Last Bloom for 'Barbara Mitchell'



Remember I said I could see the difference between my echinaceas 'Magnus' and 'Ruby Star'? I finally took a photo so that you can see too.

Echinacea 'Ruby Star' (Back) and 'Magnus' (Front)



Well, maybe this isn't the best photo for showing the difference, but I still like 'Ruby Star' for its dark pink petals and bright red centre.

Here is a photo of 'Purple d'Oro' blooming in my garden. I have said how it's getting smaller and more delicate every year, turning into a miniature over time. The scapes are about 3 inches (8 cm) high. (Last year they were 4 inches.) It's a pretty little plant, but I certainly didn't know in advance that this was what I would be getting.

Purple d'Oro



Well, I do love my purple daylilies and variegated foliage, and here is a photo that places both together in a combination that never fails to appeal to me.

'Cricket Dance' Daylily and Harlequin Honeysuckle



And finally, I was wandering around the garden fairly early this morning, trying to decide whether to photograph the 'Bonanza' daylilies that were blooming near the sidewalk, when I noticed that the view between the trees was certainly worth looking at. I had to crouch a bit to get a good photo, but this is essentially what my garden looks like from the sidewalk -- a view I hardly ever pause to take in myself.

View from the Sidewalk


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Kwanso, Kwanso, Kwanso

NOTE: This post has been updated since I have acquired more information. The pictured orange daylilies are not 'Kwanso' after all. See the footnote at the bottom of the post.
--

I've been waiting for a particular daylily to bloom and it finally bloomed today. I got it from a friend's garden last year and I've been hoping mine would look like hers. She seems to have two different varieties, or they might be two different versions of the same one.

One is the daylily H. fulva 'Kwanso', which is the one that bloomed in my garden today.

'Kwanso' Side View



'Kwanso' Front View



The name "Kwanso" probably comes from the Chinese "Hsuan Ts'ao" which means "daylily" in Chinese. (Well, actually it means "forget your worries" but that is what they call daylilies. It sort of reminds me of how we have a flower called Forget-me-not.)

Here is a photo (from last year, in my friend's garden) of the crazy daylily that I'm hoping will also bloom in my garden soon. I am wondering if it might be 'Flore-Pleno'* but I was told (quite rudely, I thought) by someone who commented anonymously on the photo that they doubted it was.

The Crazy Daylily in My Friend's Garden



Anyway, moving on now, two of my daylilies that sit side by side bloomed today, and it happened that the scapes fell towards each other. I took a photo and called it "tête-à-tête". (I can't help thinking that daylilies are categorized by whether they are tetraploid or diploid, called "tet" and "dip" for short. Do you see where I'm going with this...?)

Tête-à-Tête
(Country Melody and Cassadiana)



In a perfect world, I would plant 'Kwanso' and 'All American Plum' next to each other and they would be the same height and bloom time. But that's not going to happen. I'll look around for a dark daylily that might look good with 'Kwanso' though. We are supposed to be going to a daylily farm this weekend. (I finally found one that we could go to.)

All American Plum



I was going to post all my photos today, since it was overcast this morning and every flower was perfect, but I guess I'll hold a few back. Still, here are 'Druid's Chant' and 'El Desperado'.

Druid's Chant



El Desperado



When I bought 'Druid's Chant', I thought the label showed a yellow flower that looked quite similar to 'El Desperado'. As it turns out, I got a lovely lavender flower that I am more than happy with. By the way (at the risk of jinxing it) I have never had a bad bloom from 'El Desperado'. I can certainly recommend that plant to anyone who'd like to try a reliable daylily that's a bit more adventurous than 'Stella d'Oro'. (Although it does not have Stella's long bloom time.)

I just can't seem to get enough of this view when 'Lavender Rainbow' is blooming.

'Lavender Rainbow' in the Garden (Again)



And of course, 'Catherine Woodbury' is always beautiful. Such simplicity.

'Catherine Woodbury' in the Garden


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.


* A year later, I have done some more research. When I check out information on this web site for 'Flore-Pleno', I come to the conclusion that all of the orange daylilies shown in this post are 'Flore-Pleno', and not 'Kwanso' after all -- the difference being that 'Kwanso' has 7-12 tepals per flower, while 'Flore-Pleno' has 15-18 tepals per flower. All of these examples have 15-18 tepals. (A normal daylily flower has 3 petals and 3 sepals for a total of 6 tepals.)

Three New Blooms Today

Three new daylilies bloomed today. Oh, and thanks to Marie for choosing my blog for an award. You can read about it here.

A daylily that I planted last year without seeing what the blooms looked like just bloomed for me today. (Well, technically it bloomed first on Saturday, but I was so ensconced in Harry Potter that I never saw it.)

The bloom I was expecting looked more like this. What I got was this (still a very nice bloom):

David Kirchoff First Bloom Today



For a moment I thought I'd found a proper name for my 'Moristar Mix' daylily, but it doesn't have the yellow picotee around the edge of the petals.

Compare to 'Moristar Mix' (Earlier this Month)



In fact, 'David Kirchoff' seems to have more in common with this next first-bloomer than with 'Moristar Mix'. 'Light Years Away' is one of my most piecrusted, picoteed, what-have-you'ed daylilies. When it looks good, it's very, very good but when it doesn't it's awful. (One lady I know compared it to a fried wonton.) Thankfully, today's bloom is quite lovely.

Light Years Away



And finally, just as promised, the red daylily 'Royal Mountie' bloomed today.

Royal Mountie


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

This is the only daylily I have where the petals seem to fold into themselves at the bottom, like a pinwheel. It's not something I see a lot of.

And I see a lot of daylilies -- at least photos of them.

You'll Never Guess What

...but I'm posting daylilies again!

Well, in spite of all the other plants in my garden -- the hostas, the heucheras, the echinacea and rudbeckia -- and in spite of the fact that I divided my 'Lullaby of Spring' iris today, cut down the lamb's ears, and tied up the Clematis jouiniana 'Mrs. Robert Brydon', in spite of all of that, it's still July. So you still get photos of daylilies in my garden.

This is 'Snowy Eyes', which bloomed today for the first time this year.

'Snowy Eyes' First Blooms Today



Hmm, these blooms are looking an awful lot like 'Siloam Doodlebug'. It's not looking like its old self at all.

'Snowy Eyes' 2004



Even last year it managed to look like this.

'Snowy Eyes' 2006



So what's with the tiny yellow flowers with pointed petals and sepals? Sigh. It's one of the daylilies I have slated to move this year. Hope it manages to come back to its senses next year. Luckily 'Elegant Candy' is still as pretty as ever. Today it gave me a beautiful polytepalous flower.

'Elegant Candy' Polytepalous Flower



And today, under the maple tree, the daylilies were the star of the show. 'Lavender Rainbow', of course, and a couple of 'Catherine Woodbury'. (Tomorrow should be good too, as the infamous bright red daylily is about to bloom.)

'Catherine Woodbury' under the Maple



Oh, and since 'Barbara Mitchell' has just about finished for this year, I thought I'd better snap a shot of these three flowers in the garden today. After this, I think there is one more bud left on the plant, then that will truly be it.

'Barbara Mitchell' Almost Finished Now



Remember I said there were other things blooming in my garden besides daylilies? Well, there's echinacea. I've got some echinacea I planted beside the east fence, 'Magnus' and 'Ruby Star'. I find 'Ruby Star' to be the more dramatic looking one, with its fiery red centre. At first I didn't think I'd be able to tell the two varieties apart -- they're both ordinary purple coneflower, after all -- but the difference in colour is easily discernible, with 'Ruby Star' being the more interesting flower.

'Ruby Star' Echinacea



Oh, and I did mention that I cut back the lamb's ears, didn't I?


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

It's looking a bit bare now where they were, but at least the daylilies are not being smothered anymore. When I can get my hands on some new plants, I'll rip out the rest of what's there (the lamb's ears) and plant it again from scratch.

By the way, did anyone happen to notice that I didn't have a post on July 21? There were still daylilies blooming in my garden, but guess what I was doing? That's right, reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It took me all day to finish it. Not even my garden could drag me away from finding out Harry's fate. How about you? Are there any other Harry Potter fans out there in gardenblogland?