Triumph and Disappointment

First, the triumph.

In 2004 I planted one of my first few daylily acquisitions, Scatterbrain, in the back garden in a place where it was slowly overwhelmed by periwinkle. Every year I hoped in vain to see it bloom again. Last year I finally got smart and moved it into the bed under the Deborah maple. And this year it has rewarded me by thriving and blooming.

Scatterbrain (Triumph)


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Scatterbrain is unique in that its stamens are attached to a second set of petals. So, not only is it a double daylily, but a strangely -- or delightfully -- malformed one, depending on how you look at it.

Now the disappointment.

Today there is a very disappointing first bloom from Night Beacon. This daylily has been a good performer previously. Last year its first bloom appeared on July 20. So it is about a week late.

Night Beacon (Disappointment)


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It's interesting to note that some of the same daylilies that bloomed with Night Beacon last year are also blooming with it this year. Summer Wine, for example.

Summer Wine


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And Someplace Special also had a first bloom today.

Someplace Special


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This one is on a very short scape, so it will probably have to be looked after very carefully this fall if I want it to bloom again next year.

Two other first blooms today: Stoplight and El Desperado.

Stoplight is a spiderform, something I don't have a lot of in my garden. I can't seem to lay my hands on the ones that I like.

Stoplight


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And finally, a photo of El Desperado taken early in the morning before they were fully opened.

El Desperado


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Foolishly I reached over and stuck my nose in really close to one of these flowers, trying to see how it looked inside. I'll tell you how it looked inside! It looked full of bumblebee, is how it looked. Just a warning there for others who may be like me. Be careful where you poke your nose. You don't want to get it stung.
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Another Rainy Day

So, we had horrible pelting rain to deal with today. This should surprise no one, because it's Saturday, and therefore the weekend. By this year's predictable pattern, the weather was bound to be poor.

Pelting rain is never good for daylilies. Especially today's Woodside Rhapsody. Its first bloom came out like this.

Woodside Rhapsody


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Three years ago, the same plant bloomed on July 2 (!) and looked beautiful.

Today's other first bloom didn't do as badly, even with the rain. It is called Coal Miner, and is another dark daylily acquired at Floral and Hardy Gardens last year.

Coal Miner


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By contrast, Daveo Holman and Darkside had flowers today that look much better than their first offerings.

Daveo Holman


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Darkside


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And speaking of Darkside, I purposely planted it near my Kwanso and Flore-Pleno daylilies, because they bloom at the same time and the dark colour looks splendid with the bright orange, as you can see in this photo with Darkside in the background. The dark stalks of Penstemon also set off the orange daylilies quite nicely.

Kwanso, Flore-Pleno, and Darkside


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And just to be different again, here is a picture of a rudbeckia emerging in the front garden near the porch.

Rudbeckia


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New Blooms and a Mystery Solved

And still they keep on coming...

The last white daylily to bloom this year is Joan Senior. This one is always late in my garden, but other people's bloom earlier.

Joan Senior


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Another seedling plant, this one in its second year of blooming, had a flower today. I call this one Offspring. (It sounds better than "seedling number one".)

First Seedling


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This next one is Light Years Away from all the others. (Okay, that was bad.) When it looks good, it's beautiful. When it isn't at its best, it looks like a fried wonton. Luckily this is a good one.

Light Years Away


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Another first bloom today was Bonanza.

Bonanza


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Well, here is one mystery solved. In an earlier post I said I had a label but no planting location for South Seas. Well, now I know that I planted it in the new daylily bed, because it bloomed there today.

South Seas


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That means that my Unknown daylily from a few days ago is not South Seas but True Blue Heart. Unfortunately, my soil has really done a number on the colouring. Check out the plant I bought.

True Blue Heart


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The shape of the flower and the fact that it has patterning on the sepals, however, mean that this is still a lovely daylily. (The name just doesn't quite match this version, since the "blue" has turned to raspberry pink.)
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Daylilies and More

After yesterday's post on white daylilies, wouldn't you know, Sunday Gloves would bloom today.

Sunday Gloves


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At first glance it is very similar to Ice Carnival, except perhaps slightly more ruffled. Because of a rainstorm this morning, the more substantial daylilies are covered in raindrops.

The less sturdy ones have melted away. That's why I am not showing the photo of Alaqua, which bloomed today for the first time. It is an exact twin of Sabine Baur, so I think what I bought was actually a mislabelled plant. I still maintain the separate names, though I'm not sure why.

The remaining first bloom today is Daring Deception, which, growing under the Camperdown Elm tree, was a bit more sheltered from the pelting rain, though it could not escape its own slight deformity.

Daring Deception


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And because not everything in my garden is a daylily, I have a couple of other photos. For example, the echinacea are just starting to bloom now.

Echinacea


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And here is another pretty sunflower that's growing from birdseed left behind to sprout and grow.

Sunflower


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White Lightning

This is going to be another daylily-centered post. No surprises there. But as well as today's first blooms, I wanted to showcase the three white daylilies that are blooming today, even though they've been seen here already.

Ice Carnival


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Tuesday


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Dad's Best White


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Still to bloom among the whites are Joan Senior and Sunday Gloves.



FIRST BLOOMS

Spiritual Corridor


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Royal Mountie


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Thomas Lee


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Purple d'Oro


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Daveo Holman


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Poor Daveo Holman. It practically tore itself apart when it opened.

And here is a long view of the Royal Mountie daylilies under the Deborah maple, with the new daylily bed in the background.

Long View


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Apparently I took a similar photo two years ago. Things have changed a little since then, but it's still recognizable. (That high-maintenance arctic willow on the left has now been replaced by a beautiful Black Lace Elderberry.)

Same View (Almost), July 2007


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Another Six Today

First blooms today include six daylilies displaying flowers for the first time this year.

Mariska


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Druids Chant


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It was a dull and rainy day, so that many of the newest blooms seemed to have trouble opening.

Darkside


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Well if that's what the dark side looks like, I don't want to go there. (I am hoping that this first flower will soon be followed by some better examples.)

Lady Fingers


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It may look like the photo has "jaggies", but it is actually the petal that does that, not the photo.

Razzmatazz


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This one is always consistent, year after year. The flowers look good, and the plant itself has aged well (which is not always the case with many of my older daylily plants.)

And now, to finish up with one of the cutest little daylilies in my garden.

All American Baby


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Double, Double, Lots of Trouble

Well, last year we created a daylily bed and purposely planted it full of mid-to-late season daylilies (except for Little Red Spring Song, which is actually the earliest of my daylilies, the only one that bloomed in June this year).

So, now that mid-season is in full swing, what does the bed look like? Here is a photo taken today.

Daylily Bed


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Right now most of the daylilies seem to be oriented towards the fence, which is unfortunate. I don't know if there is a way to predict at planting time what direction the flowers are likely to face, but if anyone knows of one, please tell me!

When I was taking photos of today's first blooms (of which there are three), I came across this snail nestled in a spent daylily. Since I had the macro lens on the camera, I thought I'd go in for a closer look.

Snail on Spent Daylily


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And speaking of creatures on flowers (well, I was, sort of, wasn't I?)...One of the first blooms, Peach Magnolia was quite a comfortable resting spot for this bee.

Peach Magnolia with Bee


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Again with the macro lens I was able to go in for a closer look. (By the way, Peach Magnolia is a very attractive and reliable double daylily.)

Bee Macro


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And while we're on the subject of double daylilies, I should mention that Highland Lord is a double that is not so reliable. It's attractive in its own right, but without the double petals on the flowers, they are merely ordinary. This photo was taken after a rain shower, so the water has bleached out the colour in spots.

Highland Lord


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Another rather ordinary first bloom today was Black-Eyed Susan. I find this one boring as daylilies go. I tried to resist acquiring it based on that assessment, but in the end it was yet another daylily that was available to add to my collection, so I did. Hey, I don't have a problem. I can quit buying daylilies anytime I want to...

Black-Eyed Susan


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Mid-Season Six

There are six new daylily blooms today, most of which are really SPECTACULAR! (Um, except for the first two I am going to show you.)

Siloam Merle Kent didn't do too badly, but its first flower is unfortunately blemished with white spots.

Siloam Merle Kent


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But this new one, Ivory Edges -- for which I have high hopes of beautiful blooms in future -- really didn't do well today. It's a sickly flower that was almost ready to close up again as soon as it opened.

Ivory Edges


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But another new acquisition last year makes up for this poor showing. Just look at Bama Bound!

Bama Bound


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And another really great example of a first bloom (this time from an established plant) is this Sabine Baur. Look at those piecrust edges.


Sabine Baur


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Another beauty that bloomed today for the first time this year is Elegant Candy. I love the rounded shape of the petals on this one. I don't have many daylilies that conform to this shape as well as this one does.

Elegant Candy


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And finally, Country Melody had a first bloom today. It's a very late showing for this flower, which has bloomed as early as July 7 in previous years.

Country Melody


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I hope the new blooms will continue at a steady pace so that I can still post every day. Stay tuned. I still have lots more daylilies where they came from. (My garden.)
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