Daylilies

When I first started the garden here in the country I was given some huge clumps of species daylilies to plant. I didn't know anything about this plant, and was suspicious of the flowers only lasting a day.

The terracotta colours of the first species plants were very beautiful, but there seemed to be a lot of untidiness in the off season. I decided to investigate some hybrids, which the catalogues assured me were much better behaved, and earned their place.

Now each year I add to my collection of daylilies by purchasing just a few new ones by mail order. I'm fond of the dwarf varieties, like "Stella D'Oro", which I've planted close to the stone edges of the borders. I also have a beautiful tangerine coloured miniature clump at the side of the house which is happily due for dividing.

Daylily Bargains

Often I'll see daylilies in the bargain bins, price reduced after flowering, and I'll bring them home. Accordingly many come into the Moosey garden without names or labels. One of my favourite bargain daylilies is tall, with a large lemon waxy looking flower. It lives in the driveway border and is much admired from the car window.

I do have isolated problems with insects - they may be the large aphid families who are driven away from nearby roses. So far I haven't really solved this problem.

Most of all I love the masses of orange and red daylilies which pop up in the summer garden borders over the water race. These were originally planted merely as filler plants, but now have become a great summer feature.