Daylily delights
‘Apple Tart’ daylily
May is my daylily month. When school used to let out in mid-May, we often went on vacation and missed most of the flowers. Now that the state legislature has stuck its nose in the business of local school districts and dictated when school can let out (early June), here we are in May, and I get to see the daily parade. It’s a parade of only three, alas, because I’ve managed to kill at least four other varieties I’ve tried over the years. These three survivors are my tried-and-true daylilies, weathering extreme heat and drought and, now, too much shade. Ideally, they like morning to midday sun, with afternoon shade. All three are evergreen varieties, which fare much better in Austin than the ones that go dormant in winter.
A wider shot of ‘Apple Tart’
‘Wilson’s Yellow’ daylily
And of course, the much-photographed ‘Best of Friends’ daylily
One more delight, not of the daylily variety, are the soft peachy pink roses my DH gave me for our anniversary. Aren’t they gorgeous?
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
The roses are beautiful! I hope you had a nice evening. The Apple Tart lily is so aptly named…it looks just like a September apple, plucked from the tree. 🙂
If only it smelled like one too. Mmm. —Pam
You take the most magnificent photos! I’m just in awe.
Brenda
Many thanks, Brenda! —Pam
Hey! Congrats on your anniversary!
Thank you, Katina. —Pam
I really like Apple Tart – it looks gorgeous
It is, and I can’t resist the name either. —Pam
lovely roses and your daylilies are wonderful. Perhaps one day I can pass along a couple of mine to you?
Passalongs are wonderful, Nancy! —Pam
Apple Tart looks just yummy! I’ll have to look for that one to add to my very small collection – I do have to recommend Splendora Sunrise – it’s a peach daylily that can handle the heat!
I’ll look for an image of ‘Splendora Sunrise’—thanks for the recommendation. I admit that I don’t generally choose peach-colored flowers (they don’t work well with my favorite accent, red), but my ‘Best of Friends’ has a peachy tint, and I love it, so there ya go. —Pam
My daylilies are going crazy, too! I also have ‘Apple Tart’, and what a tart she is! A few years ago I decided daylilies were too ‘flowery’ for me – what was I thinking! Thank goodness I left mine in place, because usually when I get a whim like that, I start ripping out plants. Today, my ‘Acapulco Nights’ are my favorite thing in the garden – I’ll have to take a pic and put it on my blog… of course, crediting you (yet again) for inspiring another posting!
Did I congratulate you on your Mousies? Very well deserved, dear Pam! Congrats!
You have ‘Apple Tart’ too? How cool is that! Knowing your garden’s dramatic, rich colors, I’m intrigued by ‘Acapulco Nights’ (sounds so disco) and will have to look for it. Thanks too for the good wishes, Germi! —Pam
You lucky lady…roses for your anniversary. Your daylilies look great. I have several daylilies.
Only one bloom so far here. As the Iris wind down the daylilies rev up.
It’s interesting to me that so many northern gardeners have daylilies in bloom too, since Austin is usually so far ahead on flowering plants. But it seems many folks all over the country have daylilies in bloom right now. —Pam
Your daylilies are lovely – especially the Apple Tart. What a great name … wouldn’t that be a fun job? Naming flowers and plants…or nailpolish! Happy Anniversary – beautiful roses.
Yes, it would be fun to name flowers! And paint colors. —Pam
Your Daylilies are lovely and photograph well! …I especially like the form of Wilson’s Yellow. Long, long ago, my first ever catalog order was Daylilies (37 of them) some are still with me and I have an abiding affection for them! They are beginning to bloom, here, too! Glad you get to enjoy them!
Gail
Wow, 37 daylilies at once! I can’t imagine even having the room for so many, but it must have been quite a show. You were probably living with a less shady garden back then, Gail, yes? —Pam
This entry is WONDERFUL… thank you for adding some color to Morning. Enjoy the Garden Day!
You’re welcome, Bren. Thanks for stopping by. —Pam
That Apple Tart would look quite fetching in my front garden. The more I see of Best of Friends, the more it grows on me. I say that I’m going to stop buying daylilies and then temptation comes along …
Happy Anniversary … May 26th is my daughter’s birthday. She turned 19 on Monday so on your wedding day, we were celebrating her 1st birthday. It’s a good date 🙂
Do you feel that you have too many daylilies, Cindy? I’ve never been a collector, and I think it’s because I try not to plant after May 1, so I stay away from the nurseries to avoid temptation. Therefore, I rarely see daylilies for sale when they’re in bloom. Off-season, they’re just not that tempting.
Happy birthday to your daughter! —Pam
Wow, you have been blogging up a storm. Lovely pics-I love the deep, saturated red and the beautiful roses. Congrats on your anniversary. The food photo looks great, too.
I have been blogging on my trip but am really too swamped with work to do much gardening.
When it’s too hot to garden, I tend to blog more. —Pam
Very pretty daylily’s. I can’t wait for mine to bloom, I just love them.
Daylilies seem to be a universal favorite. Thanks for commenting, Karen. —Pam
What great pics, but the closeup of Daylily “Apple Tart” should be framed. My roses are just starting to bloom, and my Daylilies will start around the end of June, so I’ll enjoy your pics until I can see my own.
I remember seeing daylilies in bloom in Maine in mid-summer once, and being surprised by the lateness. Ha! I suppose many people are surprised to see them in bloom here as early as May. Enjoy your roses, Catherine. —Pam
The daylilies look pretty and I can enjoy them now in the Northern Hemisphere. In my area they have finished, there is just one tall old one that hangs on for dear life and doesn’t stop flowering.
I’m impressed that you still have a daylily blooming now that fall has started for you. What a survivor. —Pam
The daylilies look beautiful and I remember getting out of school in May;) It sure was fun. We also didn’t go back before labor day. Congrats on your new header too. It looks fab! You rock!
Anna–Flowergardengirl
Thanks—glad you like the new look. My kids have always gotten out in May, so this new business of getting out in June seems so late to us. —Pam
May 28, nineteen hundred and blankety-blank was the day I graduated from 8th grade – way back then we always got out by Memorial Day, but for my own kids the beginning of the second week in June was more likely. Do I understand this correctly? It took an act of the legislature to allow you to stick around long enough to enjoy the daylilies?
Your daylilies look great, Pam – and they work with and in your garden which is a more important than being on a daylily greatest hits list!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Yes, I guess that’s so, Annie. Under the traditional school schedule here in Austin, we always took an early vacation because we liked to visit national parks before the crowds and heat arrived. Now that the Texas legislature has mandated a later school start date (thanks to lobbying, as I understand it, by the theme park industry, who wanted kids out of school all of August and parents spending money at Six Flags and the like), the local school districts have been forced to end school later. So we no longer get to vacation before the rest of the nation does. The upside is that I do get to enjoy my daylilies. —Pam
Hi
I just wanted to say that I’ve just discovered your blog and I really enjoy it. I added a whole bunch of austin gardener blogs that you are linked to to my google reader. If you’re interested, I’ve also got a blog that I’ve been posting plant pictures in. I love reading other people’s garden blogs and seeing their pictures, so I thought you might like another one to look at. http://www.greeneggsandsam8.blogspot.com
I also blog about other things in there, but I do have quite a few entries dedicated to plants. Enjoy! and thanks for your posts!
Hi, Samantha, and thanks for your kind words. You’re right—there are a lot of people blogging about gardening in Austin these days. It’ll be fun to see what’s going on in your garden too. Happy digging! —Pam
HI Pam,Congrats on your anniversary!
Beautiful fotos as always.
Ken
Thanks, Ken! —Pam
What a great color those roses are! And congratulations on your anniversary! No daylilies here yet. The irises are just starting…
Thanks, Kylee! Enjoy your irises. —Pam
Beautiful daylilies Pam, especially ‘Best of Friends’, and yes the roses are absolutely gorgeous! A very happy belated anniversary to you and your husband.
Many thanks, Kerri. —Pam
Happy anniversary!
He remembered; did you? 🙂 🙂
Thanks, Chuck. Yes, I did! (Do women forget anniversaries?) —Pam