Jay Sifford from NC, gets up close and personal with his daylilies in full, colorful bloom.
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Comments
Lovely Jay! Mine are just starting to bud now!
Hi, Jay, heck, even though I have no bumble bee DNA in my lineage, I feel drawn to enter into that pollen heavy world of the daylily in picture #5. It looks like it has captured bright sunshine in its center and those stamens call out "Dinner is on the table"! Your selections are lovely and your photos are especially beautiful.
That one is my favorite photo. I love how the grains of pollen stand out on the very dark petals and how the center of that flower appears to be on fire!
Good morning, Jay. Beautiful photos. What I like the most about daylillies are the textures of the flowers coupled with the color variations, especially when viewed up close or in photos like yours. Thanks.
Good morning, GPODers. I was off the grid for a week visiting my 90 year old parents in Gloucester, MA. I just didn't have time to get on the website. I have some catching up to do.
Hope you had a great time and that your parents are well!
Thanks, Tim. I had a great time. Every chance I get to see them now is a bonus, due to their age. I feel very lucky to still have them around.
Hi Kev. - worth a read of Jesse's two posts for interest and entertainment. Hope you and your folks are well. Cheers, mate
Thanks, Frank. After I catch up at the office, I plan to revisit the GPOD posts I missed. Thanks for the tip.
Frank, Perhaps I should Hire you for my Agent!! I wonder how much your fee for my 15 minutes of fame!!??
Crickey Jesse - It takes a lot longer than 15 min. to read your manuscripts i.e. more free fame 'olde son'.
Jeez, Frank! You're ALREADY asking for a raise??????
Oh, well. Good help is help is hard to find & worth their weight in gold.
Send me the bill!?
Missed you Kevin. How lucky you are to still have your parents.
Thanks, Linda. They lived near me for 25 years, but moved up to Gloucester with my sister about 3 years ago. We Skype weekly, but it is not the same. I was flying them down here a few times a year, but they are much less mobile now. I am just appreciative of any time I get with them.
That's some good DNA that you have coursing through your veins, etc. It's quite special that, at 90, they still have each other.
Amen, that, Linda...
Well the next time you are in the area you should take a drive up to New Hampshire! I go down to Gloucester on a regular basis so I think it's doable for you!
Thanks for the invite, Lily. Will remember that for the next trip.
Absolutely lovely. Great photos.
Day lillies .... glorious day lillies!!!!
Daylilies have such succulent textures and rich colors, but breeders will have to take the 'day' out of daylilies and hybridize some great foliage to get me to really sign on! :)
The foliage does kind of go to hell after the flowers fade. One idea is to plant shorter ornamental grasses interspersed through the foliage so that it isn't too noticeable after the blooms fade.... something like mexican feather grass or some carex.
I don't do much with flowers in my own garden as I prefer foliage, but this time of year it's a fun respite from my usual gardening style to have them, along with rudbeckia, verbena bonariensis, phlox, liatris, etc.
I think you're right that good placement is key. Some of the new cultivars are so luscious and tempting these days, like giant orchids. Right now, Lilium are the stars of my garden: the scent, the color, the stature - sigh. :)
Most of my lilies have disappeared over the years. I especially like Silk Road and citronella.
I'm probably a better housekeeper to my daylilies than I am to the interior of my house during this time of year. After the bloom cycle is over, I cut the spent stalk as low to the ground as possible and cut the foliage to about 6 inches. Usually within a month, new foliage flushes back out and at least the flowerless clump doesn't look tattered and shabby.
I do the same, Michaele, but am a bit more aggressive. I cut all the foliage right to the ground. It always regrows and looks great the rest of the season.
Thanks for the tip, Kevin. I'll try that. There are a couple that do keep decent foliage for the season but I'll prune the others to the ground. Thank you!
Jay, your photos are lovely! I am too lazy to get my camera out. I just take photos with my iPad. I am with Tim, I gave almost all of my daylilies away. I know they were in the wrong location, but not enough bloom time and too much of the same foliage color. Perhaps if I had interspersed them with something else...anyway, your posts are always great!
You hit on it. Too much of the same foliage and texture. I could never figure what it was about too many daylilies that bother me. I think that is it.
Beautiful closeups Jay. I love Daylilies so last year I joined the Tidewater Daylily Society and this past weekend the National Hemerocallis Society held their annual convention in Norfolk, VA. I joined the more than 500 attendees on two days of Daylily overload. I learned all about hybridizing and how to get a new Daylily registered. We visited some amazing gardens and came away with 4 new Daylilies only one of which I purchased. I was given 2 for attending the conference and I won one. At auction one evening someone paid $400.00 for a Daylily. I was told the auction got so high because the winner would also get the naming rights for the Daylily. Here is a picture of one of mine that I planted last fall and was so thrilled to see this bloom this summer. It's my new favorite. Vikki in VA
That is quite a showy and fascinating looking daylily, VickiB. I had no idea that the hybridizers were starting to "create" flower shapes that almost seem orchid like. How does this flower hold up by the end of the day? And is there a generous bud count? I know that sometimes hybridizers concentrate on different elements.
This was just a small "fan" when I planted it so this year's bud count was only 2 blooms. I lost the name of the plant so I can't give much more information on bud count. It seemed to hold up very well in late afternoon. That section of the daylily bed is in dappled shade in the afternoon so I'm sure that helps. I'm trying to find the name for this daylily. Vikki in VA
Thanks for the interesting story, and sharing the beautiful photo. Lovely flower.
Gorgeous pictures. Now I have camera envy!
Good morning, Jay. You have shown these daylilies at their best. Beautiful photos, especially the 5th one that appears to have its own sun and the last one that is just so delicate. Thanks for sharing.
Gorgeous such beautiful colours and shapes.
Beautiful, Jay. I gave away most of my day lilies last year because the site had gotten too shady for them. Planted Hellebores instead, which are doing fine. However, I see I still have some day lilies, so I didn't get them all! Your favorite photo simply glows! I think what I like best about them is the color blends and shadings.
Beautiful photos!!! I simply love daylilys. I've officially dubbed myself a daylily collector. After moving last year, I'm starting over as far as my gardens go. I was able to move about 25 daylilies though and that makes me happy. Thanks for sharing!
Stunning photos and Daylilies! Thanks for sharing.
Jay, although I am not into daylilies, yours are truly beautiful and I can understand the draw that so many of our GPDers and you have for them. The purple ones are especially pretty. Thanks for sharing
Beautiful and great photography.
Mmmm......luscious and lovely; great texture! Beautiful photos. Do you know the name of the last one? Such delicate coloring. I love the scented ones, too. And the variegated Kwanza altho I found it challenging to place.
Lovely photos of a plant that is dear to my heart! My gardens are full of these wonderful and colourful hardy plant. I especially enjoy the ones with ruffled edges! Enjoy them!!
SO lovely! Especially the last creamy white one. This year my scarlet daylily has several seed pods on it, meaning it has either self pollinated (doubtful) or somehow was pollinated by a nearby daylily of a different species. I have successfully and easily crossed lilies, and am wondering if the process is similar for daylilies?
I love daylilies and also love the up-close and personal peek inside of them! You captured so many beautiful colors. These are gorgeous. I was just out at the Oakes Daylily Bloom Festival in Corryton,TN and they had 6 acres of display gardens and over 1,000 varieties. Definitely recommend that trip to any of the other daylily lovers.
Wow, gorgeous daylilies, Jay! If you know the names, could you tell me what the purple to lavender ones are? Thank you!
Sorry Cynthia. I don't know the names. I used to be good at keeping tags, but not so much anymore.
Same here, Joe. I'll keep my eyes peeled for those beauties!
Wow !!!!
What pretty day lilies and photos of them. My favorites are the purple ones with the yellow throats, but all of them are quite lovely. Thanks for sharing.
Mr. Sifford!!
BEAUTIFUL macro photography! The last frame with the repetition and soft depth of field is probably my favourite, altho all are nicely executed!!
Just curious: are you on a tripod to get such crispness or are you rock solid in your stances? My older Sony had vib-reduction, but the newer Nikon Santa brought me doesn't have that much forgiveness. It's been and continues to be a challenge, altho the pix quality is amazing!
Anyway, great set of images. I'm impressed!
Thanks Jesse. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. Actually, these were taken with my iPhone. I have a Nikon DSR but haven't used it in a couple of years.
iPhone!!?? Well, now I'm even MORE impressed!!
Be that as it may, the lens or tech is only half of the formula of those beautiful captures....the other half being the artist's eye! A very nice gallery, to be sure!
Un-expected and unforcasted rains yesterday, and thank Heavens!!
Gonna go out and pull weeds...roots and all... while the soil is soft!! (Enter evil cackle: Here!) Hope you're havin' a great weekend, also and we'll see ya a bit further down the road!!
Ha. Thanks. Happy gardening to you!
Now, THESE are what I call real daylilies!! absolutely love these colors...beautiful photos!
Wow! I love lilies of all kinds so your post is a real treat Jay. The photographs are marvelous and I cannot choose a favorite. Thank you for spurring other GPODers to share their tips on caring - I need all the help possible. We have been away from my garden for a month so in a moment I am going out to see what wonders have occurred. I shall ignore ALL WEEDS! It feels so good to be Home.
Shame on me! I'm always so busy in the garden that I never take the time to get so up close and personal with the day lilies. Beautiful pics!
What intrigues me is the thickness of the petals besides their contortions. And of course the shading of colors. These are beautiful shots!
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