All the Dirt on Gardening

Daylilies or Hemerocallis come in so many heights, colors, and flower forms that only a public garden could have a significant number of them in a collection. Even though yellow is not a flower color I aspire to have more of in our garden, this Kindly Light Daylily is one that is so lovely, it is hard to resist. Old House Gardens catalog describes it as "decidedly different" and the first spider Daylily. The roots are $7.50 each at http://www.oldhousegardens.com/display.aspx?cat=daylily&page=2 Daylily Diary has a gorgeous photo at http://daylilydiary.com/day_kindlylight.htm The American Hemerocallis Society's website says it blooms mid-season and grows to 2.5 feet tall. Click over to their site at http://www.daylilies.org  to learn more about these wonderful plants.  If you click on search all, you arrive at a link with 76,000 daylilies to browse. You will find that Daylilies can become the backbone of a flower garden because they are so eas...

Daylilies are blooming in practically every color right now. (The photos here are from our garden.) The original daylilies were Hemerocallis flava and Hemerocallis fulva, the Chinese orange daylily commonly seen growing alongside the road. Known to have been in cultivation since 479 B.C., historically they were used for food and medicine. The early hybrids were yellows and oranges, and then later, the lavender, pink, cream and red hybrids came from the pink-orange color in ditch lilies.   Although those tall orange ones gave daylilies a bad rap because they are invasive, the hybrids are an easy-care garden choice. They can tolerate any soil other than wet clay, they are rarely bothered by insects or diseases, and they bloom in full or part-sun. Not only are daylilies non-toxic to children and pets, their pollen is non-allergenic, making them ideal for family gardens. A single plant is called a fan and the fans multiply steadily, requiring dividing only every 3 y...