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| seedling daylily |
The magazine shoot for Country Gardens magazine has come and gone this past weekend and it was an amazing experience. An extremely competent and friendly photographer and his assistant from Chicago spent several hours in our gardens Friday evening and Saturday morning, and it was wonderful getting to know them. The weather was perfect other than a bit breezy Friday evening... cool and the intense humidity had left us. I was amazed at the seemingly endless photos he shot. Pictures of Sarah and I, both in front of the Oak Lawn Cheese Factory sign I made some years ago and in the middle of the large daylily bed (which they referred to as the 'daylily field')... both of us dressed in black, and Sarah holding a large bouquet of daylily blossoms. The hemerocallis were close to peak bloom and a photo of the daylily bed taken yesterday just before a several hours rain attests to the wide range of color.
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This combination daffodil/hemerocallis bed is a blast of warm colors just now. Over the course of another week or so, it will morph into more reds as the taller red cultivars come into their later bloom period.
We weren't quite so lucky in terms of entertaining guests at our open gardens Sunday afternoon. We really did need the three hours of rain however, and about 30 intrepid gardeners braved the cool and damp to meander the paths and spend some time visiting... we had folks from 1:45 until 9:30 in the evening and I enjoyed getting to speak with several people I'd not met before. If you read this blog and had planned on coming, just give us a call... you'd be very welcome to check out the bloom over the next few days. In fact, you're welcome to just stop in... I do have some visits from friends and their friends on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning and afternoon, but otherwise I'm pretty much free to show you around if you'd like.
The orienpets are coming on quickly. While some are shorter than in previous seasons, presumably related to last season's drought, others are approaching 8' in height... one good example of that is 'Silk Road' and it's getting to be a sight to behold! You may note the lack of stamens and pollen in the blossoms. I daily remove them with a pair of scissors, especially in a rainy year, since the pollen can really discolor the blooms. It doesn't take all that long if I keep up with the task, despite the many hundreds of blooms... besides it's great fun to be in such close proximity with the blossoms and the fragrance is amazing. I don't bother doing this in blooms that face totally downwards as they pretty much protect themselves and the pollen stays dry.
I'd like to share a few of the named cultivars of daylilies in our gardens that are presently in bloom...
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| Brookwood Marian Cavanaugh |
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| Inner Destiny |
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| Joel |
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| Flight of the Raven |
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| Flight of the Raven with Peggy Jeffcoat |
Following are a few of the asiatic lilies in bloom just now... many are new to the gardens this season...
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| Red Velvet |
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| Jessica |
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| Sweet Surrender |
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| Sonia |
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| Purple Heart |
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| Pink Flavour |
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| Lorraine |
As August approaches, we anticipate some specific occurrences that we tolerate each year although would prefer not to have them happening. Among these are scalding of foliage as well as mildew on some magnolias, biting flies enter the scene, and cobwebs abound on the conifers which we wash off as we are able... I caught this scene early this morning on the Blue Rug Juniper... actually it's kind of attractive I think...
It's time now to move to some of the unnamed hybrids I've crossed over the past few years... while not outstanding, they are for the most part reasonably attractive and a great many fit into this basically yellow bed quite well...
There was a time when too much yellow in the garden really upset me... especially in August. I've grown past that now I think... after all, August really is tones of gold and yellow in our climate and I'm ok with it. There will be plenty of cool weather to come so why not go with the flow as it were?
Just approaching it's special time, the orienpet collection is beginning to open its blooms... in addition to the Silk Roads shared at the post's outset, many other varieties are opening as well. I did add 110 new lily bulbs this spring out of England and I am amazed at how large some of them are in their first season. An orienpet lily is a cross between orientals and trumpet lilies. Size can range to 8' or more and they are spectacularly fragrant and do better than either of their parents in this climate.
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| Saltarello |
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| Vice versa |
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| A stand of Robinas with Vice versa |
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| Numerous cultivars of orienpets |
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| Conca d'or after the rain |
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| Invasion |
I will feature more orienpets in upcoming posts. In closing today, I'll share a few of the plants that continue to show fairly well, despite having been in bloom for an extended time and unusual heat. Additionally I'll include a few visages from throughout the gardens...
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| Daylily seedlings |
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| A part of a new perennial bed added a year ago |
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| Phlox paniculata added along the arbor border |
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| Several later delphiniums and clematis are still looking good |
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| An excellent bloomer whose name I've forgotten |
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| Noxious brugsmansias lurk here and there amongst the gardens |
Phlox paniculata Junior Dream... an outstanding selection
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| The scent of baby powder eminates from the double pink oleander |
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| One lone bloom breaks the pattern in a packet of seed grown 'Indian Summer' Rudbeckias |
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| Trumpet lilies 'African Queen' remain fresh as they tower over surrounding plant life |
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| A favorite garden vignette of mine |
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| Several clematis cultivars amidst a sea of green textures |
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| Hoopsii, Fat Albert, and Baby Blue Eyes compete for the title of best blue |
At 5:30 a.m. of each day during hemerocallis season, prior to getting ready for work, Sarah deadheads hundreds of daylily plants in preparation for a fresh new day of color. I can't imagine gardening by myself, for this process is something we will have shared for 42 years on this two acres of land come August 14th.
Gardening may be about plants, but for us it is also about people... sharing special days with one another and our favorite daddy cardinal accompanying our every move with song. It's sharing with others, creating a welcoming environment for any and all who would experience creation in this place. It's communing with one another, visitors, and our maker. For us it's a big part of what keeps us centered and able to shine and find joy in a less than perfect world. It is a special part of the joy we experience through the days of our lives. The world would be a different place if everyone gardened!
Take care, Larry
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