Friday, June 24, 2016

Daylily Season #4

Hemerocallis "Primal Scream" in my garden this morning.
First bloom on a newly planted lily. 
"Primal Scream" Oakes Daylily web site
I loved "Primal Scream" from the first time I saw it at nurseries but it was always in the $50 range which is more than I want to pay.  This year, on my spring trip to Princeton, Illinois, Hornbaker Gardens, they had it potted up for $15.  Now it's gracing my new Fairy Garden bed and it was so huge and bright it screamed for attention all day.

Hybridized by C. Hanson in 1994.  It's a 7 1/2 inch bright orange, gold dusted with radiating gold eye.  Somewhat ruffled edges.  Curling petals.  34 inch scapes.  Mid-late season bloomer.  Dormant.  Tetraploid.  Diurnal.  Bloom:  Unusual form - Crispate - Cascade.  

Honors include the Stout Silver Medal 2003 - Lambert Webster award for Outstanding Unusual Form 2001 - Award of Merit 2000 - Honorable Mention 1997 and People's Choice 2013.

This lily has only been in my garden for less than a month and it was rather a dreary early morning for picture taking.  The future will be gloriously bright for this pretty one. 

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Daylily Season #3

Hemerocallis "Mountain Almond"

Mountain Almond was hybridized by Billingslea in 1991.  I bought this lily from Oakes Daylilies in August 2015 for $7.50.

A 6 inch almond peach self with green throat.  Rounded and recurved with soft ruffled edge.  Veined.  Semi evergreen. Diploid.  Midseason plus extended bloom time.  21 inch scapes.  Slightly fragrant.  Rust resistant.  Received Award of Merit, Honorable Mention 1996 and Junior Citation 1992.  I would call this substantial because this is how it looked (first bloom on my plant and of the year) after a heavy wind storm and lots of rain.  

Seventy-three plants are blooming.  Many flowers took a beating today but the almost two inches of rain was welcome by all.

Note:  This blog is definitely not designed for gardeners.  The spell check doesn't recognize most common horticultural terms and doesn't allow new words to be added to the dictionary.  If you see an odd word - it's autocorrect and I've missed the change.  Lame at best.  




Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Daylily Season 2016 - #2

A couple of new beauties:


Hemerocallis "Fellow"
This beautiful spider daylily is 7 inches of rich purple with long thin petals/sepals surrounding a lemon green throat.  Considered Unusual form - Crispate.  It blooms early to mid season and will rebloom in milder climates.  It has 24 inch scapes.  Dormant - Diploid - Diurnal.  And, it's VERY fragrant.  What's not to love?  It was awarded Honorable Mention in 2007.  This was from Oakes Daylilies for $20.  It's been in the ground since April this year. Hybridized by F. Childs in 1978. 

Hemerocallis "Spacecoast Starburst"
I had lusted over the Spacecoast series and when I visited The Flower Factor, they had this one for $12.50 - and it was mine.  6 inch soft lavender pink/peach with gold watermark and ruffled gold edge.  It says "colors may vary" and I've seen them from pale to deep toned.  It is substantial and multiplies.  All good.  Early to mid season bloomer plus rebloom in mild climates.  Evergreen - Tetraploid - Diurnal.  Bud count 40 with 4 way branching.  There is a reason for my lusting!  It received the Award of Merit.  Hybridized by Kinnebrew 1998.  (Note:  photo by dealer)




So those of you new to daylilies understand:  this is the first bloom on my plant.  Many new daylilies and some established plants don't always put out a perfect first bloom.  The new ones are establishing a good root system and that sometimes comes at a cost the first year with less than perfect flowers, scapes or size.  Patience is a virtue.

I'll write more on "expectations" in the future.  But for now, I'm enjoying over sixty daylily plants entering their midseason bloom.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Dalyliies Season 2016 #1

Last year I did a daily report (more for myself than a vast crowd hanging onto every new bloom news) on each daylily as it bloomed.  This year I have some new ones that are just putting on a show.  So very exciting for a daylily nut.  


Hemerocallis "Prague Spring"

Hybridized by Lambert in 1985, It was a bonus gift from Oakes Daylilies but typically sells for $10.  This stunning beauty is 7 inches of pink petals with lighter pink sepals and a large pistachio green throat.  It stands on 30 inch scapes.  Considered a mid season bloomer - Dormant - Diploid - Diurnal.  The bloom type is considered a "unique spider - unusual form - crispate.  It started blooming here 06-13-2016.  It received Honorable Mention in 2004.  (Oakes Daylilies photo)


Hemerocallis "Chin Whiskers"

Hybridized by McRae in 1992.  It was from Oakes Daylilies for $10.  It has 5 inch lavender/pink spidery twisted petals, with undulating curls and ruffled blooms.  A lime/yellow throat.  (Some show more rose/lavender with streaks of cream/lime.)  20 inch scapes.  It's an early to mid season bloomer - has an extended bloom time and may rebloom in milder climates.  Dormant - diurnal - diploid - VERY fragrant.  It needs full sun.  The bloom form is "unusual - crispate - spider."  I planted this last year and it is putting on a crazy huge beautiful show already - each scape has about two dozen buds.  I planted it outside my picture window and it certainly grabs my attention.   It started blooming 06-16-2016.
  
Hemerocallis "Carnival in Mexico"

Hybridized by V. Santa Lucia in 2000.  A 7 inch warm veined rose with very large vibrant red eyesore.  It has a yellow green throat.  It is a mid season bloomer plus rebloom in mild climates.  Dormant - Tetraploid - Diurnal - 22 bud count - 3 way branching.  30 inch scapes.  I bought this spring from Klehm's Song Sparrow for $27.  The plant was so big, I divided and have it in two spots.  Honors are the Stout Silver Medal in 2012 - Award of Merit in 2010 - DCS 2011 - Honorable Mention 2005.  This will light up the front walk.  It started blooming 06-16-2016.  (Klehm's Song Sparrow photo)


Hemerocallis "Nuit d Amour"

Hybridized by Lambert in 1990.  New in the ground lilies sometimes have shorter scapes, the color may be a bit off or spotty but give them a chance, it's growing pains for your newborn.  These are 6 inch dark lavender blue with a darker halo above a rather large green/yellow throat.  It's a mid to late season bloomer.  Dormant - Diploid - Diurnal.  It's bloom is consider unusual form - crispate.  It started blooming 06-17-2016.  I bought this from Oakes late last year for $11.


Hemerocallis "Destined to See"

Hybridized by Larry Grace in 1998.  I bought this from The Flower Factory for $10 the middle of last year.  It is a stunning 6 inch cream with blue/lavender eye and very toothed/ruffled lavender edge with a tiny edge of yellow.  Has a yellow/green throat.  24 inch scapes.  It's considered an early to mid season bloomer.  Evergreen - Tetraploid - Diurnal - Fragrant.  Has 12 buds per stem.  Received the Award of Merit and Honorable Mention.  Bloom is Unusual Form, Edge and Eyezone.  Although it isn't in the published descriptions, mine looks pearl dusted.  It stays sturdy late into the day. 

Yes, the daylily season is in full gear and I have 44 varieties in bloom.  They're very healthy from what I'm assuming was caused by a mild winter, early spring, early rains and lots of sun.  We are entering a bit of a drought period and without more rain they will still bloom but the leaves will get looking rough.  I spot water all my "new in the ground" plants about once a week.  Since I moved many to a new bed, it's rather labor intensive this summer.  I had hoped mother nature would take care of most of it through spring but she stopped too soon.  We did have about 2 1/2 inches last week which was a big help.    

Thursday, June 16, 2016

First World Problems

I apologize to anyone who might have wondered why I've been so absent from posting garden articles to this Blog.  My computer had a deep and serious Malware that required two different trips to my very favorite PC man/favorite son-in-law, Paul.  Bless him and his friend, Kenny, for fixing things and I'm back in business.  

The first world problem involved Apple computers which NEVER get that deep of a Malware - mine did.  It should be an easy fix - mine wasn't.  What kind of sights do you visit where you picked up this Malware - I'm a bit of a groupie for the Royals - but alas - they will have to wear their charming clothes and do their charming philanthropic events without me anymore.  This update only takes one thing - Well not exactly.  Updates require more updates.  Updates change the systems interaction and make other devices obsolete.  Lots of new and cashie additions. 

This required a new external hard drive where I store all my documents (writing) and pictures.  It meant the old had to be transferred and required doing it on another computer and it was a learning process.  It's done and I'm back in business without loosing anything!  And, I've even learned how to use most everything. 

Thanks also to my husband, Jerry, who tends to be more methodical than I.  I'm a click seventeen times in seventeen seconds - without a clue and wonder why it didn't work.  If it hadn't been for my volunteer (meaning they work free) son-in-law and husband, I probably would have tossed the whole mess and spent my days working in the garden.  I'd have fewer weeds but would probably have been a bit more testy.

    

Crossing That Line



You know you’ve “crossed that line” when:

Petunia "Sophistiqua Antique Shades"
When the fight for equal rights becomes unequal.

When the fight against racism becomes racist?

When lawmakers, who are tasked with protecting the rights of the defenseless, write a law that permits the killing of approximately 1.6 million unborn humans a year.

When we will no longer listen to an opposing point of view.

When the only friends we want are just like us.

Petunia "Happy Magic Vanilla Raspberry Star"
When the fight for feminist rights becomes everything anti male.

When a restaurant in the US throws away more food than most of the world has available in a year.

When we accept childhood cancer as the “way it is”.

When we are no longer shocked by violence against women and children.

When the word “immigration” no longer makes us think of human beings just like our ancestors.

When a political debate becomes a version of the dating game.

When we celebrate the death of young men killed in gang wars.

When we spend more time condemning sinners than praying for them.

Petunia "Crazytunia Mandeville"
When it becomes easier to give bad behavior a clinical name.

When after Two Thousand and Sixteen Years someone’s skin color is still a factor in decision-making processes.

When we tax hard working successful employees to allow someone else to not work even though they’re capable.

When Illinois politics are more important than Illinois residents.

When a country stops caring for its children, its infrastructure and its disenfranchised.

When ordinary citizens spew more hatred and anger than terrorists.

When we stop supporting our law enforcement and military personnel because a few have dishonored their profession.

Petunia "Crazytunia Star Jubilee"
When we know we’re being price gouged, sold inferior products, lied to about services and quality and we’ve now accepted it as inevitable. 

When the media has more stories about what goes bad or celebrity nonsense because that’s what you pay to read and hear.

When more people ride bicycles because of loss of driving privileges than because they are into the health benefits.

When the only thing that will make someone happy is to take something away from someone else.

When it goes from knowledgeable to know it all.

When someone becomes outrageously wealthy and others think they deserve some of that cash.

When differences of opinion are only settled through lawsuits or violence.

When more time and money is spent on the wedding than on knowing what it takes to have a good marriage.

Petunia "Midnight Cowboy"
When old people are an inconvenience rather than a resource.

When you do career better than family.

When everything is someone else’s problem unless it’s about you.

When being lazy is compensated while the cost of education has become prohibitive.

When bullies are condemned in schools and praised in presidential debates.

When we must be Republican, Democrat, Socialist or Independent instead of a free thinker.

When every Tom, Dick and Harry has an opinion and this little old garden lady does, too. 

Note:  When I do an "opinion piece", I simply add some pretty garden flowers because every article needs a little pretty.





Old House Dreams



Because once I got the “old house bug” in my system, I couldn’t stop.  I now follow several old house sites on the internet featuring homes for sale.  We followers of each one offer comments, drool, dream and fantasize.

A few of us also notice the yards and gardens.  A very few of the homes have retained or recreated period landscaping.  When it’s been done correctly it can be as much of a selling attribute as the home itself.

The comments on these old home sites range from clueless to purest.  The clueless are alas, clueless of historical preservation.  The purest is so set on being original they would go without a bathroom if it’s period correct.  The average middle road is the house should retain as much of the original features as possible but with bathroom, utilities and kitchen conveniences to make an active family comfortable.

After I get through touring the homes, I focus on the yards or acreage included.  If it’s appropriate to the era, it can increase the selling price by thousands – sometimes hundreds of thousands. 

Some period considerations are foundation plantings.  Some houses have none, others have inappropriate varieties and some have overgrown plants.  Each of these has problems with enhancing the landscape.

Over the years, some owners have taken out old plantings for whatever reason and never replaced anything.  Old Midwest homes were generally meant to have trees and bushes to help manage the weather elements.  Shade and wind protection were important before air conditioning and central heating. 

Bravo to the homeowner who landscapes an old home property.   But putting shrubs of varieties never developed during the home’s original construction often looks very out of place.

Then there’s the vegetation that has outgrown its place or shape.  Old large evergreens shrubs can never be trimmed back.  And although it may seem like a good privacy idea, shrubs should not cover up windows.  Huge shrubs or trees against the siding can cause the paint to peel, boards rot and the foundation to crumble.

The only solution to many overgrown shrubs is to take them out and start over.  The only solution to many overgrown trees (ones situated away from the buildings) may be to hire an experienced forester (one who understands and loves old homes) to trim them.  Do not top a tree.  Trim out dead wood, branches that rub, remove suckers and low hanging branches to enable air flow.

Then there’s the vine issue.  We often see vines on old homes.  They may even be original.  They shade the home in the summer and often have flowers.  It all sounds great until you see the damage they’ve done.  Any vine that attaches to the siding/bricks/stone by suckers will eventually cause damage.  Plus it’s almost impossible to remove.  This would be trumpet vine, ivy, Virginia creeper, wisteria to name just a few.

If you love vines (and I do) make sure they’re NOT on a building.  Sturdy trellises and fences work if placed away from buildings.  I remember seeing lattice trellis on the sides of buildings in Amana holding grapes.  It was a beautiful site and it must have been a terrible maintenance issue.


The Victorians would plant bushes with thorns or briars under windows as a security measure.

Check out the date your home was built and then check out when plants were introduced to find age appropriate landscaping.  Check out old pictures of homes the same age and style.  What is perfect for an old Victorian Queen Ann is not appropriate for Mid Century American or a ranch style.  They each have landscaping beauty and each can be recreated to enhance the home.

Even if you’re not into lots of yard work or have loads of extra disposable income, having a home’s age appropriate landscape can be accomplished with some well placed plants.  It should showcase the home and it’s style.  It should provide a way to manage the elements and protect the structures.  It should be pleasing and enjoyable.  It should enhance the value of the property.