A few years ago, I had the bright idea that daylilies would be a good filler for the perennial gardens in the backyard. I thought they would fit nicely among the peony bushes, adding continuous color in the garden throughout July and August. What I didn’t know then, but will admit now, is that daylily collecting can become an obsession.
There’s something special about a flower that blooms for only one day.
During July, I walk through the garden each morning to find a new daylily that has appeared. It always seems like a miracle to find that another flower bloomed overnight. There are always more buds on each stem, ready to open the next day, bringing true delight to any gardener during the hottest and sometimes most oppressive days of the New England summer.
For such a spectacular flower, the daylily is not fussy at all. Thankfully, they stay practically pest-free and don’t need very much attention.
Some deadheading of the spent blooms and a dose of fertilizer and compost in the spring is all the T.L.C. that these flowers need. It’s important to note that while they are beautiful, we no longer grow Asian or Oriental varieties of lilies in the garden due to the problems with the Asian Lily Beetle.
The daylilies that I’m now obsessed over belong to a genus called Hemerocallis, derived from the Greek words Hemera meaning day and kallos meaning beauty. Here are some of the spectacular daylilies currently in bloom in our Nashua, NH garden this week.
Garden paths lined by Stella d’Oro Daylilies.
This beauty, called Wild Horses, was planted in spring 2013, but never bloomed until this summer. Definitely worth the wait!
Not sure of the name, but these bright blooms bring a splash of color in between peony bushes and iris that bloomed in June.
This is one of the first fancy daylilies that was added to the garden about 10 years ago. It’s called Strawberry Candy.
These Lemon daylilies are striking with the nearby Knockout roses.
What are your favorite varieties of daylilies that I should consider adding to the garden? Please, comment and let me know!
Garden with Grace 
July 9, 2014 at 1:46 am
Nice choice with Wild Horses. I will hold myself to one recommendation. Stella’s Ruffled Fingers – put it in a good sunny place and it can bloom all summer long with just a bit of that TLC. There are more however lets just say I have more than a few and if that is not enough you can make your own from seed. And yes I do that too.
July 9, 2014 at 6:17 pm
John, thanks for the recommendation. I have a blank sunny space for another and will look for it (maybe late summer during local perennial sales!?) 🙂
September 3, 2014 at 9:20 pm
Everything in your garden looks AMAZING! What are the green leafy plant behind the stellas in the front?
September 3, 2014 at 9:31 pm
Thanks for your wonderful comments, April. There is a potted Pink Lemon plant in the garden with the Stella d’Oro. The larger ‘hedge-like’ growth is Endless Summer Hydrangea. They didn’t have a good show of flowers this summer – I’ll have to post an update to that view soon to show how they’ve more than doubled in size!
September 3, 2014 at 9:33 pm
Excellent! I would love to see that. Can’t those get REALLY big? Like, 40 ft tall?? Or is that a dwarf variety?
September 3, 2014 at 9:34 pm
The hydrangea I mean 🙂