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.

 

What are your favorite varieties of daylilies that I should consider adding to the garden? Please, comment and let me know!