Driving through town yesterday I noticed signs that said, "Annual Daylily Sale." After lunch, I followed them four miles through a remote part of town to a stunning garden filled with dozens of varieties of day lilies and other amazing plants I'd never seen before, like this:
The tallest garden plant I've ever seen, it was almost eight feet tall! It's
Rudbeckia Maxima and I can tell you right now I'll be planting this in my garden next year.
But I digress.
The day lilies were amazing and I bought two of each of five varieties,
Khorassan,
Sandra Elizabeth,
Mount Zion,
Jen Melon and Dun Robin Red Velvet.
What made this plant sale all the more amazing was that you walked through the garden with a list, and made notes of what you wanted. Then you handed the list over and they dug up the plants and wrapped them up for you to take. I was gob-smacked. Not only that, but for every three named varieties you bought, you got one for free. So I bought ten plants, and got three free from a limited selection. One of my free ones is called
Strutter's Ball, a lovely violet day lily.
I was so overwhelmed I forgot to take pictures of the ones I liked so I didn't notice until they were packing them up that I had bought mostly yellow ones. Oh well! The ones I picked are different heights and bloom at different times. And the stunning red ones are very tall and bloom last.
So, you ask, just what does thirteen day lily plants look like and how do you get them home?
.
Well you sure don't jam them in your trunk!!!
I guess we all know what I'll be doing later today!!!
Update: after a couple of hours in the garden this morning, I've planted all 13 day lilies around the large landscape rock in the front of the house.
8 comments:
I love day lilies but so do the deer in my neck of the woods. One bed never gets to bloom because the deer nip off the stalks as soon as they appear. I hope yours bloom for many years.
I LOVE them!
I love the ones I got a year ago at the Wisconsin Day Lily Society sale. I mainly chose peachy colored ones and ones the bloomed at different times. Mine had already been dug up and were sold as bare root plants. They all came back this year, and all but two bloomed.
They are so hardy, tolerate different types of soil and are also drought tolerant.
See the last month or so of Garden Thursdays for pictures.
Enjoy!
Wow - a fabulous way to buy plants. I've never heard of that anywhere else.
Megan
Sydney, Australia
Best part is you know about a greatlocal plant resource as well as having new beauties in your yard!
That Strutter's Ball is gorgeous! I love daylilies but now that I've moved I only have two tiny balconies ... so no more daylilies for me. :-\
I did have trouble with deer.They didn't bother the green parts but would bite off all the flowers and buds. Never touched the generic ones that grow by the roadsides but they sure loved the nice expensive ones! Then I got one of those DIY ads in the mail that included a homemade repellent so I tried it and IT WORKED!! You have to apply it before the buds start appearing and if it rains you have to use it again, but so worth the effort.
There are two recipes here:
http://co.laplata.co.us/sites/default/files/departments/lwab/documents/NotToniteDeer.pdf
I think I used something similar to the less complicated one and I seem to remember using garlic so I googled again and this one is very much like what I used, including the fact that I didn't spray it. I used one of those sponge brushes and just brushed it on. I didn't bother with the leaves, just brushed it on all the buds.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1851890/cheap-homemade-deer-repellentactually-works
Sue SS might want to try it!!
The day lilies look fantastic against the backdrop of the large rock. When I had day lilies they multiplied like crazy during their 2nd year. Day lilies are so easy to care for which is always a plus.
You have made a lot of progress with your outdoor landscaping this Summer. It has gone a long way to giving your property a lot of personality & visually interest. How is your shade garden doing? I loved all the texture the plants added on that side of the house. Your newly painted steps look nice & fresh too. You have really made some impressive improvements on the way your yard looks in just a few months time.
My favourites...daylilies. I've been to sales like these with all the fancy varieties and names I never remember. If I had bothered with any gardening this year I'd be enjoying all my fancy lily's now but alas...the weeds tower over all the plants and I am casting my gaze away from the flower beds. I just can't bear to see the mess I have allowed to happen, but haven't the time or energy to fix. Sigh....
Ruffled edges are my faves....
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