Omygawsh!  Has it been that long?

Due mostly to computer problems, but also time spent playing in the gardens, and researching "lost and found" daylilies, I have not been posting to the blog!  The computer seems to be OK, and it's now PEAK bloom time!  I have taken a few photos, though, and can share with you on this very rainy morning.  This is the first morning since I started going out to check FFO's ("First Flower Open" of any given cultivar, record the date and know when to expect it in the future) that I have not been able to.   It's still morning, but only for a bit over an hour.  Well, they'll keep, I think. 

I have had the delightful gift of surprises this summer... several cultivars I had assumed were dead and gone have popped up to say, "Hello, here I am!"  Some of them I had the opportunity to replace, so there are more of them here than I had ever expected!  Among those are Isaac, Alien, Mynelle's Starfish, Lavender Lilac Mist, and Custard Candy.  Yesterday, I identified Black Cherry -- had completely forgotten I had that -- and was aghast last week to identify Jim Jim, a treasured one I had thought years ago was gone for good.  Finding it alive was truly a gift.  Many in the Arthurian themed garden are now making themselves known, but along with that knowledge, there is the uncertainty of the survival others.

The gardens are fairly dancing with color now, and I'm running out of room to put divisions that must be made by summer's end.  A few daylilies that have survived but are not faring well in their original locations must be moved too.  The Hemerocallis Fulvas and Kwansos will be my "canaries in the coal mine" to test for new areas that I am unsure the others will survive in (a little low and soggy in the spring).  Not sure anything will kill those, but I have more than enough to spare. 

 BLACK CHERRY, by Douglas, 1945, M.  Dor Dip, 36" tall (no bloom width given)

 JIM JIM, by Hansen, 1990, M. Sev Dip, 22"x 5.25"

 ALIEN, by Belcher, 1987, EM. Dor Dip, 23"x 6"  (Yes, it's supposed to look like that! It's called a "UFO", or Unusual FOrm.)

HEMEROCALLIS FULVA, and friend.  I couldn't resist posting this -- I've been seeing the buggies getting drinks from deep inside the daylilies after it rains, then dries out everywhere else.  A common "ditch" daylily, but I've been seeing them all over town, elegantly gracing the homes they belong to, just as they did a century ago. 

MYNELLE'S STARFISH, by Hayward, 1984, M. Dor Dip, 20"x10"

LAVENDER LILAC MIST, by Munson, 1994,  EM.  Ev Tet, 24"x 5"


Of course, many more new blooms are still mysteries.  I had thought a blossom from each plant would solve all the mystery identities, but sadly, that isn't quite true.  Yes, many have been identified!  But sometimes, my incomplete records (though quite good, they aren't perfect) just aren't up to the task, and even create new puzzles that I had thought last year were solved.  Last year, of course, I was wrong -- so this year, I am wondering just how right my corrections are!  Still, I'm doing the best I can, and making a lot of progress.  These enigmas are just bumps in an otherwise good road.  I'm grateful that my records are as good as they are, and try not to kick myself over lapses that happened years ago.  I'm determined now to do better by my gardens, keep the invasive species at bay, and keep records as close to perfect as I possibly can.  If it comes to a point when I cannot, I hope that I'll know enough to stop entirely.   I'm trusting that such a day is still long off in the future.

I'll post some pictures of this year's newer acquisitions, tomorrow.  Meanwhile, try to stay dry!