Tuesday, July 02, 2019

A Lily By Any Other Name

Orange Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva)
Why give such gorgeous creatures names like ditch lily, railroad lily, roadside lily, outhouse lily, and wash-house lily? Outhouse lily? Such blooms deserve better, more elegant monikers, names redolent of summer, sunlight and warmth, sweetness and vibrant color.

Sun worshipers of the highest order, daylilies don't open in cloudy weather and remain tightly furled. The flowers last for only a day, but what a show they put on in the garden, their spires rising from cool spinneys of arching green leaves, each crowned by gracefully swaying blooms with expansive golden hearts.

Dragonflies love daylilies, and at first light, it is not uncommon for the daylilies in our garden to be wearing dragonflies -  the little dears are waiting for the sun to warm their wings and grant them the power of unfettered, swooping flight. Could there be there a better place to warm up than a lily in bloom? I think not.

3 comments:

Barbara Rogers said...

And they remain in soil for many generations...I remember picking buds when visiting my "back-to-the-land" sis in the 70s in the backwoods of Tennessee on a deserted roadway...and then we sautéed the daylily buds and ate them!

Tabor said...

I have so many different types of lilies and they are impossible to kill. I just keep dividing them and putting them in other places.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

I do what Tabor is doing
Love them all.