One of the most varied and colorful of the blooming flowers was the daylily. The English
Garden / River Meadow was filled with large beds of various varieties and colors.
Their botanical name is Hemerocallis.
"Yellow Dazzler"
Daylilies are perennial plants, whose name alludes to the flowers which typically last
no more than 24 hours. The flowers of most species open in early morning and wither
during the following night, possibly replaced by another one on the same stalk the next day.
Some species are night-blooming. Daylilies are not commonly used as cut flowers for formal
flower arranging, yet they make good cut flowers otherwise as new flowers continue to open
on cut stems over several days.
"August Pioneer"
Hemerocallis is native to Eurasia, primarily eastern Asia, including China, Korea, and
Japan. This genus is popular worldwide because of the showy flowers and hardiness of
many kinds. There are over 60,000 registered cultivars. Hundreds of cultivars have fragrant
flowers, and more scented cultivars are appearing more frequently in northern hybridization programs. Some cultivars rebloom later in the season, particularly if their capsules, in which
seeds are developing, are removed.
"North Wind Dancer" was very festive with lavender, purple, cream, and yellow colors.
It was one of the larger daylilies.
Similar but with deeper colors was "Delilah."
A normal, single daylily flower has three petals and three sepals, collectively called tepals,
each with a midrib in either the same or a contrasting color. The centermost part of the flower,
called the throat, usually is of a different color than the more distal areas of the tepals.
Each flower usually has six stamens, each with a two-lobed anther. After successful
pollination, a flower forms a capsule (often erroneously called a pod).
"Beauty to Behold" was a beautiful soft, lemon color
"Starfire"
The daylily is often called "the perfect perennial", due to its brilliant colors, ability
to tolerate drought and frost and to thrive in many different climate zones, and generally low maintenance. It is a vigorous perennial that lasts for many years in a garden, with very
little care and adapts to many different soil and light conditions.
Usually flowers are named after women, but this is not true of daylies; many species
were named after men. This is "Augustus Sanders."
"Chivalry"
"Chivalry"
"Techny Water Bug"
I don't know where this name comes from. Techny, Illinois, is just outside Chicago, but
I know of no connection. These are small flowers, maybe like bugs on a pond. The bush
is covered with them.
"Bonanza"
"Singing Sixteen"
"Braveheart"
Daylilies have a relatively short blooming period, depending on the type. Some will bloom
in early spring while others wait until the summer or even autumn. Most daylily plants
bloom for one to five weeks, although some will bloom twice in one season ("rebloomers)".
"Uptown Girl"
"Bunny Girl"
There are more than 35,000 daylily cultivars. Depending on the species and cultivar, daylilies
grow in USDA plant hardiness zones 1 through 11, making daylilies some of the more
adaptable landscape plants. Hybridizers have developed the vast majority of cultivars within
the last 100 years. The large-flowered, bright yellow Hemerocallis 'Hyperion', introduced in
the 1920s, heralded a return to gardens of the once-dismissed daylily, and is still widely
available in the nursery trade. Daylily breeding has been a specialty in the United States,
where daylily heat- and drought-resistance made them garden standbys since the 1950s.
"Chinese Hornbill Lilies"
These were rather small, but there were hundreds of them all over the bush.
"Lemon Zest"
"Daniel Mann"
Hemerocallis is one of the very highly hybridized plant genera. Hybridizers register hundreds
of new cultivars yearly. Hybridizers have extended the genus' color range from the yellow,
orange, and pale pink of the species, to vibrant reds, purples, lavenders, greenish tones,
near-black, near-white, and more. However, hybridizers have not yet been able to produce
a daylily with primarily blue flowers in forms of blue such as azure blue, cobalt blue, and
sky blue. Flowers of some cultivars have small areas of cobalt blue.
"J. T. Davis"
"Yellow Star"
The highest award a cultivar can receive is the Stout Silver Medal, given in memory of
Dr. Arlow Burdette Stout, who is considered to be the father of modern daylily breeding
in North America.
"Skies Ablaze"
"Totally Awesome"
The flowers of Hemerocallis citrina are edible and are used in Chinese cuisine. They are
sold (fresh or dried) in Asian markets as gum jum or golden needles or yellow flower
vegetables. They are used in hot and sour soup, daylily soup, Buddha's delight, and moo shu pork. The young green leaves and the rhizomes of some, but not all, species are also edible.
"Lemonfellow"
Hemerocallis species are toxic to cats and ingestion may be fatal. Treatment is usually
successful if started before renal failure has developed.
"Cape Cod"
Plant Daylilies to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Beginners learn quickly, and the
old pros know. An investment in Daylilies pays great dividends. Foliage that looks great
all season, flowers in a rainbow of colors, no special care and now, many that reward you
with both a spring and fall season of bloom. "Reblooming Daylilies" are just that. Big bloom
during regular Daylily season in late spring, and then bloom off and on for the rest of the season, usually with a burst of bloom before fall.
"Frances Joliet"
Daylilies
Still blooming
spring to fall
daylilies
do it all.
Standing firm
tall and bright
bursting buds
a pretty sight
"Rudbeckia Goldsturm" - a sea of golden flowers
"Rudbeckia Goldsturm"
"Chelsey" Helenium / Sneezeweed
These were incredibly prolific bloomers with hundreds of flowers
all over the bush.
"Golden Helehium" / Sneezeweed
Helianthus "Sunshine Daydream"
This is related to the sunflower and makes an excellent tall flower at the back of
the garden, hardy and blooming for months.
Helianthus "Sunshine Daydream" blossoms
These are clematis seed pods, which appear after the flower has bloomed,
died, and fallen off.
A different variety of clematis, still in bloom.
Clematis seed pods
This was called the "New Varieties Garden." It contained new varieties, for
example, of New Guinea Impatiens. Until now they have always been a flat, solid
color like red or white or purple. But now they have developed varieties whose
petals vary, for example, from pale pink to rose to magenta, all on one plant.
"Sun Standing Salmon Impatiens"
"Cream Colored Cannas. This are big, tall flowers, excellent for the back
of a garden.
"Red-Orange Cannas" with dark purple leaves, dramatic showpieces in a garden.
"Variegated Swedish Ivy" - and that is the color -
cream, pink, red veins, very colorful contrast
.
"Golden Swedish Ivy" - another new variety
Cafe Courtyard. Would you like a nice, cool drink and perhaps a little
light refreshment after a long walk through the gardens?
Lots of white Spider Plants / Cleomes around the fountain.
"Cream Colored Cannas. This are big, tall flowers, excellent for the back
of a garden.
"Red-Orange Cannas" with dark purple leaves, dramatic showpieces in a garden.
"Variegated Swedish Ivy" - and that is the color -
cream, pink, red veins, very colorful contrast
.
"Golden Swedish Ivy" - another new variety
Cafe Courtyard. Would you like a nice, cool drink and perhaps a little
light refreshment after a long walk through the gardens?
Lots of white Spider Plants / Cleomes around the fountain.