Daylilies in Montreal in August

 

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"

"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.