No Instructions Included

This is a daylily seedling.   Sometimes you think you know where it came from and what it might do when it grows up.  Sometimes there is a little marker that says who the parents are.  And who Prince Charming is supposed to be.

Then there are days when there are few clues.  No neat little signs or notes.  Just a seedling standing on its own.  Those are the days when you don’t have a clue how Cinderella cruised into the party.  Or what became of the pumpkin or the mice.   Then you just need to look for that glass slipper and figure out what kind of adventure you and Cinderellie might have in the garden.

Better yet – pitch the glass slipper.  Don’t listen to the fairy godmother that says the magic ends at midnight.  There is plenty of magic and surprises each day when the sun comes up.

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the sorting hat and other magic

As magical object go Hogwarts sorting hat does a fair job of delivering what’s needed.  It sorts out new students to their houses and fetches the sword of Gryffindor in a pinch.  There are other mundane magical devices out there.  Some so mundane and harmless that they are left in the care of ordinary muddles!  There is in fact one such device sitting next to the kitchen sink.  I am not sure of its exact name.   It could be the old plastic coffee container or it could be the stinking sorter.  I do mostly know what it does.  It sits there while kitchen scraps are un-cerimoniously stuffed insde.  carrot tops, greens and all, onion peels, egg shells and any other organic stuff (anything that is not a meat or dairy product)  when it gets full it is given over to the drudge.  for schlepping out to the sorting heap.

Now the true magic begins.  An eye of toad, actually the whole toad might just dig in, some worms and a bunch of spiders and other bugs along with some bacteria and assorted crobes (microbes that is)  jump in an swirl things about.  Oh and add a pinch of dirt, don’t forget to throw that in too!    It gets steaming hot.  Not hot enough to singe Hagrid’s beard but hot enough to (slow) cook.  And in a couple of months compost is served.   I did say slow cook.   Heck even magic takes a bit of thyme.

And now for the last magical trick…  Scoop up some compost and add a couple of dashes to each plant in your garden.   Not too much – just a couple of dashes.    Oh and don’t forget to step back smartly.  You would not want to get blooming poked in the eye!

Looking for a few good daylilies

There are a few out there.  A paranoid gardener would say they are everywhere.  Lurking behind every rose and dahlia.  Searching for daylily will bring back just a few to peruse.  If you hurry now – you can look at a few before lunch.

Better – see one up close in the garden.  You can stop and smell the roses – then step back and drink in the daylilies.  Just bring a designated driver.

Opps – I just added another image to the list !

 

I am not back from the garden… quite yet

It gets dark earlier now.  So I do have to come in from the garden earlier now.

Though I doubt that will affect my ability to post more often.  The blooms are mostly gone and the seed pods are starting to ripen and burst open.  How many of those little black jewels will get away and fall to the garden on their own ?

That is part of the surprise.  A total blooming surprise that only the garden can answer…..

another small blooming wonder

The rain has…stopped ? well how about slowed down… ?

As too many folks know it has been a wet season.  We will let that cover both spring and the start of summer.   Record breaking weather is seldom fun.  In spite of it all the plants have come through fine.  Things are starting to bloom here.  By things I mean daylilies.  Yes the iris and peonies were fun and they have come and gone.  Like wise the lupines.  Now for the next several months it is the turn of the daylilies.

Usually the starting date here in northern Ohio is the beginning of July.  Last year things were a full month early.  This year it is about a week and a half early.  What ever the reason I am ready to enjoy it.

Here is the first one to bloom in our garden.  It is a kid out of Stella’s Ruffled Fingers crossed with one of my other seedlings.  Enjoy.

There are scapes in them thar gardens…

Finally !   There are scapes on the daylilies.  I saw a few here and there the other day.   And now they are starting to show up on lots of plants.  ( Insert boisterous gardener’s exclamation of uncontrolled mirth and excitement here ) …. _________ !

All of the arrived new arrivals have been planted.  Including Lemon Pixie which the postal service placed on the porch this afternoon.  Lemon Pixie cooled its jets in the shade this afternoon and was planted right before dinner.   It even came safely with its own gently packaged scape, Thanks Sandy!

There are still a few spots waiting for plants still in transit.   And the expanded garden is looking pretty full.  Too bad about the ever shrinking lawn.  Then again I would rather enjoy the garden any day and spend less and lest time cutting the lawn.  Lawn grass could end up an endangered species around here.

There are scapes on Kate Carpenter, Orchid Lady Slipper, Stella’s Ruffled Fingers, Schnickel Fritz, and several second and third year seedlings.  The real exciting stuff (to me at least ) is the first year seedlings.  There are a few of those that are ready to bloom too.  Walking the seedling bed is like having Christmas all summer long.

One is a cross of Stella’s Ruffled Fingers and a seedling ( Little Rainbow x Talon ).   If nothing else it likes being early like it’s parent Stella.  Now if it will just at a bit of the ruffle from Stella and some of the twist and pinch from Talon… well there will be dancing in the garden path.

First year seedling - Stella's Ruffled Fingers x (Little Rainbow x Talon)

We have been taking over the lawn…

It has been wet.  Not hot and wet… just wet and wetter.  Makes for really good mud.  And not so good taking over the lawn.  The garden grows and the lawn shrinks grudgingly.

Playing in the mud

This will make room for about 30 new daylilies.  That’s the good news.  The bad news, most of the new plants are taller.  All the short plants need to move forward.  So instead of just planting 30 plants it will be more like planting 45.  Ah the best laid plans.

Unique up on purple

This is Unique Purple, one of three sibling plants registered by Frank Childs.   Unique Purple, Satin Bird, and Trahlyta.   I like them all.  Two of them are growing in my garden.  The third one, Satin Bird is on its way to my garden…. again.   There was an identity crisis – more of that later…

Unique Purple is growing on me.  It took a while for it to bloom here.  It was in an unhappy spot, too crowed.  I kept adjusting, first moving it up out of the bunch where it could get a little better sun.  Finally last spring I moved it out to a new spot – no crowding and pretty much full sun all day long.  The results were uniquely wonderful.  Unique Purple not only bloomed well, it also started sending up new fans.  This year it should start turning into a nice little clump.  With the clump blooming it should be a real breath taking sight.

Part of the enjoyment of these three is they darken – instead of fade – as the day goes on.  I will have to try to capture this on digital and post it here.

Now as to the return of Satin Bird and the identity crisis…  I thought I had Satin Bird last summer.  Alas no it was not Satin Bird.  Daylilies like people can get mixed up in so many ways.  The real Satin Bird should be here soon.  The imposter is most likely an unregistered sibling or a seedling of Satin Bird.  So I think it will be saved for a while.  At least until I completely run out of room.

Boogie My Woogie Baby ……

This bloomed Thursday in the garden.  It is know as BOGGIE MY WOOGIE BABY.  It is the flower of She Who Must Be Obeyed.  So the event pleased  both of us.   SWMBO chose this particular flower, may you enjoy it as much as she does.

Counting Seeds

It is seed counting time.   The garden is resting… mostly.

The garden was abloom this summer.  There are plenty of seeds to show for it.   Way too many for the spots where they might be planted next spring.  Still enough to be well worth planting.  Enough to get me back into the garden next spring…  even a few times during the winter.

16 days till solstice,  105 days till spring…. but who is counting.

And yes the Dayton Midwest Hybridizers meeting was awsome.

No time for hibrination

ttfn

PS – if you are terribly bored and have the bandwith and a few minutes here is a link to some of this summer’s blooms