Golden, Rosy, Peach & Periwinkle West Garden

A few other bloggers have mentioned that they'd like to see my garden. I'm afraid they wouldn't be very impressed with my 2 year old landscape. The front yard is going in the right direction, though the plants are still small. The backyard is just a holding area as I try out plants to see where they'd work best in the final backyard design. But I've been pleased with how the west garden bed is coming along. The photo above shows the bed in late June, with the 'Early Sunrise' coreopsis in full golden bloom, contrasting with deep blue-violet 'May Night' salvia and the unlabelled inherited lavender shrubs.


The view in late May and early June included 'Royal Amethyst' iris, shown here with MN salvia. Golden iris and puffballs of periwinkle-blue muscari made a nice contrast, though they aren't included in this picture.


This photo shows another angle of the June garden. You can see the daylily 'Stella d'Oro' blooming near the edge of the bed.


The daylilies have been the stars during July. Here 'Elizabeth Salter' is shown at the bottom, with Sue Rothbauer blooming in the photo's center.


I like the way this peachy 'Siloam Double Classic' daylily blends into the mix. More coreopsis (tickseed) is also shown here with the periwinkle blooms of 'Blue Clips' campanula from my grandmother's garden.


Three pots of no-name rosy-apricot dahlias were purchased from Lowe's on a whim and planted in the border. They look like pictures of 'American Dawn' dahlias in the White Flower Farm catalog, so that's what I'm calling them.


The photo above shows the repeating pattern of the bed. The lavender shrubs look sad after being sheared back following their bloom season. I might replace them with divisions of 'Walker's Low' catmint from the front yard, since WL keeps blooming all season.


Two 'Crown Princess Margareta' english roses were added after seeing a 2-pack for $20 at Costco this spring. At the north end of the bed, a similarly colored 'Teasing Georgia' english rose will be trained up a trellis against the white fence.


Here's another shot of the flower. This rose is supposed to be very hardy, so the two plants should make good climbers on the black trellises I brought home from Lowe's this week.


I'll finish with this shot of the garden as it appeared about 10 minutes ago. The trellises add some nice height to the narrow bed and should look even better next year when the english roses are clambering up them. Well, everything should look better next year: the salvia and dahlias will be taller, the daylilies filled out and more floriferous. But this season's photos show promise, don't you think?

Mugshots: 4 Pink Daylilies, Part II

Last week I posted about my four rosy-pink daylilies, and this post includes my four peachy-pink daylilies.


1. Dublin Elaine – 32 in tall scapes, 5.5 in flowers, midseason, deciduous, from Oakes Daylilies


This plant won the 2009 All-American Exhibition award from the All-American Daylily Selection Council. It’s taller than I would prefer, but I ordered it anyway based on reports of its vigor: up to 40 blooms on a scape (flower stalk) plus rapid growth of the clump and good rebloom (rare for a pink or a double). The one-year-old plant is growing well and putting out numerous scapes. It began blooming in late July, and the color is really, really lovely: glowing mid coral-pink, with diamond dusting that sparkles in the sun.


All of the pictures above are Dublin Elaine; I obviously got carried away snapping photos of her. As you can see in the photo below, not all of the blooms have been double, but I like the single flowers as well.


2. Millie Schlumpf – 20 in tall scapes, 6 in flowers, early, evergreen, from Oakes


Obviously this is a daylily worth having just for its name! This plant was the first of my daylilies – other than Stella d’Oro – to begin blooming, with its first flowers opening at the end of June. The flowers are a clear, glowing peachy-pink.


Though Oakes lists the flowers as 6 inches wide, they seem smaller than that to me. They have fewer ruffles and less substance than some of the others, but the blooms open completely and still look fresh in the evening. I find myself really enjoying this perky daylily (pictured below as well).


3. Barbara Mitchell – 20 in tall scapes, 6 in flowers, midseason, semi-evergreen, from Oakes


Barbara is an old favorite for many gardeners, and I can see why. The blooms are peachy-pink with hints of dusky rose, and they have plenty of substance and ruffles.


Blooming began at the beginning of July, and rebloom is expected.


Mine have a problem staying fresh throughout the day, though. By late afternoon, the edges start to look ragged. The flower color isn’t as special as some of my other pinks, but this is still a nice plant.


4. Seminole Wind – 23 in tall scapes, 6.5 in flowers, early-midseason, semi-evergreen, from Oakes


The color of this daylily is complex and beautiful – coppery-coral-rose with a golden throat. When it began blooming at the beginning of July, I found myself repeatedly drawn to it from across the front yard. After an unusually cool week with highs in the 70’s, the color deepened to an especially intriguing shade, but none of my pictures turned out of those blooms. The color-drenched flowers stand out clearly despite the glare of the summer sun (though they might be lighter in hotter climates). They also boast plenty of substance and nice ruffles. This plant is a winner in my book!


I hope these observations are helpful to you. In a few years, I’ll be able to write more on the growth habits and vigor of these daylilies. Meanwhile, I’ll be doing posts on my peach daylilies after they all bloom. Apricot Sparkles, Jean Swann, Spanish Glow, Siloam Double Classic, Autumn Wood, Smoky Mountain Autumn, and Elizabeth Salter will be included.

Mugshots: 4 Pink Daylilies, Part I

The post for all 8 pink daylilies was getting too long, so I’m splitting it into two. The photo above is of New Testament.
First we need to clarify what ‘pink’ means when applied to daylilies. The eight pink daylilies in my yard range from peachy-pink to coral to dusky rose to cranberry. Color in daylilies varies depending on temperature, soil, etc. I think mine tend to have deeper colors thanks to the cooler temperatures here in Spokane – especially at night, when temps usually drop into the 50’s. Below is a picture of the deeply-colored Hush Little Baby.



Second, here’s some daylily background: flower stalks are called scapes. Some daylilies are fragrant – all of the ones in this post have a soft fragrance that reminds me of lilacs, but you have to get close to notice. Daylilies labeled dormant die back to the ground in winter no matter what climate they’re in. Evergreen types will keep their green leaves all winter in mild climates, although they go dormant here in zone 5. I’ve noticed that none of my daylilies appreciate getting wet – by sprinklers or rain. Morning water on the blooms causes the edges to shrivel a bit by afternoon, and the sprinklers are more likely to hit the short daylilies. The blooms hold up much better on dry days. Below is a picture of Jolyene Nichole (I originally wrote that it was a pale version Hush Little Baby, but that was a mistake, sorry).


Third, here are my biases: I prefer shorter varieties that hold their flowers closer to the foliage, as the tall ones often look awkward. I favor flowers that appear to be just one color from afar – I think flowers with sharply contrasting parts look chaotic in the garden, though they can be very nice in a vase. I love ruffles and rounded flowers – so no spider forms here (sorry Dee, Carol, and the rest of the spider fan club!).
But enough preface, here they are:

1. New Testament – 18 in tall scapes, 6 in flowers, early, evergreen, from Oakes Daylilies


The color of these flowers is the closest to true pink among my daylilies: dusky mid-rose-pink, with a hint of peach in the sun. There is a distinct white line running down each of the petals, nice ruffles around the edges and sturdy substance throughout. Sometimes the blooms have a hard time opening all the way, but the great color makes up for it. This daylily began blooming at the beginning of July. Here's another shot of the flower:



2. Jolyene Nichole – 18 in tall scapes, 6 in flowers, midseason, evergreen, from Oakes


The first bloom on this daylily appeared in mid-July. Its color is a bit less saturated than New Testament, and it has a bit more peach mixed in. As you can see, the blooms are ruffled and rounded and very lovely. Below is another picture of this flower.



3. Sue Rothbauer – 20 in tall scapes, 6.5 in flowers, early-midseason, semi-evergreen, from Great Garden Plants


The catalog promised vigorous growth, heavy bloom and plenty of rebloom for this daylily. I’ll have to report on that in a few years, since my plants are just a year old and still getting established. For now I can say that the flowers are a vivid shade of dusky rose-pink with a white line running down the petals. This is the first bloom for this daylily. Actually, it would have bloomed last week (mid-July), but I knocked the bud off while watering (grrrr).

4. Hush Little Baby - 22 in tall scapes, 5 in flowers, late, dormant, from Bloomin Designs


Several catalogs offer this daylily as their best, unfading pink. In hotter climates, it’s probably lighter but still not too pale. In my cooler climate, the blooms are often more of a rich cranberry color, and they certainly are delicious! These flowers are beautiful all day despite their position on the hot west side of my home; the petals are like thick satin with plenty of gathers and refined ruffles. Though it wasn’t the pure pink color I expected, I think this one might be my favorite. It's labelled as late flowering, but it began blooming in mid-July with many of my other daylilies.



I’ll stop here for today. My next mugshots post will include the four peachy-pink and coral-pink daylilies in my yard: Barbara Mitchell, Millie Schlumpf, Dubline Elaine and Seminole Wind.