The first daylily of the season last year was “Itty bitty”, a small, short double yellow. It was followed quickly by that old faithful “Stella D’oro”.July is the daylily month in my garden. If I had to name my favorite plant, this would be it–hemerocallis. They are beautiful, completely reliable, not expensive, easy to grow, and generous–plant one and two years later you can dig it up and separate it into three. Some, like hyperion, are fragrant. For me, the yellows and whites seem the most fragrant. Here are some of my white.cream and yellow daylilies:

We often find little tree frogs in daylily blossoms, ready to ambush unwary insects.

 

 

 

On the other side of the spectrum, there are the dark reds–here are a few of those:This close-up photo doesn’t show it but this is a petite flower, maybe three inches, with a beautiful dense dusty color and thick petals. This red has a lot of warmth to it. It’s one of my favorites and I’ve dug up clumps to divide but it grows slowly.This is another slow grower (meaning the clump doesn’t expand quickly). This one gets sunburned, and I should move it to a semi-shaded spot. By the end of the day if it is sunny, the red turns to brown. Another warm red daylily, this one is quite tall. It also is not a fast grower.This is a gorgeous lily, called “Crimson Shadows”. It grows like crazy–I dig up clumps every year! And re-plant smaller clumps, because I love it so much. It is a short plant and the blooms are large but on short scapes. In spite of that, because of the color it stands out in the garden.This is another of my favorites. It’s a very dark red, tell, and with very substantial, ruffled petals. The texture of the petals is amazing–velvety, and sparkling. It also gets burned in too much hot sun, and its root clump expands very slowly. Last summer I moved this to a shadier spot. Here is another picture of this beautiful daylily:In between there are apricots, oranges, pinks, and lavenders. Some are double, but most of mine are single. I have a few with vivid eyezones, and some with fancy ruffled edges. Here is a gallery:

 

 

 

I really like the subtle shades of peach, pink/orange, salmon–the colors that are hard to name. Here are some examples:

I love the way lilies catch the light. As everyone knows, they’re called daylilies because each bloom lasts one day. They require us to enjoy the present moment because they are so fleeting. Here are a few pictures of the daylilies holding the light of their one day: