I’m Dreaming of Daylilies

With the gazillionth big snowstorm on the way today, I need to focus on something fun. Late last summer I planted quite a few new daylilies. Here are some of the ones I’m particularly excited about seeing bloom in my garden for the first time, assuming spring ever arrives:

This is ‘Catcher In the Eye.’ I think the color alone is gorgeous, but it’s the unusual jagged yellow eye that I found irresistible. This daylily grows 30″ tall with 5.25″ blooms.

I spotted ‘Gypsy Rose Lee’ growing at a daylily farm two years ago. I asked the owner about it and she was all excited to tell me it was one of her favorites (out of many hundreds of cultivars). Alas the plant was new and not ready for dividing so I took a few pictures and added it to my “someday” list. The photo doesn’t do justice to the big rose/coral blooms (I took this photo at high noon, not the best time to capture the color of any daylily). In August I was excited to find one at the Wisconsin Daylily Society’s annual plant sale. ‘Gypsy Rose Lee’ grows 32″ with gorgeous 5.5″ blooms.

I seem to be obsessed with brown daylilies lately. Since there aren’t a lot of brown annuals or perennials, brown daylilies add a unique color to the garden. ‘Brown Witch’ is a lovely orange-brown with a purple eye and bright, yellow throat. This spider daylily makes a great back-of-the-border plant growing 36″ inches tall with 6″ flowers.

Last but not least is ‘Forsyth Flying Dragon.’ It took me awhile to hunt down one of these daylilies. I must admit that you could easily look at it and shrug your shoulders. It’s pretty, but not spectacular. But it’s not the color that captured my attention. The blooms on this daylily are HUGE. The plant grows 28″ tall and showcases gigantic 8.5″ blooms that scream “Look at me!!!”