Several summers ago I toured a half-dozen daylily gardens in the Madison area. There’s no better way to find out what you like than to see hundreds of daylilies in bloom.
I found myself making a beeline for the same plant in each garden I visited. It would call to me from across the yard and I would crouch down to read the plant tag only to discover it was the same daylily cultivar I’d been admiring in the previous garden. After it happened for the third time that day, I decided I should grow the eye-catching daylily in my own garden.
‘Wayside Painted Lady’ is an unregistered cultivar. One of its two breeders is from the duo that created my favorite bird-named cultivars like ‘Cedar Waxwing’ and ‘Scarlet Tanager’ (Klehm).
The flowers are raspberry pink with a lovely golden-yellow watermark and change with the light conditions. Sometimes the petals look light or dark pink, and other times they appear coral- or salmon-colored.
‘Wayside Painted Lady’ is a dormant cultivar that grows 30 inches tall with 6.5-inch flowers. It’s a little harder to find than a registered cultivar, but it’s a beloved daylily that’s well worth the hunt.