 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| © 2006 John Bowers Daylilies |
|
| site is best viewed at a screen resolution of 800x600 pixels |
| |
|
|
About Us
|
|
I first started taking a serious interest in Daylilies (Hemerocallis) when I came across a plant of the cultivar
'Devonshire' growing in a friend's garden. Quite simply it bowled me over. The enormous flowers were 7 inches across and the
most delicate creamy apricot in colour. The form and texture were perfect, like wax, it was so thick and firm. Here was a
very special Daylily, so far removed from the pretty but plain orangey yellow and muddy pink ones I had seen before, and it
soon became apparent that Devonshire was just the tip of the iceberg and there were in fact a great many more. I still
believe that the majority of Gardeners are like I was then, unaware of the enormous transformation the Daylily has
undergone, just how vast and kaleidoscopic the range of varieties. I feel sure this will soon change as such an important
and newly emerging group of plants will inevitably attract more and more media coverage and publicity.
DIVERSITY is a word just made for the Daylily. You can grow giants with blooms of some 7 inches across to charming
miniatures of only 1 inch. They are available in virtually every colour of the rainbow except true blue (although there are
several good blue tinted lavenders). Some are self coloured whilst others have dramatic contrasting eye colours, frills and
borders. Some are simple, tailored and rounded in appearance, still more have extravagantly ruffled frilled and pleated
edges. There is now a good range of fully DOUBLE varieties with many petals, recalling the most perfect carnation. All this,
yet they have not lost the hardy durability which made them such reliable garden plants in the first place. Although each
flower still lasts but a day, they flower with such profusion and exuberance, the display can be a very long one and several
of the newer cultivars exhibit strong re-blooming tendencies. It is now possible to have Daylilies in bloom from late May
right through to darkest November. With so many thousands of varieties in existence, and such enormous variety Daylilies
have a place in every garden.
|
|
