Contrary to contemporary wisdom very little
actual planning went into
the design of my gardenscape. With little
time to devote to it and a conservative budget,
my garden paradise mostly 'just happened.'
It has evolved steadily - spurred on by
a love of day lilies, inspiration of our English
friends, and
a desire to have perennial interest from spring
to autumn.
Following
the purchase of several daylily varieties
and the opportunity to "come and dig what
you want" from a friend, I'm now hybridizing
and creating new beauties. My first 'named'
cultivar - "Kalena Eileen"
- came into bloom just four months following
the birth of granddaughter Kalena. Does that
make me a really proud grandpa or what?
Above
left- Kalena is pointing out the beauty of
"Grandpa's garden".
Above right, "KALENA EILEEN" - my
first officially registered daylily cultivar.
Four
unique trees (Cherry Dogwood - Cornus Mas,
Silver King Sweet Gum - Liquidambar Styraliflua,
Seven Sons Flower Tree - Heptacodium,
and a Chinese Fringe Tree - Chionanthus
retusus), were purchased from a local
nursery (Hidden Hills, Utica, IN) specializing
in plants that are seldom available in our in
southern-Indiana-zone-6 location.
Placed randomly in the open lawn several years
ago they were soon enveloped
by expanding daylily beds. Almost without
notice my nostalgic English Garden happened.
Even now the beds continue to grow to accommodate
more daylilies. Soon the lawn
will be mere pathways that my English mentor
would call a "wibbly, wobbly walk."
Above
left: Butterfly garden with Seven Sons Flower
tree on left and Chinese Fringe Tree on right.
Also included are agastache, pink echinasea,
Annabelle hydrangea, rudbeccia, and datura.
Above right: Clockwise from lower left - Double
Golden daylily, physostegia, pink echinasea,
Knockout rose, double-orange 'Kwanzo' daylily,
'Fred Wiche' daylily, 'Wine Delight' daylily,
'Quinn Buck' daylily and potted geranium.
Lower-center are gladiolus not yet in bloom.
I
began my garden adventure Latin-challenged.
Amo, amas, amat and hemerocallis
was about as far as it went. A few Latin "family
names" are now familiar, and I just love to
impress friends with an occasional "calacarpia"
here
and a "heptocodium" there, just to astound!
Above
left: Cleome, Emerald Green Arborvitae, double
Knockout rose and Japanese boxwood lead the
eye past the mailboxplanter and potted geraniums
to the deck covered in Hyacinth Bean vine.
Above right: White echinasea, pepperment daylily,
purple wave petunias take the eye to a grassy
pathway beyond.
As
of Spring-2008,
my daylily collection includes 41 named cultivars
and 38 other beauties whose identifications
have been lost through numerous swaps. Soon,
my original cultivars will dominate. There
are 30 I'm watching closely to determine if
there is a 'Vincent David' among them (Vincent
was born February 5, and will not be outdone
by big sister Kalena!).
Above
Left: Daylilies 'Wine Delight', 'Fred Wiche'
and 'Hamlet' each dance their mid-summer dance.
Above right: Warm daylilies in the foreground,
yellow threadleaf coreopsis and Annabelle
hydrangea in the
middle-ground, while tomatoes and fancy gourds
share the raised bed byeond.
Additionally,
over 125 seedlings are in their second season
of growth.
Sundance Garden is my small oasis in
the city.
Clockwise
from lower left: Summer phlox, Kwanso daylily,
Siloam Little Gold Coin, Simply Pretty, Joan
Senior, Statuesque, Siloam Gold Coin, Tall
Wine and Bright Sunset (in the 3 o'clock shadow
area) and Kwanso.
It
is enjoyed by neighbors, family and friends
- all who marvel
at "how much work is involved." Duhhhhhhh,
when was a hobby ever 'work'?
My hobby is like any hobby - exhausting and
exciting, tiring but inspiring. And oh, did
I mention: Backyarding is
so very rewarding!
Yes, you can quote me on that.
RAY
DAY
ray@rayday.com
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