Daylilies are 'Best of Friends'
I used to have seven varieties of daylilies, but more than half have faded away over time, victims, perhaps, of Austin’s intense summer heat and droughts or simply poor placement. Adios, ‘Hall’s Pink,’ ‘Hyperion,’ ‘Bonanza,’ and ‘Joan Senior.’
The remaining three—‘Best of Friends,’ ‘Apple Tart,’ and ‘Wilson’s Yellow,’ all evergreen varieties—thrive in part shade or morning sun conditions. I’m especially fond of ‘Best of Friends’ and ‘Apple Tart,’ which accompanied me in the move from my former garden to my current one. We’ve been together for about ten years now, and it’s been a happy friendship indeed.
‘Best of Friends’ is my earliest blooming daylily, and its soft peachy-pink petals are set off beautifully by a lemon-lime throat. I never tire of looking at it. You, dear reader, may feel differently, but you’ll have to be patient while the yearly lovefest between Friends plays out.
When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
—Chinese proverb
‘Hyperion’ is bullet-proof here, and I love the fragrance. Who’s kidding who? The color is my favorite, too. But climate is everything, and the evergreen type of daylily is the one least likely to survive here. Still, I’m with you: ‘Best of Friends’ is drop dead gorgeous, and I’ll be keeping my eye out for it.
Yes, ‘Hyperion’s cool yellow is so pretty. If only you lived here I’d give you a division of ‘Best of Friends.’ I gave Annie in Austin a clump last year, so maybe you’ll be seeing it over at the Transplantable Rose too. —Pam
I just heard that daylily blooms are edible – have you ever tried eating your ‘Friends’? (hee) I don’t have any daylilies, otherwise I’d try it. Gives new meaning to the Chinese proverb.
No, I have never dined on my Friends before. Ha! But you’re right, daylilies are apparently edible. Here’s a recipe for anyone who wants to eat their own daylilies. —Pam
I’ve always wanted ‘Joan Senior’. For almost ten years I had a pure white ‘Gentle Shepherd’…but it died in 2006 with so many other things. Sounds like the evergreen varieties would work in my garden, though.
You know, ‘Joan Senior’ is actually an evergreen variety and supposed to perform well in Texas. Who knows why mine didn’t make it, but I would think it would be worth trying in your garden. —Pam
Pam, the division of ‘Best of Friends’ has a bloom stalk, but none look ready to open. That’s a wonderful color and I for one am not tired of looking at it!
Before we left Illinois I learned that the evergreen, semi-evergreen, and some dwarf varieties had a better chance here, and brought just a few daylilies with me. Four of them have survived for eight years in Texas – unfortunately, the beautiful ‘Catherine Woodbury’ is not among them.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Alas for poor ‘Catherine Woodbury.’ I just looked her up—she IS beautiful. I’ll be curious to see which of your others were tough enough to survive here. —Pam
Apple Tart, Best of Friends, what lovely names to give to plants. 🙂 I see that we both put a Chinese proverb on our blogs. 😉
BTW There’s no problem with commenting on your blog anymore. Hurrah!
Yes, and my Chinese proverb was a bit of a stretch too. (It was referring to true lilies, not daylilies, I imagine, but oh well!)
I’m glad you are able to comment more easily now. Keep ’em coming. —Pam
Wonderful color/s and an abundance of blooms too. Definitely a best friend. When I lived in Iowa, I tried the Euell Gibbons advice that tiger lily buds were edible and tasted somewhat like asparagus, if I remember correctly. Not! It had a bitter, almost made you vomit instantly taste even after two water changes. Yuck. Not recommended.
Blech! I think I’ll steer clear of my daylilies too. —Pam
Wow, what a color. Another to add to my list!
It is a sweet daylily, I think. —Pam
Pam… your daylilies are really blooming, whereas I have had just one bloom so far. Lots of buds, but just one bloom so far.
Carol at May Dreams Gardens, in the Racing Capital of the World
I look forward to seeing yours soon. In my garden, ‘Best of Friends’ is in full bloom, ‘Wilson’s Yellow’ is just getting started, and I’m still waiting on ‘Apple Tart’ to do anything. —Pam
Hi pam
Lovely daylilies. I don’t know the name of my vitex-its the most common variety sold here-I bought it from this young guy years ago so he wouldn’t have known. I have seen the one that looks like yours in a couple yards here. Mine is very drought and salt tolerant.I’ll ask Chancy this weekend for a identification.
oh i love that quote! i wonder if shakespeare was thinking of that when he wrote, “Had I but a penny in the world, thou shouldst have it for gingerbread.” which is more of a poet? the one who needs the money for flowers or sweets? 😉