Water lilies & daylilies, the stars of early summer

May 27, 2010


If a star fell to earth, I think it would look like Nymphaea, one of the most beautiful flowers ever. This one is called ‘Colorado,’ and it greets me every day with large, rosy apricot flowers that open with the sun and close in late afternoon.

‘Colorado’ water lily grows happily in my two-foot-deep stock-tank pond, even tolerating partial shade.

Of course, it would bloom even better in full sun, but I can’t complain about its performance. It was nearly evergreen for me last winter, even through our hard freezes and occasional ice on the pond, and it bounced back in early spring.

Once a month during the growing season I push a fertilizer tablet into the mucky soil in which it’s potted, and once a year (theoretically) I divide and repot it. No watering or pruning required! Does it get any simpler or more beautiful than that?

Other star-shaped flowers for early summer are the evergreen daylilies. I’ve tried various deciduous daylilies over the years, but they struggled and eventually died away. The evergreen varieties that I brought with me to the new garden include sunny ‘Wilson’s Yellow,’ above…

…and sweet ‘Best of Friends,’ which I’ve shared with a number of gardening friends over the years.

It is unfortunately sharing space with a ‘Radrazz’ Knock Out rose right now, but I’ll move it in the fall to a better spot.

With one last look at ‘Colorado,’ I wish my American readers a star-spangled Memorial Day holiday weekend!
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

0 responses to “Water lilies & daylilies, the stars of early summer”

  1. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    These are all gorgeous lilies. I especially like the water lilies. One of these days I hope to have a container of them. The bad thing here is that I would have to heat the water to keep it from freezing all the way through most years. The daylilies around town are beginning to bloom. I am hopeful that mine will soon follow suit.

  2. Lola says:

    Gorgeous blooms. I have a couple lilies ready to bloom but I don’t know their names. We acquired them when we bought the house.
    Have a wonderful weekend.

  3. Cindy, MCOK says:

    I love that ‘Colorado’ lily. I think I lost my ‘Lindsay Woods’ this winter and I miss it.

  4. Still waiting for the first water lily here so thanks for sharing. Beautiful weather forecast for the holiday weekend here; hope you have a good holiday and good weather.

  5. Sheila says:

    Those waterlilies are amazing! I’ve tried to grow them without much luck getting them to bloom the second year. Besides, I had a dog that was obsessed with pulling them out of the pond!

  6. Gail says:

    The water lily is a perfect star color for your garden, too. gail

  7. Jean says:

    That is one gorgeous waterlily! I love the color. I also love the colors of your daylilies. I keep gravitating to those softer colors. I like how different the ‘Wilson’s Yellow’ is from other daylilies. I have both deciduous and evergreen ones and they both seem to do well here. Maybe it’s the fact that there’s more soil and less rocks here than where you live. 🙂

  8. Nancy Bond says:

    Your water lilies are spectacular, Pam — but so are the day lilies. That yellow day lily looks stunning against the blue of that container!

  9. Beautiful blooms.
    Happy Memorial Day weekend, to you, as well.

  10. Tina Poe says:

    Last year I went out and got myself some Best of Friends after seeing how beautiful yours were. They bloomed for me for the first time this month and I’ve been enjoying them every time I step outside! 🙂

  11. forest says:

    Gorgeous! And beautiful photography. Now I want some waterlilies. And daylilies for that matter, if they look like Best of Friends.

  12. Pam, that Colorado waterlily is lovely. Mine bloomed this week as well.

  13. Frances says:

    Hi Pam, thanks for that holiday treat! Seeing the water lily, exquisite flower and images! and the daylilies blooming made for a wonderful beginning to the day. Our yellow waterlily is getting shaded more each year as the trees grow, who knew that would happen?, and the blooms lesson in turn. Seeing Colorado makes my want to get the pruning pole out. 🙂