Garden Photo of the Day

Diane’s Daylily Garden

Beautiful, easy-to-grow flowers

By GPOD Contributor
cluster of purple daylilies

My name is Diane Porter, and I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. We are a Zone 5 area here, so I like pretty hardy plants. Daylilies (Hemerocallis, Zones 4–9 for most cultivars) fit my garden perfectly. I have always enjoyed gardening and  actually worked at a local garden center for a few seasons. The gardening bug hit hard!

As for my daylilies, they were almost all a rescue mission. We had discovered that a daylily farm we frequented to buy their plants was closing. The owner was kind enough to offer us a rare chance to “dig up and take home” from one of his fields for free. We gave 29 daylilies a new home. I don’t know the names of most of them, but I love the show they put on; it’s amazing.

An ideal day for me would be setting up my watercolor paints beside the lily beds and painting.

large planting of daylilies in various colors
I love all the shades of pink mingling together in this patch of daylilies.

yellow daylilies with yellow black-eyed Susans
A color echo from a soft yellow daylily and a black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta, Zones 3–8)

close up of red daylilies with yellow centers
Daylilies come in nearly every color except blue, and this intense red is particularly nice.

close up of dark purple/red daylily
Some daylilies are so dark they are almost black. Sometimes these superdark flowers are best planted in light shade, especially in hot climates, as many of them will burn in intense sun.

small garden bed with white and purple flowers
It isn’t all daylilies in this garden. Here’s a view of some of the rest of the space, with phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 5–8), liatris (Liatris spicata, Zones 3–9), and Adam’s needle (Yucca filamentosa, Zones 4–10) all showing off with flowers.

close up of two large Adam’s needle flowers
Adam’s needle can reach up over 6 feet tall.

close up of peach daylilies with dark red centers
Modern daylily breeding has expanded the color range and complexity of color patterns. This one has a beautiful dark eye.

cluster of purple daylilies
Individual daylily blooms are beautiful, but daylilies really make an impact in the garden when they flower heavily, like this, making big masses of color.

close up of a large bright purple daylily with lime green center
This is just a stunning daylily—beautiful rich purple color and incredible patterning.

 

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Comments

  1. maria.nieuwenhof@gmail.com 08/07/2023

    Looks gorgeous, also love daylilies.....

  2. maria.nieuwenhof@gmail.com 08/07/2023

    Also love daylilies.....your gardens look lovely!

  3. User avater
    simplesue 08/07/2023

    Wow those daylilies got lucky when you rescued them! They look gorgeous!

  4. btucker9675 08/07/2023

    Boy, did you ever strike it rich getting to "rescue" those day lilies!! My gardens have always been full of them - during their blooms seasons they are such a source of joy to look at. And now the reblooming varieties make it last even longer. That last gorgeous purple variety is one I haven't seen before - it's like the color of many irises - stunning. I'm going to search for it. Oakes Day Lilies has a tremendous selection.

    1. User avater
      cynthia2020 08/07/2023

      BT - I had found the Oakes site today, too!

  5. User avater
    cynthia2020 08/07/2023

    Diane - I enjoyed reading your gardening story and looking at all the photos. I especially liked seeing the purple daylily. Thank you for sharing!
    I have enjoyed visiting Nova Scotia including the Botanical Garden at Acadia University in Wolfville.

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