Yesterday, when it looked pretty certain the forecast for today would hold for mid 90 degrees Fahrenheit with a heat index well over 100 degrees, I got at planting the last two new varieties of daylily seedlings. All the daylily seedlings for the townhome gardens for this year are now planted. All 🙂
So, where did we land with the seedlings finding homes?
Well, the gardens are at capacity, for absolute sure. I like the look right now, and I know I will like it even more in a couple weeks as color from our mature daylilies starts to pop, but I was struggling towards the end of the planting to make it look nice, both now and hopefully for the longer term.
Tucking seedlings in to very accessible planting spots was tempting. Thinking about 3 years from now – a bit more of a challenge. I reminded myself I don’t like to move things around a lot. I thought about things quite extensively, especially for those last two pots of seedlings. And although I originally had planned to put them in another spot, the far corner of this pic is where they landed. That corner needed love that I hope the pair will provide. They have the same parents, just in reverse.
Then, with all the daylily seedlings planted, I turned my attention to cutting back the Asian lilies that wrapped up, so they don’t go to seed. And after that I relaxed for the day.
Today I am still doing gardening work. It is just indoors – going through the spreadsheet, finishing the 2026 seedling planting documentation, and getting straight on the next steps for 2026. The bird baths need some love, the shrubs need haircuts, and the forget-me-nots need their annual reduction. The forget-me-not reduction process is always painful, but if I pull them before they go to seed, as they are winding down, things stay manageable.
And, manageable is a key word for the daylilies too. Space is the new key now. The days of smorgasbord crossing is done for me. Space planning within my wishlist is essential. But I seem to have help this year. In a kind of funny plot twist, two of my key varieties for this year’s plans don’t have scapes, at least yet. Scapes hold blooms and blooms are needed for crosses. The blooms need to coincide, the same day, unless one saves pollen, and that is way beyond my current level of skill. So, with no scapes on two of the key varieties, half of the plan is probably off the table due to timing. I could be super bummed, or I could take that as direction. I am taking it as direction 😉 We not in any way at a shortage of seedling or daylilies. We will be fine.
(Pay no attention to the seedlings in large pots. Those need to go to the historic cemetery this fall, when they don’t look like grass to be weeded lol.)
I am I am being thankful. I have a seedling with first year scapes, and a whole lot of other daylilies with lots of scapes. Those are, mostly, to enjoy. Yep, a theme 🙂
I am also at the time where I am planning fall divisions and transplants. The second daylily in on the right is #1 in that category. It is an Autumn Red. And way too big for that space. (We like to use the path ;))
The Asian lilies are waning. The daylilies are ramping up.
This morning was a cool, dampish sort of morning. I was feeling like taking the day to rest. But, as the day started rolling, I changed my mind. We have some pretty warm weather forecasted starting next week, and I would much rather relax on those days. I made the decision to get at planting the remaining daylily seedlings today. Even the remaining seeds that did not germinate got planted as a last chance, direct sow style. There are now just two daylily seedling varieties left to plant in the townhome gardens, and for that, I am very thankful! Even on a warm day I can get those last two done.
This year September will be a bit different. Because I planted the seedlings by the end of June, my fall daylily work will be primarily divisions and transplanting. That will be a pleasant change. Planting seedlings in September heat is not my favorite.
Today I saw one of the South Seas seedlings I divided last year has a scape coming up. I was a little worried I might have divided it too early after only one year of bloom, so when I saw that scape starting today I was very thankful.
Of course, as the Asian lilies fade, I am a little sad. I am thankful we had such beautiful blooms from them this year. They can start to rest now and build up for next year.
And I took time over the past few days to reimagine that area by the Linden. There is a lot of shade, and I plan to add more Blue Mouse Ears hostas, but alongside the Asian lilies there may be enough sun to also entice some Autumn Red seeds that did not germinate to break out. Worth a try.
The Pink Asian lilies are winding down. I am waiting for the older daylilies under the Linden to get scapes. And I planted some daylily seeds alongside the Asian lilies.
Speaking of the Blue Mouse Ears hostas, they are ramping up color all over the gardens. I will definitely send more pictures of them as they go into full bloom.
This is one of the Blue Mouse Ears hostas under the Linden. They will start to show much more color over the next few weeks.
The Blue Mouse Ears are gradually getting more color.
So tonight, as I wrap up the day, I have a good sense of accomplishment, and a lot of thankfulness, even for the challenge to just get going and get stuff done before I really don’t want to do it 😉 It was a great day to play in the garden.
Top of mind, the daylily bloom season has started in our townhome gardens.
Hello Yellow was the first daylily to bloom in the gardens this year.
Hello Yellow was our first daylily to bloom this year
It was such a wonderful few days to see that first cheerful Hello Yellow bloom again!
Hello Yellow is one of my own seedlings, harvested from seed from our daylilies. The seed was from the 2022 harvest, with a 2023 seedling and a 2024 first bloom. This is its third year of bloom.
Hello Yellow is an extended bloom daylily, so it begins to bloom in the late afternoon and blooms all the next day until evening when it starts to wind down. That means that we get to enjoy the full cycle of each bloom for two separate days. It also means that Hello Yellow has been challenging to work with for propagation. Hello Yellow only seems to want to be a pod parent, and it only seems to like Just Plum Happy pollen. Last year I had a successful cross that went to seed, and it looks like it has now gone to seedling. The seed would not germinate in a seedling pot, but one seems to have germinated in the ground. I am cautiously optimistic, but it does look kind of weak. I am watching it, but so far it is hanging in there. As encouragement, I have had seedlings die back but emerge the next year. We will see what happens.
Even though Hello Yellow is one of my seedlings, it is still a bit of a mystery as to parentage. My documentation during that time period was not what it is today. I was just getting started with crosses, had very little research into it, had many other irons in the fire, including rehabbing an old home on the north shore of Minnesota (Lake Superior) four hours away that we thought we would retire to, and I was also still working, full time, and had volunteer stuff going on. Yah. It amazes me that all was happening at once. By the grace of God, we got all of that sorted to what He had in mind for us longer-term, and we are in a much different time now. With many fruits from that time. One of them is the start of my daylily propagation work.
I may never be able to say for certain what Hello Yellow’s parentage is, but I only had five seedling pots going the year I planted those seedlings, and I have a few notes, so I am trying to replicate it with those clues. I have a 3-year seedling with first year scapes that may provide clues this year, and I am very excited about that. The most important thing, though, is how much we enjoy Hello Yellow. Hello Yellow has provided so much beauty and so much educational prompting. I am thankful for Hello Yellow.
On to a requested update –
Our beloved direct sow daylily seedlings are doing well. They are claiming spots in the gardens, and I am checking them daily. What a wonderful development, and a great new avenue to explore! I think there is also some sort off message in “1” this year. I have had multiple occasions where I had one seedling, thought that was it for the new variety, and then capped off those efforts by planting the one seedling with the dirt and seeds that were in the pots, only to find the seed preferred direct sow. I could expound on things like not every child has the same needs, each child makes their own path, sometimes you just need to try something new, patience is a virtue. All of that. And I definitely now have a renewed option that I had previously written off. But bottom line, I am not sure what’s going on with the “1” thing and the direct sow thing this year, but I’m listening, and I’ll follow the breadcrumbs and see where it takes the gardens, and me.
The first seedling from the direct sow phenomenon this year is looking like a container grown seedling now.
Let’s see. What else? The Asian lilies continue to have one of the best years in a while. This single looked like it was waning last year. Glad to have it back.
An old Asian lily returns this year
The Sundazzle sedum out from are starting to make donuts again this year. It makes me smile. I do love a good (real, yummy) donut. But, I know, the proper thing to do would be to divide the Sundazzle sedum and then transplant. Maybe. We’ll see how busy the fall gets.
Sundazzle sedum begins to donut
Our little bird drop Currant has a lot of green, but no berries yet. It is starting to take up more and more space. We shall see if it stays there long term. I did weed the two others that popped up a few weeks ago. I love the thought – but one is enough, in the case of Currants in the daylily areas.
As we move into official summer, the look of the gardens is starting to change. The Weigelia has shed its blooms, save a bit of remaining color, and the Asian lilies are now in full swing.
We will have a couple more weeks of Asian lily bloom and then daylily season will be upon us.
But before we get there, last year’s daylily blooms that made seed and went to seedling are starting to join our gardens. A lot of seedlings. They are getting tucked in between existing daylilies until they reach the bloom (daylily) status.
For a while I was wondering how much we would really end up with for seedlings. This year’s seedlings took longer to germinate than I am used to here. But in the end, the germination ratios proved to be consistent with previous years. This year’s success ratio by new cross/variety is now at 82%. The success ratio for self-seed germination by variety (which I track separately) is at 71%. And then both replications of previous year’s crosses were successful, so 100%. All that work over the past year has come to a blessing. Of course, bloom is years out, but they are on the way.
Now on to the 2026 daylily season. Most of the established daylilies are starting to get scapes. It looks like we will have a colorful July and August. And it looks like I will have pod and pollen parents for the few crosses I plan to do this year. Much less than last year. As always, I will also allow self-seed. But mostly I will enjoy the blooms. Maybe even a few new varieties of blooms from 3+ year seedlings.
Speaking of self-seed, I had a Just Plum Happy self-seed germinate yesterday morning, the first time ever for that long time daylily in our gardens. That was such a pleasant surprise. Hopefully it will survive and eventually go to bloom.
As for the hostas, they are also scaping out now, both here in the townhome gardens and at the historic cemetery. The hosta below and the Blue Mouse Ears are already starting to show the start of color.
While I do not propagate hostas, I do divide and transplant them when needed. And here comes story time 🙂
A few years ago I began to move some of the Blue Mouse Ears hostas out of the sun (in what is now “Sandy’s Corner”) and into the shade along the path by the Linden. I also planted some Blue Mouse Ears divisions at the historic cemetery. The divisions did very well in both locations.
This year I need to do more division of the Blue Mouse Ears hostas. I am considering planting those divisions under the Linden where we lost so many hostas last spring. The look will be much different than the large hostas we lost last spring, but I actually think they will be an improvement. Regarding aesthetics, they are very compact, and bloom beautifully for weeks. Regarding maintenance they are a dream. In the fall if I wait until the leaves turn deep yellow, the leaves pull right off.
On to more story time.
At the historic cemetery:
The Asclepias (milkweed) are blooming. Full disclosure, they are not my favorite. I know, gasp, even blasphemous! What kind human, much less a pollinator loving gardener would not want to help out the Monarchs. Well … They get very tall and then start to fall over in a not so wonderful way, and, even though the main reason to have Asclepias is to provide a home for Monarchs to propagate, I have never seen eggs, let alone chrysalis on the Asclepias there. But they are a popular plant amongst the walkers and visitors, and they garner a fair amount of support, so they stay – in moderation. (They are invasive, so I do pull judiciously.)
The Stella De Oros are looking very healthy again this year, and their 2025 self-seed has germinated 20 seedlings so far this spring. Those will eventually get planted right back at the historic cemetery gardens. I was doubtful the seeds would do anything, but now that I see those beautiful seedlings popping up, I am hopeful to see those blooms in the years to come.
The Yarrow is hitting full bloom, and that brings me to the topic of the uniqueness of public gardens, and how the historic cemetery gardens continue to surprise me.
For the Yarrow in the historic cemetery gardens, I am seeing some fairly decent stands of a new color (pink) this year. Wild, white yarrow, which we have at the historic cemetery, blooms true from seed, which I have direct-sown, and it readily spreads as well. Meaning, the Yarrow we have had would not produce pastel pink blooms. I am wondering if we had some pink Yarrow plops (anonymous gifts that got planted).
I used to be a bit thrown by plops, but now they bring a smile. You see, the historic cemetery is a public place, and the fence garden is a public garden. And it is becoming quite loved 🙂 Yes, there are some things like wrapper and beverage tops that show up, but, at the same time, it is my absolute pleasure every time I am there to hear thanks over and over again for the transformation from 4 years ago.
I also know the community contributes as they walk by. We definitely have some consistent phantom weeders 🙂 I have witnessed their work as I arrived, talked with them, and in turn thanked them for all they are doing.
All of that makes my heart incredibly happy.
That being said, back to plops, if a plop fails, I have no problem pulling it and putting it in compost, and if a plop gets invasive it also goes out.
But the vast majority of plops become a loved part of that very public garden, for all to enjoy. In fact, we have a couple daylily plops that went to self-seed last year, which I harvested, and planted to germinate this spring. The seed did germinate, and when those seedlings get big enough to be easily recognizable as daylilies, so they do not get accidentally weeded, they will go right back into the historic cemetery gardens. In addition, one of those daylily plops already has a plethora of scapes again this year, so we all will be treated to its beautiful blooms again soon.
And finally, the plant below (tall stems coming from very green leaves) at the historic cemetery was either a plop or a bird drop. I think it is a Figwort.
Full disclosure, I do not love it. But a few other people do. One sweet walker even carried a bottle of water every afternoon to sustain it when it looked droopy a couple years ago after I moved it.
What do you all think of it?
For now, it stays, but it may go into a new area this fall where the look will be more toward wildflower. Probably right along with the Stella De Oro it is overtaking 😉
I believe that is it for this What’s Up Wednesday.
Today I am especially thankful for the very nice, and very gentle, provision of rain we are getting. I do love to be out in the gardens, enjoying them, pampering them, tending to them, but balance is also important, and gentle rain days are always a two-fold gift for me. They bless the garden, and they bless me with an indoor day.
So today the newly planted hostas at the historic cemetery will get a good gentle rain soak, and, as I have been reminded yesterday, with that “still, small voice”, that the inside of our home needs pampering 12 months of the year, I have been provided an indoor day to encourage me to do that. I could fill up my day with other busyness, but those would be opportunities I would be seeking out, and not what has already been provided for me.
But, before the rain started, I saw even more of the peach Asian lilies are opening. Thank you, Lord, for the lilies!
And in my morning walk about the gardens, I also noticed that Equal Opportunity (one of my daylilies from seed) has its first scape of the season, and Pink Tirzah also has a scape. Thank you, Lord, for those! I have been checking for those. I have done my part, and I was waiting patiently on Him for the next provision (for blooms) and confirmation (for the select crosses I want to do).
I am constantly reminded we are all here for a reason, and in order to fulfill that reason we need to have a deep abiding relationship with our Lord, so we can hear His will. I can do my will all I want. He lets me do that. But my most peaceful outcomes are when I am in His will.
We are now coming into the latter part of the daylily seed germination watch and moving into the bloom season for the Asian lilies.
Two seedling planters remain.
As I sat on the patio this weekend, relaxing in my rocker after reducing seed plantings, I looked over at the two seedling planters and realized that is what I want next year. Enough capacity to be creative, but also a nice limit. 32 of the silicone base medium seedling pots I love to work with fit perfectly in the grey box, and 4-5 medium plant pots fit in the cedar box.
I am thankful for the expanded daylily propagation experience last year. Doing all the crosses in 2025 was a boatload of fun, something I had to try. And I am grateful for the result of that harvest as well. I still have a few stragglers so there may be additions, but I currently have 15 new daylily seedling varieties from last year’s work. Lots of potential to work with in my future daylily crosses – when/if they bloom in the years ahead. That’s good.
My garden thoughts and my garden words and my garden pictures are now shifting into well-worn territory – with a few surprises, but nothing too crazy.
This week the Asian lily bloom season started. The peach ones are consistently first, but this year, the pink ones under the Linden have returned right along with the peach ones. I thought they were in decline in our gardens, but I got a happy surprise this year. They were just rebuilding.
A couple years back, on a very hot September day, I sat with a plethora of Blue Mouse Ears hostas I had divided and needed to transplant. I had an idea. The pink Asian lilies under the Linden had been fading to almost nothing over the previous years. The Linden provided some nice afternoon shade. The Blue Mouse Ears hostas might look nice along the path at that corner! But I was whooped. Like getting dizzy whooped. My husband agreed to help. As we dug the holes for the Blue Mouse Ears divisions, we removed the few pink Asian lily bulbs we found and that was that. It was time to stop. I later transplanted the pink Asian lily bulbs to the historic cemetery, along with some fans from Purple D’Oro daylilies I had also divided at the townhouse. I made a quick little note, went to water them every other day or so, and then pretty much stopped thinking about those plantings.
Last year, 2025, I did notice some Asian lily greens were returning at the historic cemetery and at the townhome some pink Asian lilies did bloom. That was nice. But when I saw the pink Asian lilies at the historic cemetery this week, I was delighted. Even more, I was surprised to see greens from daylily “seedlings” planted with the Asian lilies. Maybe there was hope for seedlings, I thought. But today as I was planting some donated hostas, I found the marker for the Purple D’Oro self-seed seedlings. Those seedlings did not make it. The Purple D’Oro divisions did. It’s all good. I am hoping to see Purple D’Oro daylily blooms at the historic cemetery this summer. Or next 😉
Additional fun in the townhome gardens:
The Malva Zebrina Hollyhocks are growing very nicely, as is the sole seedling of my experiment planting one daylily seed at a time in tiny little pots in 6 pk trays. I am equally happy to report that the wave 2 plantings of seeds from that same cross yielded much better results – see pot next to the cloche on the ground. I am not a professional propagator by any means, but, for me, multiple, same cross seeds, planted in one pot – Golden.
And we continue to get Currant seedlings. This one may not stay. I think I need that space for daylily seedlings.
But this one probably has found a home.
And at the historic cemetery:
The historic cemetery has quite a few Stella De Oros. Last year they hit their stride and then had a lot of self-seed pods. I harvested the seeds on a whim but doubted those seeds would do anything. This spring I dumped those 80 seeds in soil in one big pot, put dirt over them, put a cloche over the top, and made sure they got water. Well … they must be meant to be! They are coming up! More every day! We’ll see what the count looks like in a few weeks. Where I will put them is very much TBD. The fence garden, both sides, are getting nice and full.
And that brings me to another fun thing – we had a nice donation of a variety of hostas for the historic cemetery. Some are already allocated for a new project, but there were a few spaces on the left side of the fence garden where I have repeatedly tried to plant seeds and seedlings, and for whatever reason, they just don’t make it. So today I officially threw in the towel on that idea and used those spaces for some of the donated hostas. Amazingly, even though that garden is in full sun for almost the full day, hostas do well there. I hope the new ones follow that pattern. They look very nice in their new location!
This morning I am thinking about all the things I am thankful for. Deeply thankful. With as much of a “spirit, but in a human body” understanding of exactly how Faithful God is.
Underpinning everything is always my faith, and my trust in the Triune God, and my salvation from eternal separation from God. That only Jesus could provide – and did. No way would I want to do life without that.
And there are so many things – provisions, answered prayers. Not always in the way we wanted, but with faith that He’s got us. In tiny little things as well as monumental. Consider the lilies. Matthew 6: 28-30
In the garden, specifically this week, I am thankful that the sprinklers are fixed. It is novel, and nostalgic to haul out the hose, but so much nicer to walk out in the morning and see the water on the ground, and the gardens.
I am thankful the new plantings are doing well. Those 20+ year old hollyhock seeds that, amazingly, went to seedling are enjoying their new home. I am excited to see what they bring to Sandy’s Corner.
I am thankful the squirrels and bunnies are leaving the shamrocks alone.
I am thankful for the bloom of the beautiful Weigelia, and how that 23-year-old has rebounded.
I am thankful for this time of year, and for time and energy to play in the various gardens, and for the physical and mental challenges the various gardens bring. It keeps me researching and documenting and analyzing … and writing.
And I am thankful for the time to just enjoy the gardens, at the townhome and at the historic cemetery. The birds, bees, butterflies, the very squirrely squirrels, and the human and canine visitors, in person and online. Wonderful!
It was a relaxing morning in the garden. Time to sit in the sun a bit, and then the shade when it started to get warmer. Just taking it all in and then doing a little putzing.
The shamrocks needed to get out to their summer spot under the Linden. Then they got a good watering and some pruning. The sprinklers will water them now until they come back inside in October.
And although we are still in a sea of green for the daylilies, we have our first daylily scape of the year.
First scape of the year – Hello Yellow claims the honor
True to schedule, it is on Hello Yellow. Hello Yellow is one of my seedlings, so that is always extra special. This will be the third year of bloom, but we still have a few weeks to go for that. Here’s a pic from last year.
Unfortunately Hello Yellow does not seem to want to produce viable seed. (Last year’s seed looked ok, but it did not go to seedling this spring.) It is however, very pretty, and a keeper. I will post pictures again this year when it blooms.
And the list for fall moves has begun. This Asian lily (in the middle left) blooms peach. It should begin to bloom in a couple weeks. I noticed, however, that it is tall enough this year to be directly in the sprinkler line. Time to find it a new home, this fall. I think I know the place. It would probably look nice filling out the corner, right by a certain frog on a swing.
And I noticed this morning that we have another new daylily cross that went to seedling. That makes 13 new varieties this year. I’m guessing that is small potatoes for many propagators, but that is the most I have ever had in a spring. It was a lot of work, and I am still in the middle, but I am definitely thankful and very happy.
Rain is coming, starting tomorrow. Between the rain and the June heat things will start to pop color very soon.
This year I have posted mostly about Sandy’s Corner, but there is an entirely separate garden I show blooms from, yet hardly ever post the full garden. I like that garden just as much, and it has a history just like Sandy’s Corner, but nowadays it is as much of a working garden as something with pretties in it. That garden has a lot our tried and true, purchased daylilies, a very nice sedum, a very nice hosta, some clematis, some asian lilies, some forget-me-nots, and a corner of daylilies I grew from harvested seed. There is a boatload of history in that garden, tons of fun and funny stories, and, when I look at in real life, I, as a gardener, zoom in on the individual beauty, plant by plant.
But in pictures … yah. Time for a little optimization.
That garden is exactly perfect for daylilies. It gets sun for a long portion of the day. But that area is also a bit … rough. I actually have thought about requesting to put mulch outside the border, between the pine and the pavers, because it has pine tree roots. But meh, I don’t want to replace that mulch each year.
Like Sandy’s Corner, that area has gone through multiple iterations. At one time it was half sedum. One of our previous dogs, a very precocious Irish Terrier mix, REALLY did not like bees, and would lunge at the sedum out front in the fall, breaking off pieces. Well, of course I rooted those pieces, and when they were ready to be planted, I went about it. In those days I was lining and swooping lots of multiples in the landscape, and that’s what I did with all those sedum rootings. They started out itty bitty, grew to just right, and then all of a sudden, they were huge. I kept one in place, donated a few, and relocated the rest into our other garden areas.
That area also had a trial period as a berry bush spot (failed), and for over a decade it had quite a number of tulips followed by hostas. That was in the Hostaville days. Those poor hostas. Way too much sun. And the tulips are just memories.
Eventually that garden rounded the corner to be primarily a daylily garden. As I got more and more into daylilies, and started ordering from the source I currently use, I plopped them in in the fall and waited to see what did well over successive years. I did take some care to place them for size (tall to the back) and bloom time (for appeal), and they were very definitely pretty. So pretty I ended up wanting to use some of those daylilies for crosses. Including some of the ones to the back haha! Playing hopscotch was kind of humorous in those days, but now that I know which ones I use, I want to make those more convenient.
So here we go. Seedling planting first.
The 2025 crosses that went to seed and then went to seedling this spring are doing way better than I remember in previous years, as far as growth, and they are starting to get ready to be planted. This has kind of caught me off guard, as I usually plant seedlings in the late summer/early fall when I do divisions, transplants, and additions. But I have space for seedlings in that garden, and I can start what I have been meaning to do – make “family” plantings. Planting seedlings close to their parents – or at least their pod parent.
The backdrop is already there
Unlike Sandy’s corner, I already have a long-time established backdrop to that garden. Way back when I first started the gardens I put in clematis on trellises. It was a bit of a learning curve there, too, as I put a huge trellis by the AC and learned what AC venting up high does to clematises. (It blows them apart 😥) I donated that huge trellis to a friend, along with blooming cactuses he also thought were cool (and I wanted out), and I went much smaller. Then came the day when we had two things happen at once – we replaced the AC and furnace, and we bought a very small house way up in a little mining town on the north shore (Lake Superior). We thought we would retire up there, and I was building out my gardens. Well, I dug out that beautiful deep pink clematis and pulled out those shorter trellises and brought them up to that little house and planted them there. (They took 😊) But I didn’t get it all, and a little bit remains and blooms each year, even despite a previous lawn maintenance service thinking it was a weed and yanking out what was above ground. Oh yah. The stories! Anyway – that remnant of a clematis comes back each year. Sometimes more than others. This year we only have one bloom on that clematis. It is pictured above. I am hoping that clematis remains, but we shall see.
The other clematises also have a story. When they bloom, I will share those.
And those pots on the path? They are planted daylily seeds harvested from the historic cemetery. The small pot has seedlings harvested from what I call a “plop”. As in donation including planting, with no further information. I don’t know what they are, but they are very pretty in bloom, and they had self-seed, so I harvested it. It worked, but now I have a dilemna – seedlings do very poorly in the historic cemetery gardens so … they are living here for now, until they get big enough to be obviously a daylily. The larger pot is full of Stella De Oro self-seed and … they are not going to seedling. The dirt will eventually be spread out under the pine tree.
Then in the front open space is the failed Schnickel Fritz daylily. Long live Schnickel Fritz. And the small grey planter is my seedling planter with some townhome cross seeds that aren’t germinating yet. Soon they will go up north to give those seeds one final chance to germinate in the wild. Probably not, but you never know.
The wooden seedling box stays. Another story for another day, but the kids made it for me for a milestone birthday, and my husband lovingly made repairs to it this spring.
And that is the garden I hardly ever show as a full garden. Soon to be optimized and then be named. I’m mulling that over. I’m thinking something like Worker Bee – tongue in cheek to honor our Irish Terrier, who did not love bees, took many bites to the mouth to try and remove them, and who could not understand why I would entice more lol.
We are in the middle of a drought AND the sprinkler system here is also in the middle of some repairs. Now, shhhh, but lawns to me are the most beautiful when they are old. Really old. Like a century old is wonderful. I don’t, shhhh, think house yards need to be golf course worthy. That is just me. I know I am probably in a tiny minority with that belief.
But … gardens 🙂 🙂 🙂 They are so worth pulling out the hose. And that is what we did tonight.
It unexpectedly brought back such fond memories, especially times with my Dad, with him pulling out the coiled hose, starting up the water, not even having a fancy sprayer, sometimes just a thumb fanning the water out – until the water got way too cold. Tonight, as our old sprayer hobbled along, definitely needing replacement, I was in memoryville of those times long ago, spraying the gardens, sometimes the yard if it really needed it. And tonight, when I sat down on the patio and looked out over the freshly sprayed garden, I felt like I had brought a little bit of those long-ago times to our gardens here.
The sprinklers here will be fixed. I will probably not get a ton more sessions like tonight. But wow! Was it fun!
