The Perfect Plant for Non-Gardeners

If you appreciate other peoples' yards adorned with pretty flowers, but have no desire to work in your own, this is the blog post for you!!!  There is a flower that requires no attention; just dig a hole in a sunny location and drop it in...seriously, that's it.   And this flower will bloom year after year in a variety of beautiful colors without you lifting a finger.  We are talking about Hemerocallis, the daylily.

Hemerocallis is Greek for "beauty for a day".  Each beautiful bloom of the daylily opens in the morning, but is dead by nightfall.  However each scape (stem) holds many buds to follow for a long bloom period and blooming can be prolonged by cutting the finished scapes off at their base. Some daylilies are early bloomers, while others are mid- or late season bloomers, further enhancing the long bloom season characteristic of this plant.

The daylily has few pests or diseases, can adapt to various soil and water conditions, and is available in color ranges of pinks, purples, yellows, oranges, reds, and near whites.  In your landscape, the daylily has several planting options.  They can be grouped according to bloom time, scape height (ranges from 6 inches to 3 feet), or color. Daylilies require no fertilizer, but enjoy a dose of compost each year. Although they do better with adequate water (especially their first year), they can be drought tolerant if necessary.

They are the perfect perennial!! But for me the proof is in the lovely blooms themselves.  It's hard to believe that Mother Nature gifts me with these beauties every summer when I have done no work for the reward.

So if you are searching for a plant that you can admire from your rocker on the front porch without ever getting your hands dirty, run out and buy as many daylilies as you can get your hands on!

Love ya'll, 

Shelli

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