Daylilies

See this mound of daylilies here in the foreground? I haven’t been sure of what to do with them in the new garden plan. I’m not loving the flowers but I do love the foliage which is why I saved them when digging almost everything else up late last summer.

 

So when it looked like this after the snow had melted I was on the verge of digging them up and discarding them too…

 

I figured  it would look weird having a patch of daylilies in the middle of the lawn as the path won’t be in the new plan.

 

Then when I watched the Mon Oncle movie which I wrote about yesterday I was again super inspired. I made the uneven patch a perfect round instead and plan to incorporate it with the concrete dots down the line. I doubt I will get those done this year (I’ll be re-sowing the lawn and will need to wait until it’s fully established) but I’m now happy with the idea of the daylily foliage staying.

Have a great weekend! I’m hoping for good weather and hope to do some more gardening!

Comments

[Leena]

Cool idea. Oh I wish all the snow would have melted already but we have 20 cm of snow still.

[Moi]

Hej. Du vet om att det finns färdiga runda trampstenar till trädgården va? Säkert fel storlek eller så men det finns. Hassel ord garden tror jag det är. Ha en fin helg!

[Ramona K]

Great thinking Benita. I agree with you about the foliage. You probably have the day lillies with orange flowers that I and most of Sweden have. I like it in the garden. It´s a plant which looks good with and without flowers and needs no special care. If you should feel like having another colour, here´s a link to a Swedish expert who blogs about them and sells them.
http://daylily-potager.blogspot.se/

[Zosia]

The forecast is nice for Warsaw for this weekend. Hope you get good weather too to do some of your gardening projects. Trevlig helg!

[tinajo]

I´m sure it will be really nice when finished! :-)

[Carlos]

Jag vet, det var där jag fick idén från början men jag har för mig att det inte fanns så många storlekar. Lite kul att göra själv också :)

[Carlos]

I will check that site out! Mine are bright yellow.

[elisa]

if i don't like a flower where it is, sometimes i treat it as my own cutting garden! some evil beast ate most of my tulips, so just a smattering of them will look very odd, so they will be cut and taken inside. i love that choice -i do love garden design! x

[Carlos]

That's exactly my plan! I will be there snipping away as soon as those buds open :).

[Crafty Mother]

If you don't like the flower blooms, but like the foliage another really good filler is Montbretia. It has much smaller, nicer, more delicate flowers than the daylily and it lovely for cutting. It is a bulb and multiplies like crazy, so you have to be careful. But is commonly used here in the UK to line paths, which is I why I mentioned it. Love your blog, always a place I check in with, your stair/hall project has given me the motivation to get going on mine! Love your new house too! Best N

[Erin]

I can't wait to see the garden all completed! And without those pink pavers! Have a great weekend, Benita.

[Missy]

I love day lilies . They are so hardy and EASY! I've seen them quite a bit as borders but they will be great in your circle plan. They make a circle all on their own. It's nice when nature cooperates, isn't it?
p.s. I don't like the flowers of any lily. They remind me of funerals.

[Lisa Flaherty]

I need to start watching movies more often, and with a new set of eyes! Can't wait to see the result!

[Layla]

Ok, weird comment: do you know that you can eat the Daylily flowers? Here at our new house, we had a ton of Daylilies last year, and I used to just pluck the petals and make salads with them. They taste like a sweet butter lettuce. And you can sautee the entire blossom, which tastes like very mild leeks. So you could just pluck the blossoms before they open and cook with them. Fun to try at least for an experiment to see if you like it! =D

[Nancy]

I just have to ask and I wouldn't be all that surprised if you do, but... do you plan on making your own round pavers, perhaps with some kind of clever design on each paver or making them different sizes?

If you are planning on resodding your yard, you could lay the pavers in whatever pattern you wanted on top of the existing grass, then spread a layer of topsoil over the entire lawn filling in around the pavers and then reseading. If the thickness of the pavers is going to mean that you would need to raise the height of the surrounding lawn too much then you could partially recess them into the existing soil. This way you wouldn't have to worry about digging around tree roots and you could level out your yard a bit more. It's just a thought. Can't wait to see what you do with your yard this year.

[Stephanie in Amarillo]

I agree with Nancy! Do the Concrete circles first and plant around them. Mostly because I can't wait to see the plans develop!

[Martha]

I'm not sure if you dislike the lily flower in general or the color of yours? Although the yellow would work with the yellow accents on your balcony...

[Carlos]

I'm not fond of yellow flowers to begin with but I think they will look nicer now that they're not in a mix with purples, pinks and reds any more :)

[Carlos]

I won't be able to do the pavers before sowing the sawn because I have contractors coming in to do the decking and the lawn will be sown in connection to that. I want to see the decking live before making decisions on where the pavers go.

[Carlos]

I've tried nasturtiums and if they taste anything like that I pass :)

[Carlos]

I don't mind lilies actually, I just don't like them in yellow :)

[Missy]

I am really enjoying everyone's comments on this post. I can tell that we all have our own "vision" of the round pavers and your new garden. It is going to be fun to see how it looks in May and in June and then July.

[Molly @ A New Nest]

I know you love your kitties, so be careful about having day lilies in your yard! Lilies are extremely poisonous to cats, they cause kidney failure. We had a great big vet bill a couple of years ago when our cat ate some of an Oriental lily from a bouquet that someone gave us.

Don't get me wrong, I had cats my whole life growing up at my parents' home and we had day lilies in our yard and never had a problem. I've heard that cats won't eat them if they have other plants to munch on, and with all there is outside you may never have a problem. I would not bring the plants inside with your cats, though. I also would be careful to wash your hands if you handle the flowers/foliage before touching Mini and Bonus. I have heard that even just licking the pollen off their fur can cause them renal failure.

I don't want to be a downer, sorry! But I didn't know they were poisonous until our cat was very sick and I feel like it's something more cat owners should know since lilies are such a common flower.

[Carlos]

Good to know, I had no idea! I'll be extra careful now, that's for sure. Thank you!

[Nancy]

Can't wait to see what you have planned for the deck. Is the deck in the plans for this year or do we have to wait an entire year to see it? If it is next year, just think of how many pavers you could make by then!

[Carlos]

The deck will happen the week after Easter so there's not much paver making time :)