Beautiful Trumpets Of Color

It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the store. The first object to come into focus was a carton with a beautiful photograph on the front. It was a picture of a planting of golden daylilies.

The owner of the store, pulled up a mass of roots from the carton, "You have to try one of these. It's a prize winner!"

The photograph which attracted my attention was of one plant, not three or four as I had assumed. It was the Stella de Oro daylily.

The literature was convincing. It said Stella de Oro is a compact ever blooming plant. It blooms from early spring until frost. The literature also stated a mature plant (assuming a bulb which has matured for at least a year or two) will produce up to 300 blooms per season.

The winter-hardy lily has received the highest award which can be given to a daylily, the Stout Medal. I was convinced and took one home with me and planted it among my other "normal" daylilies. I didn't get 300 flowers, I'm sure, but it certainly out-performed all my other lilies.

Daylilies (hemerocallis) are perennials which are well adapted to Florida gardens. As a child, I remember seeing great fields of daylilies and gladiolas grown by commercial growers in Dover which is just outside of Plant City. My mother used to take me with her when she would go to the gladiola farm to get cut-flowers for the church.

One of my great-grandfathers was a truck farmer in Dover. Near him was a huge daylily farm. My brother, Gene, was always interested in hanging around the farm to visit Jack, the mule, but I always wanted to walk over to the other road to see the field of color. I found it much more exciting than a field of eggplant or okra.

Today you can find daylilies in many colors other than the familiar yellow and orange of old. Regardless of your color scheme (if you follow one) you can now find a daylily to fit into it. From dark reds to the palest pinks, apricots and creams, you can add this versatile plant to your garden. Some of the more interesting flowers are bicolor.

Plant sizes range from standard to dwarf with single and double blooms. The fact the plant can be placed in sun or partial shade adds to its versatility. And it will grow in a variety of soils, as long as it is well drained.

One of the things which always pleases most gardeners, is self-propagation. Growing in clumps, mature plants can be divided and new "clones" planted to expand the garden.

Spectacular flowering plants like the Stella de Ora make wonderful specimens for focal points. Of course, daylilies can be a mainstay of the perennial border garden, but consider this: daylilies as ground cover.

Daylilies make attractive green mounds of foliage when not in bloom. Planted on a bed of river rock or mulch, there is no reason they canÕt be as useful a ground cover as any other plant. As a bonus, when they are in bloom, they are a beautiful sight.

If you are the type of gardener who craves "the change of season" garden, this makes an excellent plant to use. When the plant is over wintering and has diedback, your garden takes on a different aspect than the spring/summer garden.

When you are next planning your garden, look for a spot for a daylily addition. The big, bright flowers will enhance any setting. Be daring, plant a huge specimen to dazzle the neighbors. If you canÕt find a bulb (actually I would call them tubers), mature enough, group five bulbs in a circle, for a really big show.

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