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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Daylilies (sniff sniff)

Have you seen the fabulous daylilies on Louise and Lori's blogs?  They posted photos of their gorgeous daylilies last year too.  That inspired me to plant a daylily this Spring.  Now, gardening is challenging at 6,800' in a semi-desert, so I called my little daylily my test pilot.  I was pleased when it survived transplanting and thrilled when it developed a bud.  Sure, it's about 8" tall and some of Lori's are 5 feet tall, but I was pleased. 

 (Cue dark cloud.  Literally.)

Yesterday we had a tiny bit of hail with our monsoon rain.  It struck off a few aspen leaves but did no real damage.  But when I looked at my daylily, the bud was gone!  Gasp!

At first I blamed the hail.  But now I'm not so sure.  That's a mighty crisp cut.  Could one of our billions of thirteen-striped ground squirrels have helped themselves to a snack?  Perhaps.

So I took a stroll and enjoyed the beauty of prickly pears blooming in a rock outcrop.  Yep, it's the very same plant that I behead and dig up when I find them in the horse pasture!





11 comments:

Louise said...

Ohhhh, lots of critters, like rabbits and deer, like daylily buds. In fact, humans can even eat some of them, though why anyone would want to, I don't know. Next year, get some of this stuff
http://www.liquidfence.com/deer-repellent.html
I see that they have repellent for ducks, turkeys and even armadillos, too. I go through a lot of the stuff during the year, with all of the deer I have around here. You only have to spray it when the plant first starts coming up, and then when the scape (stems that hold the flowers) appear. They won't eat the leaves.

I'd cut that scape off now, and, if you have a rebloomer, that may encourage it to send up another one.

Terry said...

Thanks Louise, snipped it will be!

Janet said...

Hi Terry

Don`t worry-I`am sure your day lily will recover ! the flowers on that prickly pear are gorgeous-glad you re-located them !
Thanks for entering our little competition and donating-sending you a big hug {( }) hope you win xx

Terry said...

No, no! I used the English language incorrectly yet again! I didn't transplant prickly pear. I meant I destroy it in the pasture and admire it in the outcrop. Someone once said that a weed is a plant that's growing where you don't want it.

in2paints said...

You should see what the deer have done to my shade garden. :(

I can't seem to grow any kind of lilies. Those creepy praying mantis bugs eat the buds as soon as they appear. Not sure if one could have eaten yours too or not... hopefully you'll get more buds!

Lori Skoog said...

Terry, if you only lived closer! I could give you at least 500 daylilies.
Ours grown like weeds.

Cedar View Paint Horses said...

Hemerocallis are one of my favs. My Stellas are in full bloom right now, with the larger varieties to follow. As mentioned, I'd cut that stem back and have patience. Sleep, creep, and leap for perennials.

John Going Gently said...

terry
thank you SO much for joining in the the pig competition
it was very kind of you, and I was so moved by your gesture

much love
johnx

Dreaming said...

Ah, Terry, don't despair. With a bit of TLC your day lilies will multiply and it will be good!
My adage when it comes to plants is: The first year it sleeps; the second year it creeps; the third year it leaps!
I transplanted lilies at the old house and now, in their third year, they are glorious!
As to the varmint who had the nerve to take your one bud... shame on him! When there are lots of buds, missing one or two isn't bad... but this is downright awful! :-( I grieve with you!

Jim said...

That prickly pear blossom is beautiful! Who needs day lilies when you have those! They look as if they are made of silk. Great photos Terry!

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Not to worry, maybe another bud will come along, that's the beauty of Perennials.
I am in awe of your beautiful horses, what dedication it takes to keep an animal looking so healthy and pristine.
We lived at the base of Pikes Peak Mountain in Colorado Springs, before moving to my husband's hometown outside of Nashville, TN.
It is a beautiful state and one I hope to revisit when we retire.
Glad the tornado went on it's way!
~Jo