Daylilies in my hosta garden

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I have four large beds of roadside orange daylilies. They pup on a big show in July every year, just before the hostas start blooming en masse. Here are some photos. I may have posted these before somewhere, but thought I'd do a thread just on the orange blossoms and how they look next to all my hostas.

Here are the two beds that greet you as you come up the driveway.

The view over the bed to your left. I rake oak leaves over the drop-off here in the fall. This view makes me think of a scene that happens early in Jurassic Park.

Here's what is blooming up in the back garden area. Albomarginatas in front of the rocks, daylilies behind them, Elegans and Sun Power above. I've put in a rhododendron hedge behind the elegans.

A view of the "lily hedge" up back, from the middle of the back area. The big hosta bed is there in the middle, among the trees.

One of my favorite vignettes in the garden.

The back corner hosta bed in front of the daylily hedge, top of the garden. Elegans, noid greens, Dancing Queen, Plantagenias, Rainforest Sunrise, Patriot, and cream-rimmed noids. Some failing irises in the lower left. I've got some gold aralias that I am going to put in the middle of these hostas to provide a yellow backdrop when viewed from the sitting area off camera to the right.

And here's the hedge. I've tried all kinds of evergreens up here to provide an exclamation point at the back of the planted property. Nothing worked, either because of deer chomping or too much shade. lilies came to the rescue.

Featured Answer

liquidfeet Z6 Boston
Original Author

3 years ago

Here are the daylilies growing back. They have a ways to go to get to full size, but they will get there. From now to the end, it's green blades only. They won't bloom again this season.

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Comments (13)

debvanatl
3 years ago
It's lovely!!
liquidfeet Z6 Boston thanked debvanatl
liquidfeet Z6 Boston
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
All things come to an end. At some point the orange daylilies are done. The blooms are spent, and the empty scapes are ugly.

The foliage droops and turns yellow.

I cut them down. All the way down. I rush to get this done before the lilies start putting up new growth inside this tangled mess.

The beds look bare for a week. The second week new foliage shows up. The third week it's fully visible, and after that it provides a significant wave of green again.

I put the cut foliage into my ompost piles in the woods. I need to turn these soon to take full advantage of the green, before it turns brown.

When the new dark green foliage comes up, it fills in the beds for the rest of the season. They do not bloom again, but the foliage is strong and upright and full of vitality.
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shive
3 years ago
Just glorious when massed like that! Thanks for sharing!

Debra
liquidfeet Z6 Boston thanked shive
djacob Z6a SE WI
3 years ago
It’s such a glorious display! Over and over I have been wowed by your garden! I don’t know how you do it!

debra
liquidfeet Z6 Boston thanked djacob Z6a SE WI
nat4b
3 years ago
Wow, your gardens are Beautiful!! Good idea to cut them (orange daylilies) down like that. I don't like them but I should admit they look great en masse like that.
liquidfeet Z6 Boston thanked nat4b
liquidfeet Z6 Boston
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
^^Thanks!!

They definitely are meant to be looked at from a distance. Massed plantings work for that. I have a few fancy daylilies which I keep separate. I walk over every now and then to admire them. Enjoying their exceptional pedals and complex colors is a more intimate experience. I must admit I really like the pizzazz delivered by big waves of humble orange daylilies.
emmarene9
3 years ago
Very nice. I like to see mature gardens.
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Christopher CNC
3 years ago
Wonderful example of how mass plantings create a strong visual impact. If only I could make my mother do that.
liquidfeet Z6 Boston thanked Christopher CNC
emmarene9
3 years ago
That is a nice garden.
Beth (5b - SE-Michigan)
3 years ago
What a great idea, I never cut my daylilies down and they look ratty now. I will try this.

I wonder if it is too late this year?
liquidfeet Z6 Boston
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Beth, daylilies produce new growth after they bloom as they allow the old leaves to die off. The trick is to cut down the old before the new rises, so you won't be having to avoid cutting the new by mistake. Look at your daylilies and make a decision. Can you cut only the old and leave the new? Is the task worth the effort? If there's only very short new growth, or if you don't have too many daylilies, it may be worth it. In an ideal world it's best to cut the old leaves down immediately after blooming so there won't be any new growth to avoid.
skmom
3 years ago
Looks wonderful! I love mass plantings, and I love the cheerfulness of orange daylillies. I like your idea to cut them down in mass, it’s a good solution and thank you for explaining it. I have a lot of daylillies... not orange, but inherited from previous owners of this house that I’ve taken the time to divide and arrange in swathes that can become mass plantings with a little more time. Right now I cut the stems back individually, but it’s starting to become a real chore, LOL!