Bubblegum Queen

Unbound

Four No Trump

SC Irish Illumination

Ripples and Reflections doesn't show many ripples here.

Exactly this! I have been downsizing and begging people to come take anything I'm not using for hybridizing/selling seeds. Mostly they beg for roses, foxgloves, delphiniums, iris, peonies, and other perennials in the spring. I try to entice them with the daylilies but no one comes when they are actually BLOOMING which for me is in July. By then, it's too hot and no one wants to wander around the garden, let alone dig. So when all they see is foliage this time of year they aren't interested. I do have someone coming tomorrow to take a few clumps off my hands. I had my cousin over and out of my over a thousand cultivars she chose the older Ruffled Apricot, a beautiful plant but a plain flower. I told her there are other colors and some more ruffled and fancy but that's the only one she wanted.

Your seedlings are beautiful which makes choosing hard! I can see why people are after those first two, yes. I was immediately drawn to the purple one with all those white teeth. Wonderful.

Celeste - It is really hard to give daylilies away unless they are blooming, and the heat does keep folks from coming to the gardens. I had a lot of visitors when it was cool, but now that the nineties have taken hold, I don't have any tours scheduled. Luckily I have lots of neighbors who will take my cast offs, if I set them out on the steet with a sign. Thanks for your seedling comments.

Debra

I am surprised the purples havent left your garden…..hard to figure out. I do understand why they want your pink babies! Hopefully the dplash of color in your yard wil get some more takers as they pass.

Sherry

I can also relate to this story and I guess it is what makes gardeners so diverse. I only have one neighbor does daylilies and she has really streamlined her garden. I had a young couple come to get some daylilies a couple of years ago. All she wanted were ditch lilies like her grandmother had. So she left with nothing! Like Sherry, I am surprised about the purple rejection!

Great picture of Bluegrass Shadows. And I love the red of Aunt Patsy. The seedlings look great.

I always find it interesting which daylily out of many visitors seem to favor. And I am also astounded by how non gardeners who come to my home don't seem to see any of it. You hate to grab them by the arm and lead them over to a cluster of flowering plants and say LOOK!.......Your pinks are always lovely, and I always liked your pictures of Razor Sharp, so its seedlings are interesting as well. One of my favorites is Chilled Orange Sorbet. It topped out at 97 today, so that color is very refreshing to my eyes......Maryl

I'm not sure that daylily collectors are that wild about purples either--unless they are pictured with a fantastic edge. Certainly, on sellers' sites, a red has to be pretty ornate to garner attention, and yellows and whites are usually ignored. Pinks aren't a big favorite either. Well, it's interesting to see your visitors' reactions. I suppose that yellow works well as a garden focal plant. I hope that my Cobra finally shows some performance, as it too has languished. I see that Aunt Patsy is a Pierce.

I suppose that collectors are more likely to chase a trend or novelty, whereas gardeners immediately think of impact among other plants.

Mantis - I think you're right about yellow working in a garden as a focal plant. One collector was interested only in my Pierces - even when I pointed out what poor growers they were. I suggested those of other Southern hybridizers such as Petit, Dan Hansen and Tim Bell, but she only wanted Pierces, and then only the newer ones.

Maryl - Chilled Orange Sorbet reminds me of the orange sherbet I used to eat on hot days as a kid, so othat color does have a cooling effect on me. It is fun to see what attracts attention in your garden. I was flattered so many people loved those two pink seedlings.

Kate and Sherry - I think non-daylily people think of true purple in the sense of pansies and irises, and daylily purple with its inevitable red tones does not appeal to them. It's not so much they reject the purples. It's just they're not drawn to them. The lady who took Lydia's Regal Robes liked it because it had the white edge. She also tried to talk me out of Faith that Moves Mountains for the same reason. I wasn't feeling like parting with that one though.

Debra