Daylily Adventures from A Girl and Her Garden

What a difference a year makes... | Daylily Blog on WAITING!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:20:00 +0000

<posted June 19, 2013> What a difference a year makes!

Last year on this date, I had already exhibited in a show and my seedlings were almost all blooming.

This year, I have two daylilies blooming and not a single seedling has bloomed yet. And I think Im okay with that. It allows me more time to focus on tasks that go by the wayside when bloom starts. Things like edging, staking, pruning from spring growth. I am also able to notice changes in the garden that I might not see if the daylilies were exploding, like how full the Cleveland pears have gotten in just a year, or how the hardy hibiscus look so pretty emerging from fresh wood.

Ive invested quite bit of time in the precariously placed robin's nests in my yard, too. Today, the last baby left the nest we have been watching so intently for the last month. She built this nest on my potting bench.

Wanda laid 4 eggs and all of them hatched.

It was special for us because the boys had never seen eggs or chicks or how protective and attentive the mother robins can be. She sat on them during two near-tornadoes and several high-powered storms. Over the last month, one died leaving the nest, and I saw the other two Monday and yesterday skittering about the yard and garden, hiding in clumps and perching on short sticks - learning to live.

Here is the last remaining baby, yesterday, holding out for just the right moment. This one stayed in the nest almost five days after the others had left. Wanda kept feeding it and sitting with it at night, so we knew it was going to survive!

Today, this last baby bravely climbed onto the rim of the well-built nest and just flew.

Wanda's nest is empty.

I'll miss them, but I'm glad to have my potting bench back.

You can see the start of Wanda's nest in this picture...I think Ill leave it there.

Here are some first pics of the earliest bloomers. Not any of my earliest are yellows! What do you think about that?!?

From top left, we have CHAOTIC EROTICA from Illinois hybridizer Martin Mayes. Top right is Paul Owen's RUNNING FOR THE BORDER (which measured 8.5"). Bottom left is Michigan hybridizer Martin Kamensky's SHY PIROUETTE (which will rebloom until September) and bottom right is Nicole DeVito's FOREVER FASCINATED, blooming in a pot waiting for the Region 2 Summer Auction in Cincinnati at the end of the month.

C'mon, daylilies...

Gone fishin' | Daylily Haiku Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:58:00 +0000

<posted June 13, 2013> This is my favorite pic of H. 'Siloam Olin Frazer.'

I had to let the sun set on this haiku today. I am checking out of blogging deep thoughts for the next couple of weeks. Daylily season is about to kick in to high gear and I don't want to spend it behind a keyboard!

I will still share a haiku each Thursday and will also post pics of my upcoming adventures quite often, but as for mind-blowing thought starters, don't count on it til at least August.

Please email me if you need anything...I'll be outside.

Dig deep, inhale even deeper and enjoy the summer!!

“We’ll stop when it looks cool.” | Daylily Blog on GOING.

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:20:00 +0000

<posted June 10, 2013> Roads trips are a part of my DNA. My ~~reckless~~ restless spirit loves to run. Daylilies give me the chance to travel away from places I cherish to places unknown and to people I love.

(photo) This is one view of Daylily World- literally. The gardens of the incomparable David Kirchhoff and Mort Morss.

As a an only child of young, hippy parents we camped a lot, we went to friends farms for weekend trips and we sometimes spent the night in our own basement just to have an adventure. I learned how to read an atlas early and loved the free road maps you could get at the service stations from the stern man who would pump your gas. My parents and I took random road trips to places like Colorado with no planned agenda. No Internet. No GPS. No Expedia. Definitely no cell phone. Just the knowledge that Interstate 70 heads west, hits Colorado and our car takes regular gas - not unleaded. I made blanket forts in the backseat, never wore a seat belt and my parents puffed Marlboro's from the front seat with the windows barely cracked. Surprised I survived. Ah, capricious youth.

“We’ll stop when it looks cool.”

Throughout high school I relished debate team overnights, cheerleading events, and far away marching band competitions. For college I went 1000 miles away to Florida to make some memorable moments that I revisit often. After college I saw 46 states by car over three summers; those desert sunsets changed me forever. My husband and I enjoy Mexico often, and we are trying to be less rigid about an agenda, thanks to a happenstance meeting and a perceived Haitian invasion while visiting the Dominican Republic. Here's two shots of our recent trip to the east side of Mexico...

(Don't worry, the trip was pretty blurry to me, too!)

To kick off daylily season for 2013, I was a guest of the Cobb County Daylily Society and the Daylily Society of Greater Atlanta as a judge for their combined daylily show last weekend. It was a pleasure to be invited back and they put on quite a show! Over 300 scapes colored the atrium on the Cobb Galleria and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

The show boasted over 300 scapes and the two clubs did a great job once again of coming together to put on a joint show. There were five panels of three judges, and I was honored to judge with Dr. Scott Elliott (who is producing some of the best-scaped doubles I have EVER seen) and my sweet friend Rosemary Dixon. We had great discussions, many laughs and enjoyed our time together. I also got to meet Scott's charming wife and got to kid around with Joann Stewart, who I don't see often enough.

Here are two exhibits of Heidi Douglas' H. 'Papa Goose.' First time Ive seen it exhibited!

I was most impressed by the color shown on the section winners. Often, darker color flowers are harder to exhibit and you don't see head tables that are so "dark." This was impressive. I was also thrilled to see two Region 2 cultivars among the highest winners in this deep south show. Jamie Gossard's introduction (large photo below) was stunning. Love this one, Jamie - it has amazing masculine structure and is so intentionally white.

Here are the winning faces from the head table at this show.

(H.'Santa's Little Helper' and H. 'Blooming Beauty')

(H.'Free Wheelin'' and H. 'Everybody Loves Earnest')

(H.'Hats off to Sue' and the seedling winner from Bill Waldrop)

The height, branching and bud count on the winning seedling was spectacular (above, right). I can only hope Bill Waldrop chooses to introduce that one. I thought of some possible names for it on the flight home - finally settling on one inspired by a recent culinary adventure, "Pickled Blackberry Sorbet." Maybe Bill will see this suggestion and consider adding it to his expanding line of sorbet-named daylilies. LOL!

(H.'Virgil's Suspenders' and H. 'Grapesicle')

(H.'Brookwood Ojo Poco' and the head table of all winners)

The adventures I have travelling the country participating in gardening symposiums, daylily exhibition shows and daylily-centric garden tours are priceless. My garden itself is becoming a living history of what I’ve seen and where I’ve been. It’s like that for most romantic gardeners, I hear.

H. 'Heavenly Snow White', hybridized by Jamie Gossard and expertly exhibited by Bill Waldrop. This one has little purple highlights on the buds and bracts. Very interesting!

So now I’m the parent of son who has an app to identify every constellation in the sky at the tip of his fingers; a boy who can ask Siri how far away Jupiter is from his location at any given moment. One night when my husband was out of town I took our sleeping bags and pillows out on the back deck, where the view of the stars takes my breath away every night. My son and I laid on our backs and used our SkyView apps to find all the planets (yes, Pluto is still a planet in my book) and even saw some satellites.

He loves going. Living. Certainly his mother's son.

Thanks for another soul-feeding trip, Atlanta. I always look forward to the next time I can run to you.

What's happening? | Daylily Blog about The Now.

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:46:00 +0000

<posted June 6, 2013> I am trying to contain my excitement. I am really trying to not take note of each new scape I see in the garden. BUT IT IS NO USE!

I have waited a year for this single gardening month and I cannot believe it's here. For me here in west/central Illinois, peak bloom seems explode in June. I have spent each day since last June having an internal conversation about "Next year..."

"Next season I will be sure to get the Milorganite down earlier."

"Next year I'm planting that whole bed with zinnias."

"Next spring I've got to get those sages in peony cages earlier."

NEXT YEAR IS HERE RIGHT NOW!!!

No daylilies are blooming yet, but they are coming. I expect peak bloom on near 400 cultivars to happen the last week of this month.

I feel good about the 2013 bloom season. Many tasks and projects that have been on the dream list since we moved in have been completed. The pergola is finally up and the fire pit is down.

All the water features are reinstalled and are in perfect working order. The water iris are even blooming in the front pond!

The hummingbirds have returned; they seem to especially love sitting on a piece of art that Dan Bachman made for me! See? They only sit on this spoke. They'll fight over who gets it before they will sit on another. Funny things.

The largest bed (seen below) only lost three daylilies and one "hardy" hibiscus. I've given up on H. 'Pink Lacquer', H. 'Nicole's Plum Crazy' and H. 'Mapping Michigan.' These never came up past an inch this year and their corpses are taking up some valuable real estate - out they go!

A robin decided that a great place for a home would be on top of the birdhouse that Duane Nickel made. I planted the roof of it with sedum/succulents and set it on a potting bench this spring. This nest was built and laid before I even saw it. I thought they would go IN the house, not build on TOP of it. It has been very interesting to have a bird's eye view of these eggs. They have hatched now, and we enjoy watching them learn how to live from their fierce guardians.

Life is beautifully strange.

And fast.

Hold on tight...next stop? Summer!

P.S. I'll be in Atlanta this Saturday, June 8, at The Galleria judging their daylily show. From the Cobb County Daylily Society website, "More than 500 blooms of several hundred different cultivars will be on display for morning judging and afternoon viewing by the public. At the same time, bareroot daylilies will be on sale at bargain prices, a great way to add these hardy plants to a garden. A design competition using daylilies is always a must-see, also. Experts from both clubs will be on hand to share what they know and love. The show and sale is free and open to the public from 12:30 to 4:00 PM." Get more details here. Do come by and say hello!

Great color in daylilies! | Defining what IT is...

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:18:00 +0000

<posted May 23, 2013> I swear the daylily foliage in my garden this year is the best it has ever looked. Or could it be that my eyes are just so sore for green, lush sights that I am imagining it? Either way, it is awesome out there. I'm dreaming of the days when the clumps of leaves are covered in an umbrella of bloom. Dreaming of the days when I search for the sight of the day that takes my breath away - something in the daylilies that makes me whisper an "ah" upon discovering it. If you need a chart to feel what I'm describing, here:

Its usually color that does it for me first. Saturated, sunfast and sexy color. Like Bill Waldrop's 'Red Sapphire.' It means to be pink and it is PINK - not a muddy mauve - but PINK. Here it is:

Sometimes its clarity of color that strikes me. Below in Kimberly McCutcheon's 'Baby Pinwheels' or the classic 'Julie Newmar' I see clarity and cleanliness of color.

And again with another Bill Waldrop introduction, 'Kennesaw Mountain Hayride' there is a deep saturation that looks like wet paint. I find that when I go on garden tours of other daylily-centric gardens, if I happen to "connect" or "have a moment" with a particular cultivar, I seek it out to grow in my own yard so I can relive that moment of excitement - that blip on my heart chart.

What I love about Tim Bell's 'Valdosta Again' (below) is not just the dependable pattern, but the chartreuse beacon at the center of the flower. If that were more dull, if it weren't so wide and repeated on the sepals, that pattern would not be so fantastic. This one was my gift plant for attending the 2010 AHS Convention in Valdosta. What an amazing time that was...

And it doesn't have to be complicated color to be amazing....look at Barrie Matthie's 'Bonibrae The Freak.' This has Richard Norris' 'Substantial Evidence' in its pedigree. LOOK AT THAT GREEN! This photo was taken outside at 1pm in Georgia heat when I visited Kennesaw Mountain Daylilies last summer.

Enough of this...I could go on forever. But you should go now and think about what it is in your garden that makes your heart chart BLIP! I'm going to continue to enjoy the hummingbirds feeding today during a light rain...

hummingbirds drinking-

the soft rain coating their backs.

they don't seem to mind.

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Daylily Blog on The Gardening Gospel!

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:40:00 +0000

<posted May 16, 2013> In one of the daylily groups on Facebook I recently posted about my reading this back issue of the fabulous HORTICULTURE magazine (2011). If you don't subscribe, you should. I am always inspired by the writing. The final page in this particular issue has a great story about eccentric gardeners that I could read 1000 times.

As you can see, this 2011 issue features daylilies on the cover, so I have it saved with other magazines which highlight daylilies. I quite often set this stack of magazines out when garden tours come through, or when groups visit that aren't daylily-centric.

Now, answer this question for me:

I often wonder why so many people who "discover" daylilies for the first time are so astounded with the forms and diversity in the flower. Looking at the cover of HORTICULTURE, such prime real estate features basically a dark burgundy fulva-ish face.

"They" have left us in 1950.

Why would such a magazine leave such a diverse flower so mid-century? It's not like VOGUE or TIME look so far in the past for cover photos. They feature today's look and feel and influence the buying patterns of people who subscribe. They feature today's fashion.

Today's issues. Today's "prime stuff."

Why would HORTICULTURE choose to put such a safe face on the cover? I'm sending a package to its editor, complete with back issues of our amazing Daylily Journal and the Region 2 Newsletter. They will be so excited.

God Bless the historic cultivars and their place in our space, but its time more general-gardening fanatic folks understand that it's not your grandmother's daylily anymore.

What do you think? Would a cover be better with something like this?

Let's discuss.

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Reclaiming Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:17:00 +0000

Oh, where has the last month gone? I don’t think in the history of A Girl and Her Garden have I ever went three weeks without posting. Especially Daylily Haiku Thursday. But the last month has taken a special focus that has only allowed me to blog in my head, and not sit to gather thoughts and actually write.

I focused on a trip to visit the Northeast Arkansas Daylily Society at the end of April and even though the visit was accompanied by the fugitive chase in Boston and torrential rain storms – it was a real treat to meet more daylily fans. Gail Rasberry whipped up a technologically-advanced meeting room at a college, complete with SmartBoard and dual projection screens. All I had to do was give her the presentation; that was awesome. Like many clubs, they had great food to eat in a sit-down atmosphere before the meeting. I spent near 90 minutes talking about my travels to AHS National Conventions over the last five years (couldn’t fit a decade of them in one presentation…) We had lots of good conversation and then raffled off a boxful of great cultivars I brought to share. Someone went home with CONCRETE BLOND, OSTERIZED, GLORIOUS AUTUMN and several other good ones. People like free daylilies that are still priced a bit uncomfortable for their pocketbooks.

When I got home (I drove the 5 hours) there was no rest, as I was focused on playing host to the FABULOUS Nan Ripley of Walkabout Gardens in Iowa. She was the featured speaker that night at the Greater St Louis Daylily Society! Nan presented a “Hybridizing 101” presentation that will eventually end up as a premier presentation in our AHS Media Library. The presentation is thoughtfully constructed – with information for both the novice and the expert. Wonderful photographs explain complicated and confusing terminology and I loved the whole thing!! Nan’s delivery style is light and direct and built for teaching about gardening. You can hear the passion she has for making great daylilies. I already grow her LOVE OF RUTH and WINIFRED ESTHER and LOVE OF DADDY OH; I hope to add a few more of hers next Friday at our massive club auction. I think she’s sending 10 of her intros. I can’t wait! If you are looking for a fresh speaker with lots to share, I highly recommend Nan.

No rest for the wicked…for our son turned 8 the following week and we planned a party for 45 at the martial arts studio where he practices Soo Bahk Do. Followed by a huge afterparty sleepover at our house. Let’s just say it was a ton of work and even more fun. The rice krispie sushi I made was a hit. (Cool Moms use Pinterest for all the BEST stolen ideas.)

When we woke up from a weekend of parties to celebrate 8, my husband was off to Detroit for several days, which makes work double for me because he does so much around here. Carter and I were immersed in digging daylily orders, moving mulch, and doing lots of second grade homework.

As if we didn’t have enough parties, I planned a “Second Grade Sendoff” party for the four classes that will merge together at a new school next year for third grade. I wanted to let the kids meet each other before the First Day next Fall – possibly easing the anxiety of such a big switch. 100 kids in the park doesn’t sound like a good idea on paper, but it was amazing and inspiring to see them bond so quickly, sign each other’s yearbooks and make plans to see each other in the Fall. Kids are cool.

Daylily shipments are coming in almost every other day; all of the shipments I have received so far in 2013 have been spectacular. No bad sellers so far this year! I finally found AT JACK’S and JOSEPH’S COAT to add.

AT JACK'S (Bruch Kovach introduction from Centerpiece Gardens)
This is northern-born and show-winning! Here are two more of its awesomeness.

Through Facebook I was able to connect with someone who grew a daylily I have been looking for – BROOKWOOD JULIA SEMON. This one has been very hard to get my hands on. Even Leo Sharp (the hybridizer) wouldn’t /couldn’t share or sell a piece to me when I visited his garden in 2008. Someone saw on Facebook that I was lusting after it and offered to sell me some! Oh, happy day! Here it is - flat, flat, flat. And, oh, the fragrance!

Then there were the Kentucky Derby party (I donated a large basket filled with potted daylilies and garden tools for the silent auction) and two big plant sales and a skin issue for our Boston Terrier (vet visits required) and the skunk issue with our Golden Retriever (vet and groomer visits required) and then finally Tuesday night there was a terrible accident at the house we used to live in (now rent out) in Michigan. Now we must deal with the challenges of being a “long-distance landlord.”

I needed to dig in the dirt before I was burying someone in it. I potted up 18 daylilies and dug three orders.

I needed some retail therapy. So I went plant shopping. A few times.

A gorgeous Tiger Eye Sumac, some ‘Banana Cream’ Shasta daisies, miniature black eyed susans, several cool sedum, an epimedium (my first), two mini fothergilla, three ‘Caramel’ heuchera, some large pots of ‘Guacamole’ hosta (you can never have enough of this one), and two of the new ‘Big Bang’ series tickseed later, I feel better.

This is what Im doing with all that stuff - filling my new front landscaping with it! Im going in shades of brown, orange and whites - with lots of green textures and native plants. (Bobbie Brooks, let me know your thoughts!)

Im tucking dozens of different sedums and creepers along my sandstone staircase....

And Ive even incorporated a small pond that will make for awesome atmosphere when enjoying the seating on the front porch...(see it behind the heuchera there in the pic below? You can see the fountainhead staring at you, waiting patiently for placement.)

There is so much to do and so many possibilities. Mostly everything is still potted and being moved around daily- a game of Gardening Chess that I am happy to play.

I have been having fun making choices as to which daylilies will be incorporated into the mixed planting. I've promised to not make it "another daylily-focused bed" so I'm only choosing the best specimen for this area. I've chosen MARGO REED INDEED, BOUNDLESS BEAUTY, SUNSET GRILL, SUN SCREAM, HOT CHOCOLATE, MATTHEW MARTIN, FOR CHOCOLATE LOVERS ONLY and JOSEPH'S COAT. Here are two pics of the super-unique MATTHEW MARTIN.

It's been quite a KAAAA-RAZY few weeks here and I hope you are more happy about my return than you were disappointed in my absence. I'm finally feeling my head above water and had to get some words out of my head (at least the ones fit for publishing!)

Here are links to articles I have written about photography and photographing daylilies. A few friends have asked me for extended thoughts on this topic, so while I gather my new thoughts, I will share with you these:

MOTION AND EMOTION

FABULOUS AND FALLING INTO FALL

A LITTLE TO THE LEFT

RECAP OF 2012 National Convention

WITH AND WITHOUT AN UMBRELLA

TWO SHOTS, PLEASE

Looking forward to a weekend filled with family time, Mother’s Day, hole digging and smiling.

No. More. Drama. (hey! That’s a good name for a daylily…hmmmm….)

Til next time!

Daylily Haiku Thursday | We're not all creators...

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:23:00 +0000

There are countless ways to enjoy the wonderful daylily. Photographers, writers, collectors, painters, landscapers, designers, website creators, authors, editors, auditors, planners, judges, teachers, administrators, speakers, donators, growers, sellers, and ambassadors all cherish the diversity and delight that a daylily brings to the perennial garden.

We buy and sell them in all sorts of ways...

We can sit in dark rooms and listen to hours of lecture on them...

We show them in designs, in so many creative ways...

We tour gardens all over the world as a group - learning together. Getting stuck on buses together, sitting around pools together, sharing a laugh over a good gumbo...

There are many ways to love daylilies. It takes many different kinds of people to keep our daylily universe humming along.

Make sure you search for "daylilies" on Facebook and join some of the groups out there that are sharing photos and stories every day - every minute - about our favorite flower from all over the globe.

touring the Reilly Garden in Enterprise, Florida (2009) - that's Mort Morss on the left!

one of many shade houses at Floyd Cove Nursery - Enterprise, Florida (2009)

The American Hemerocallis Society organizes almost 10,000 people around the daylily. They provide sales, shows, symposiums, and tours all over the country.

Local daylily clubs bring in speakers who share their passion for growing daylilies. Some lecture on photographing them, growing them, hybridizing them or collecting them.

The best thing you can do to fuel your daylily love is to plan to visit an AHS Display Garden this summer. Find them all here and make some plans!

Jump in when you can, in whatever way makes your heart flutter.

Daylily Haiku Thursday | New ideas for daylily shows?

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +0000

<posted 4/3/2013> This is the daylily, H. 'Texas Feathered Fancy'

Spring is coming. Her approach is slow, sure and maddening, but coming nonetheless. The temperatures are just warm enough for me to be out in the garden, but still too cold to let me do anything on the growing to-do list for Spring Chores. That means a lot of nervous energy and ideas buzzing through my vitamin-D deprived brain.

I got to thinking about what plants I'll sell this year, and the list was longer than I would have imagined. Many clumps are now 20+ fans and I could make several pots of many cultivars to sell at my Farmer's Market booth this summer. I'm only picking two days at the weekly event in Alton - two of their busiest days - to set up shop.

I'm going to really put on a show, complete with my new A-Frame thingy to display off-scape blooms. I built two similar to this to have in my booth.

a feature of an AHS-accredited daylily show by the Southern Michigan Daylily Society

The booth is going to be just as much selling plants as it is talking daylilies and getting people energized about bringing them into their gardens. I have a great collection of vintage tablecloths that Ill use to decorate, and have some other ideas to stand out in the crowd. It'll be my most public display of personal daylilies that I've done since moving to this area, so we will see how it goes. This is a Farmer's Market that is really getting going with popularity, so I think it will be a hit. The manager of the place wants to arrange some daylily "talks" too, so maybe that will bring in more addicts like us.

I'm only selling once in June and once in August, and for the June sale I plan to use potted daylilies that I'll dig very soon - maybe 20-30 cultivars for which I have awesome photos and can sell for a good price. Not the discards. Not the has-beens. Not the ones I don't want anymore. Not the typical $5 lot seen and "wanted" by the general public. I'm going to step it up, give the daylilies some personality and draw some attention to these gems.

I find that digging and dividing them this early in the season (like this weekend) disturbs most established cultivars very little. It also provides for a great specimen for the customers. Once the dates are set, I'll publish them on my calendar of events, which you can find here.

I know people have been selling at public markets forever, but I'm excited to put my own spin on it. This is my big "new thing" for the year, and I am very excited!

The Central Illinois Daylily Society is also planning a sale/show that I hope to be a part of again the first Saturday in August. Last year was so much fun!

I also got to thinking about daylily shows (of course.) And what kinds of "new things" AHS could think about infusing into the traditional show procedures. What do you think about these things?

A local section for Multi-Bloom Exhibits ON THAT DAY?
Adding points to the Scale of Points for "presentation?"
Add an AHS-mandated section for "historic" cultivars? (1982 and prior registration years)
Ask the AHS Membership or Public Relations Committees to publish a "Show Day Information Kit" for local clubs to duplicate and hand out to interested visitors?

There is always time to think...and to change.

Til next time-

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Pink and Orange

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:09:00 +0000

<posted March 28, 2013> This is the daylily, H. 'Wide Wide World'

I love pink and orange together. On my shoes, in my swimsuit, and splashed around my garden - EVERYWHERE! It is a wildly reckless color combination. Check out this Pinterest board; your eyes could possibly fly from your head with glee when they see what's there. She even has some daylilies featured on her inspiration board. Pretty cool. It also reminds me of Easter, so this picture jumped out to be featured in today's haiku.

Anyhoo, I wanted to remind you of a few stories from my past four years here that I enjoyed reading again. According to Google, these are six of your most-visited stories, too.

Skin In the Game - A post on "getting better."

Speak Up! - A post on presentations and the audiences who sleep through them.

Eliminating the Mediocre - A post on collections.

Collection of (for) me - Another post on collections.

A Little Bit of Strategy - A post on getting your seedlings considered for AHS awards.

What's Overrated - A post on keeping up (or not) with the Joneses.

Enjoy today, and enjoy this upcoming weekend with your families- whether they be formed by law, by blood or by good old fashioned love.

Til next time-

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Much ado about Branching...

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:16:00 +0000

<posted March 21, 2013>

Here is the AHS definition for branching.

Branching is not a trait that can be used as a ruler across all cultivars in an exhibition show.

There. I said it.

Something historic, which may only typically have two branches but the clump puts up 14 scapes, should be equally appreciated on the show bench as a cultivar which may show 5-way branching, but it is the only scape that the same-size clump produces.

Here's the scenario:

A panel of judges approaches these two scapes on the show bench.

Exhibit A: two-way branching, with 18 buds

Exhibit B: five-way branching with 18 buds

Observes Exhibit A: Sees one wispy scape with only terminal Y branching and perfectly spaced blooms. Takes 5 points off for branching (half of the allowed points earned for branching) because “It just isn't there.”

Observes Exhibit B : Sees beefy scape with 5-way branching and perfect blooms. Scores perfect points for branching because it looks stunning in the vase as a single example.

The first one, registered with 2 branches, is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Branch 2 ways. Should judges take points off for branching because “it isn't there?” In my opinion, no.

I am lenient (yet observant) on branching, until it gets to the head table. Then, I ask classification for registration information on branching if my Best In Show scores are close. (NOTE: I've taken to using my iPhone/iPad during the show to access the AHS Database so I can get the information myself.)

The branching points aren't to be used to measure what we would like to see the branching be…it is what it is. Of course I’d like to see every cultivar have wonderfully spaced 5 way branching, but that isn't reality.

We cannot translate garden-value judging to the exhibition-value judging. Those are apples and oranges.

Exhibition Judges should use caution when taking off points for branching simply because it is scant as it appears on the table. You aren't asked to judge whether you think the cultivar has good branching, you are judging whether its branching is showing as it is registered. You might think that cultivars that only branch with a terminal Y are "scant", but if that's how it is registered, then it is not "scant" it is "as registered."

While judging sections, unless I see something that is not proportionate or strange that causes me to check the registration data for branching and bud count, I do not tend to deduct much for branching and bud count. But that's just me.

On the right is a wonderfully branched scape of H. 'Holy Water' from Frank Smith. This was observed in one of his shade houses during the 2009 National Convention.

MORAL OF THE STORY: A registered cultivar should only be expected to perform to the standards indicated in its registration data, which is provided by the hybridizer.

While judging an exhibit, judges should never say, “Well, look at the branching on THAT one,” pointing to the exhibit that is showing somewhere else in the section. That is an inappropriate comparison to make since registered cultivars are only judged against others in its name class until it reaches the head table. The exhibit competes against itself and its registration data- not other cultivars in the section.

I think some exhibitors are under the impression that only a beefy scape with high branching and high bud count should/could/would win the show. That couldn't be further from the truth. Using the AHS Scale of Points correctly, any daylily from any year, any hybridizer or any grower could win Best In Show.

What do you think?

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Daylily Blog about a Blank Slate!

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:48:00 +0000

This is the daylily H. 'Cave Creek Canyon.' I just love its edge, which seems to stand erect off of the petal, and not just sit on the outskirts of it. Its tightly sewn, showing off the brilliant gold-metallic coloration!

Here is the spring project, friends. The boulders and the sandstone stairs are finally in and placed just so. It's a blank slate for the start of our real front yard.

Will it be round or spiky; tall or short? Wispy and full of motion, or organized and tidy? Evergreens, trees, boxwoods, hosta, hydrangea, daylily, daisy, canna, sage, plumbago, phlox, wooly thyme or roses? YES!

My neighbors are as curious as I am as to what it will become...

C'mon Spring!

Keep Calm and Exhibit On... | Daylily Blog about Daylily Shows

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 02:41:00 +0000

<posted March 11, 2013>

Many clubs have met for the first time of the year and plans have started formulating for the year’s activities. A topic of much discussion at the local level must be an accredited AHS Exhibition Show, as I have received three emails from three different states in the last 10 days. Generally, their emails all ask the same question – how can I get my club fired up about having an AHS-accredited show?

The theme is generally the same around the country – “we don’t have the money”, “we don’t have the energy/manpower”, or “we don’t like what the competition brings out in our members.”

Often the “WE” is a loud minority, who has been-there-and-done-that and isn't interested in going there again.

I could write a novel about jaded, controlling, bullying behaviors in hobby clubs, but I won’t go there today. Where I will go is to tell those who are just discovering daylily shows, and those who have the desire to host such an event – MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR GRAND PLANS DESPITE THE RESISTANCE.

One club in my region is struggling with how to get enthused about such an “old-fashioned” thing to do. I created a new colorful, informative PowerPoint presentation for that club.

It is filled with my photos that are meant to stimulate discussion, enthusiasm and encouragement around accredited AHS Daylily Shows. It is also peppered with some educational information to get folks excited about doing a show. I’m offering it here to you as well – just in case you need a bit of ammunition to get your club talking. And smiling. And having a good time bringing in new daylily fans.

Click here to download the presentation. This presentation and the photos contained within remain my personal property, for your private use and not for mass distribution by you to any other forum such as Facebook. Mind your sharing manners, please.

I was also asked a bit ago to provide my personal perspective to some frequently mentioned ideas around why folks aren't personally enthused about a show:

1.) "I don't want to waste a whole scape to bring it to the show."
That's a common feeling. If it’s a new cultivar, or its one you are using for hybridizing, then don’t cut it. But, on a clump that is surely going to produce multiple scapes, you won’t miss one - I promise. The feeling of contributing to the public education of daylilies is much greater. There are over 70,000 registered daylilies. You have plenty that no one has ever seen before. Cut one, clean it up and bring it in. Once you try it, you will wonder why you never did it more in the past.

2.) "I don't need a 'judge' telling me my flowers are pretty. I can see that for myself."
Exhibiting daylilies isn't about the 'prettiest' flower, it is about STANDARDS. Judges look for traits such as scape height, flower texture, flower substance, grooming, flower color, flower size, growing conditions, etc. Pretty only goes so far. Judges are judging on a defined set of criteria for each individual flower. The standard the judge’s use is the hybridizers registration information. For example: EL DESPERADO is registered at a certain size. If an exhibit is shown growing smaller than the registered size, points are deducted. If it is registered as a bright yellow and is shown as a muddy cream, points are deducted, etc. Remember, the judges aren’t judging YOU, they are judging flowers to the registered standard.

3.) "I don't like competition."
That's okay. The mission of an accredited American Hemerocallis Society Exhibition Show is PUBLIC EDUCATION - not competition. There are only about 70 shows held each year and being a part of that is a great thing. Not too many clubs can say they hold an accredited show!

4.) "I don't grow any new or expensive daylilies." Year, cost or hybridizer does not matter in exhibition shows. The average year of introduction for section winners in the last decade+ is 1988. Any daylily can win. And does.

(H. 'Brookwood Black Kitten' - one of my favorite flowers to exhibit. This is a very tiny flower.)

I also gave some ideas about how to get exhibitors enthused about exhibiting in the show:

1.) Get tags early from AHS and distribute. Have a quick learning session on how to fill them out correctly and completely.

2.) Offer a raffle prize of good value (a new introduction, AHS coffee table book, 3-year memberships in AHS, etc.) to all exhibitors. Offer them one chance to win for every scape they enter.

3.) Have a grooming clinic given by an AHS judge a couple of weeks before the show. Groom real scapes. Bring real tools and let folks use them in this clinic.

4.) Add a Photography Contest.

5.) Add an off-scape section.

6.) Add a design section.

7.) Add a novice section that allows "first-timers" to enter without too much fear.

8.) Carpool to nearby shows to see what's being done. The AHS website contains a list of all accredited shows in the country!

9.) Provide a clear picture to your members about what to expect on show day and what the procedures will be. Informed folks are happy folks.

The purpose of a daylily show is to get people inspired about daylilies, and we can’t do that if our members don’t bring in a few to share. I promise, if you bring scapes to the show and participate with an open mind, you will have a GREAT TIME. How long has it been since you HAD A GREAT TIME doing something different? You will have connected with the club, you will have connected to the national organization, and you will have connected with other daylily fans like yourself.

(L-R: a seedling of mine and H. 'Worthy One' - both my exhibits)

(L-R: H. 'Mexican Magic' and H. 'Threshold of a Dream' - both my exhibits)

Having a show for your local gardening public IS WORTH THE EFFORT. It’s your responsibility to take the daylily to them – to the nurseries, to the libraries, to the malls, to the state fairs, to the farmers markets – in a way they have never seen them. Getting them to the show will get them to your gardens, and will get them to your club meetings.

Who is hosting a show this year and what are you doing to get your less-than-thrilled members fired up about it?

Keep calm and exhibit on. This is a tradition worth the effort.

All photos taken at the 2012 Southwestern Illinois Hemerocallis Society Exhibition Show in Alton, Illinois

Click here for some great resources for exhibitors and clubs.

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Daylily Blog worth reading again...

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:21:00 +0000

<posted March 7, 2013>

This is the daylily, H. 'Pistachio Eyes' growing in my Illinois garden.

As gardeners, I think we all yearn for that moment where we can look out over our gardens and say, "Right here, right now, there is nothing else I would change about this view." Our gardens are designed to create magical moments that carry us away from our inside lives. My garden is a mini-vacation on an ever-changing landscape that I don't need a passport to enjoy. Take a moment today to smile about the garden you have carved out for yourself!

Spring is starting to tease us and lists of all sorts are starting to appear...

What annuals will I use for accent plants this year?

What hanging baskets will I plant?

Where will I put the bird feeders?

When will the plant sale be?

What shows will I exhibit in this year?

How many plants need new tags?

What giant clumps need dividing early in the spring?

How will I find 28 hours in a day?

Oh, dear.

The one big, winter task I set for myself was to update my PlantStep database to enter all the daylilies (with pictures.) I have not updated it since 2010, and as you know many things have changed since then. After about 30 hours of work spread out across this whole winter, I am just about finished. I think I'll also publish an online catalog of my collection using PlantStep's easy catalog publishing feature. It has not been published yet, but you will be the first to know when it is!

As I've mentioned before, if you aren't using the software for managing your daylily business or personal collection, you are missing out. It beats any homegrown Excel or Access database with its depth and function. Love it. Check out the website here for more information. (and that's not a paid endorsement, it's just my personal opinion.)

H. 'Little Jazzman' and H. 'Elegant Candy' at the 2012 Atlanta-area daylily show.

While looking for some pictures from my blog to pin to Pinterest, I found two old posts you might have forgotten you had read. The first one hurt my heart a bit but the yellow daylilies I featured in it hurt my eyes, too!

My Haunting Yellow Memories

The second post (which was one of the first blogs I ever posted) answers the most asked question when people ask me about daylilies - "How did you discover daylilies?" There are actually two layers to that answer, and this is the first one:

Read the story of my first experience with daylilies.

A tad off normal topic, but my friend, AHS member and fellow daylily superfreak Shelly Stasney in Texas is also a teacher in a high poverty area and would never toot her own horn about this, but she is using DONORS CHOOSE to help raise money for her classroom to study diversity. It is frustrating that teachers have to raise their own money (especially ones who love daylilies), and I supported her with a quick, tax-deductible cash donation THAT WAS MATCHED IMMEDIATELY by a Donors Choose grant because I typed in the code INSPIRE when I was checking out here:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=974244

Just supporting my daylily friends who have amazing lives outside of the garden, and thought maybe you'd want to know about it as well. :)

Til next time-

Daylily Haiku Thursday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 07:00:00 +0000

posted 2/28/2013 - this is the daylily H. 'See Me Feel Me Touch Me' by Mike Holmes. I could not love this daylily more...you can find his daylilies at the Riverbend Gardens website.

Field of Dreams | Daylily Blog on Crazy Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:11:00 +0000

This summer, we will celebrate two years of living in Worden, Illinois- a small village of 900, nestled in a place that the surrounding population/commerce boom seems to have luckily overlooked. It's just under one square mile in total area, and we just adore it. The village even has its own Facebook page! Our life today is so much different than our last 12 years living the very urban Detroit experience.

Driving through the village about two months ago, I happened to look to my left just at the right time and caught the sight of some white plastic blowing in the wind.

What was that?

Did I just see what I think I saw?

I turned the car around.

Yep.

Abandoned hoop houses.

I just happened to have my camera and took these shots to share with you and to use on my ever-growing inspiration board.

My mind has raced with thoughts of me - and them - becoming fast friends since seeing them for the first time. The possibility of having a dedicated space for seedlings of all types and a place for gardening friends to gather.

Click here to read this post from the past, which shared more of my vision to create a place to bring daylilies and FUN to the general gardening community...

I drove my husband and son over to see the new discovery. I took my mom by to see the fabulousness the last time she was over. I made a friend drive over last week to show her the possibilities. Everyone has been enthusiatically underwhelmed.

I'm a "Field of Dreams" type of gal. ("If you build it, they will come.") I am full of ideas and on paper the plans for my quaint, fun, colorful, bustling garden destination make the little pitter-patter in my chest race with green excitement. This is a big project. An expensive one. An exhausting one. Maybe even an impossibly stupid one, but then again - I have always run toward the fire, not away from it.

These long-forgotten and overgrown hoops just two miles from my house are absolutely my happiness-waiting-to-happen.

Now I just have to find out who owns them and ~~stalk~~ approach them for a conversation...

What do you think my first steps should be in turning this space into Awesome-ville? Email me and let me know your thoughts.

Here is a great view from the Taunton garden in Georgia for your weary Wednesday. I visited there in 2010 and loved the scenery!

Come back tomorrow for Daylily Haiku Thursday!

Daylily Haiku Thursday! | Daylily Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:00:00 +0000

posted 2/21/2013 - this is the daylily H. 'Spacecoast Golden Thimble' glowing off in my Illinois garden. I would love to see a pattern stamped on something this vibrant.

While I was supposed to be doing something else, I was surfing the internet for new ideas (like I need any more ideas.)

I found a few I think you would enjoy:

A great site full of daylily-inspired art!

Super cool (and creepy) images and information about Daylily Rust.

Dissecting the Daylily!

A neat project for you if you are a listmaker and a memorykeeper.

I dont have any stake in any of these websites, nor do I know any of these people personally. I just came across some cool things I had never seen before (as it relates to daylilies) and thought you would enjoy some, too.

Avoid awkward hand swishing... | Daylily Haiku Thursday!

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:00:00 +0000

posted 2/14/2013 - something red for Valentine's Day! This is the daylily H. 'Kingdom of Hearts' that was taken in my Illinois garden last summer. It pouted and sulked for two summers after planting it, but oh, it was worth the wait!

Maybe you are a casual daylily lover. Maybe you are just falling head-first into an addiction. You should know that some perennial purists are very particular about the semantics surrounding daylily-dom, and are quick to correct in writing (or in public) about your perceived mistake. For example, at one of my very first daylily meetings in the early 90's, I was chatting in a small group about the different stem heights of my daylilies.

"Oh," the lady raised her hand and swished the air between us, "we don't call them stems, they are scapes."

Awkward.

Here are a few must-remembers to avoid uncomfortable corrections during your next daylily-related conversation:

1. Scapes. This is the 'legs' of the daylily. The 'stem structure.' Or this definition from the AHS Dictionary of Terms. Used in a sentence, "That daylily has a very tall scape."

2. Daylilies aren't lilies. To purists, these words are not interchangeable. They are not in the same botanic family. LILIES are one thing and DAYLILIES are another. Hemerocallis is now placed in family Xanthorrhoeaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, and formerly was part of Liliaceae (which includes true lilies). It would be like saying roses and rose of sharon were the same thing because they share the word rose.

3. It is one word. Despite what Webster, the OED or spell check says.

4. Knowing how to pronounce the word Hemerocallis makes your mouth feel good. Here is the Talking Dictionary to help you with the correct emphasis.

I just checked out the Wiki on daylilies. Interesting. Here it is.

Now go be awesome. It's almost spring!

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Sweet Tranquility

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:58:00 +0000

posted 2/7/2013 - This is the daylily H. 'Sweet Tranquility' as seen in Dan Hansen's Ladybug Daylily Garden in Geneva, Florida - 2009.

You might also like this past post on local-vores.

Or this one on common threads in our daylily community.

Daylily Haiku Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Come back! | Daylily Blog about Regret and Reclaiming

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:58:00 +0000

Posted January 28, 2013. This is one of the last shots of my garden from fall 2012...that's H. 'Kings Cloak' still blooming in November, and its the old Munson daylily I bought while on my honeymoon in Vegas. I carried it home, potted, on the plane. He should have known what he was in for then...

For a recent project, I needed to comb throught he thousands of daylily photos on my computer and find some specific ones. While carrying out that arduous task, I happened upon photos of my garden I had long forgot. Shots from 2006, 2007 and earlier, which were of cultivars that have long left my collection.

Some of them caused me to roll my eyes and remember exactly why they no longer grow here, and others I was sad to remember I no longer owned.

For example, H. 'Gavin Petit.' For three years after its introduction, I lusted to grow it, but couldnt afford it. Finally I won it in an auction and enjoyed the vibrant and gaudy blooms in my garden. I dont grow it anymore because someone visited my garden and made me "an offer I couldnt refuse" for the clump and off it went. At that time, the high price she was willing to pay overshadowed my desire to have it among the other hundreds of daylilies in my collection moving to the new gardens here in Illinois. Blinded by the dollar, I was, and now I wish I had that daylily back. I love the splatter pattern at the edge of the eyezone. I also enjoy the thick edge and unassuming sepals. Sepals that stick out and do crazy things do not appeal to me. (looking at this photo closely, I also see my old clumps of veronica in the background. I miss those, too. Left them behind at our old house...)

I also terribly miss one of the most sophisticated gray-pinks I have ever seen, H. 'Janet Benz.'

BACKSTORY: One time I was working in a garden digging plants for a club plant sale. The hybridizer/enthusiast was donating lots of clumps to the club and all we had to do was come dig them. As a nice reward for our efforts, he gifted each worker with one single fan of anything he was growing. I could not believe the offer. My choice was H. 'Janet Benz.' I could not have afforded to buy this at that time, and it was not widely distributed, so I was thrilled to get it. After about 7 years growing in my garden, I sold it off in about 10 double fans to clubs visiting my garden before I moved to Illinois. I miss it.

I also miss H. 'Royal Butterfly.' And H. 'Fresh Start.'

And H. 'Spacecoast Tiny Perfection.'

Of the over 400 (I've lost count since last Fall) I still grow, I'm finding new favorites. As I looked through these photos from the last 10 years of gardening with daylilies, I see the growth of my collection. Not only in quantity, but quality. I do still have many I started with, but its easier these days to dig and sell a clump in order to make room for other possibilities. If you like to trade, sell or buy daylilies from other daylily folks, you should check out the Facebook page for doing that. It's a growing group of folks who are interested in making some deals. See it and/ or join it here. Post something cool for sale or ask for something you have been looking to add.

Yes, I do miss the ones that are now growing for someone else, but I love what the future holds, too.

one of the islands in my back yard...summer 2012

Daylily Haiku Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Daylily Haiku Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:24:00 +0000

Daylily Haiku Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Something to Ponder... | Daylily Blog on Exhibition Judging

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki Schmith) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:33:00 +0000

H. 'Osterized' (Hite-Davisson 1999)

Scenario: A daylily cultivar is registered with the AHS as 50% polymerous. Said flower is brought to an exhibition show on a day when it is not showing any polymerous characteristics.

Here is the AHS Standard Scale of Points that Judges are required to use for on-scape, registered cultivars:

	On-Scape Registered Cultivars
Distinction	-
Flower
· Color	10
· Form	10
· Texture	10
· Substance	10
· Size of flower	10
Scape
· Height and strength	15
· Buds	10
· Branching	10
Condition and Grooming	15

Total possible points	100

Question: Using the exhibit described in the Scenario above, how many, if any, points would you deduct from the 10 allowed for form?

Follow-up question: How many, if any, other points would you deduct and from what category?

A personal example, if you are still with me. I exhibited a GORGEOUS scape if Judy Davisson's H. 'Osterized' at a show this year. This flower is registered as an unusual form crispate and 50% polymerous. It's a 10" tet that once established, blows most other more flashy daylilies out of the water.

Because it is registered with ANY polymerous characteristics, AHS mandates that this flower, whether it polys or not on show day, must be placed in Section 5, competing with doubles, polymerous and other multiform daylilies. The point of this post is not whether that daylily needs to be placed in the section with the doubles. That is a much higher discussion for another time when we have a few margaritas in us. This question is to define HOW to judge it now that AHS has told us where this flower is to be placed.

I would like to investigate how other judges would fault said exhibit for NOT showing a polymerous characteristic on show day. After all, 50% is only half of the blooms, so would it be more of a fault if it WAS poly'ing or NOT poly'ing?
I'm curious how judges, exhibitors and critics of the system would use the above scale of points to score the exhibit.
E-mail me and tell me your thoughts. I'd love to know what they are, even if you aren't a judge. Maybe you're a hybridizer. Or an exhibitor. Or maybe you are a casual observer who stays as far away from daylily shows as possible for these very reasons. I don't mind where you fall and am not sure I have any empirical method of my own. I just want the discussion so we can work toward being on the same page on these types of intricate judging nuances.

You can also enter them in the comments by clicking the POST A COMMENT link below!

Discuss.

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