The last daylily has come and gone, but what a show they put on this year, even though they're all past due to be divided. We have dozens and dozens of daylilies. They prefer sunny, well-drained locations, but I find they thrive in almost any condition. They are among my favorites; all those bright yellows and oranges are simply joyous. At the Carr Farm across the road, a horticulturalist raises daylilies of all colors, and mid-July sells them for $5 a plant, so we've expanded the color palette or our daylily collection.
July has been gorgeous, with the average monthly high and low temperatures both 1.5 degrees below the historic averages. We had a few very hot and humid days, but no daytime temperature was more than 5 degrees above normal. Twenty nights had above normal temperatures, with three being 9-11 degrees higher than normal. However, sixteen days registered below normal highs, and so things balanced out nicely. If I pay no attention to what's happened temperature-wise in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest this summer, or to the Antarctic ice shelf that is now an iceberg the size of Delaware, I can pretend that all's right with the world.
There was more than enough rain for the month, and it mostly came in two torrential downpours. The average normal rainfall for July is 4.79". This month we had 8.33", slightly more than 3.5" above normal. Two of those inches covered our basement floor when the sump pumps couldn't keep up with the day-long deluge! That was a first.
At the beginning of the month, we introduced 100 leaf cutter bees to their new home just before a surprising downpour, and never saw them again. Last week we brought in 100 more, and they seem quite happy. As I noted in last month's blog, we're seeing lots of honey bees and bumble bees and more butterflies than in the past two years. The re-emergence of those pollinators plus the introduction of the mason and leaf cutter bees--along with more than plentiful rain--may account for the lush beauty of this year's gardens.Between mid-September to mid-October we'll be having the daylilies divided. (We don't do this kind of work anymore.) So if you live in the area and are looking to fill space in your garden with a prolific and faithful bloomer, come on by.
4 comments:
Indeed they were beautiful, even the ones we tossed down by the creek with not much care. The only thing we lost this year were the Iris and I'm hoping they will return next year in the magical way plants and flowers seem to manage.
Your pictures are beautiful, but seeing them in person this month was even better. I wish we had some sun in our yard to grow them. As you know, we are a hosta and wood fern yard. Mother Nature was kind this month!
We love day lilies and used to have a selection of them out front. Then I discovered I planted on the other side of the property line. They are still there but in the neighbors yard. They weren't too happy during our California drought.
The Lillies are Gorgeous … and (as usual) delightful stories. Read somwhere that the bee-community is reporting colony collapse disorder seems to have stabilized and may soon be reversal. Good News = More Bees! If we were closer we’d be in line for a few planting for sure. Simply gorgeous. Thanks
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