NCDC Show....

Hosting its 45th annual daylily show at Brookside Gardens in Maryland, the National Capital Daylily Club did itself proud. The setting was beautiful...



Yours truly was privileged to be a Judges' Aide....it was very interesting and informative...I highly recommend it...it's a whole new way to see things...

We'll take a little look around and you get to see what I was interested in....please excuse the photographer's inability to adjust the light settings on her camera...(something to learn...one day)...

Here are a few off scape entries:

EMERALD STARBURST...


SABER TOOTH TIGER...


MONOCACY SUMMER MIST...


and SEBASTIAN THE CRAB...


It's always amazing what folks do who arrange daylilies...


One of the many reasons to attend a show is the opportunity to see daylilies that you might not otherwise...

DANCES WITH GIRAFFES...


CRYSTALLINE ENTITY...


GETTING AIRBORNE...


This is a pretty weak picture of the head table...where all the category winners are advanced...


(nice view out the window, though...)

Award winner OCEAN SPIRIT...


Best Seedling in the show...exhibited by Margo Reed...


some views of the future....

A Jim Murphy seedling...


(Did you notice all the buds on that one??) ...another Jim Murphy seedling...


Two Margo Reed seedlings...


Well, I needed to scurry on home, so shortly after my duties were done and the quick tour above was had, I headed back to Virginia....where my own daylilies awaited me. If you were curious, I didn't enter anything in this show...I'm still learning about all that. I did enter a few things at the RADS show which was held a week earlier....I'll get to those pictures one of these days...

Drive By Posting...

I've been going through photos (thousands upon thousands) and actually have organized three days (so far!) of photos from June....I came across this one and it made me smile...I hope it does the same for you....

June 26, 2009..


(I know...shockingly, it's not daylilies!)

80809....Twenty-One Years Ago Today...

....my most beautiful seedling (hehe) entered the world....just slightly before 8:00 pm at CHOC (Childrens Hospital of Orange County)...weighing just over eight pounds. She has bloomed into a legal adult (so fast!)....Happy Birthday!

In honor of this special date, I thought I'd show a couple pictures of Sam Cat who thinks he belongs to DD and adores her....

Here he is early in the morning taking a drink out of a birdbath....


Apparently, that wasn't quite good enough...


...as he felt the need to get into the birdbath...

Speaking of seedlings, I spent a good portion of today cleaning out about half of my oldest seedling bed. It's tough to do, but you have to ruthless. No excuses, anything not performing well or without a marker of some sort was yanked out. I'm not going to even look at pictures from last year...just in case...as I would surely convince myself to give one another year. Nope!

It's a lot of work that goes into these seedlings and after investing some four years on them, it's time for them to repay me! By that, I need to see more than a pretty face (although some days even that would be enough...lol). I kept one seedling that the bloom doesn't do anything for me, but it has increased well (had four scapes this year) and blooms later. I like those things, so maybe next year I'll work on crossing it to something to improve the bloom, but hopefully keep its good growing habits.

The silver maple this bed grows under is trying to take it over, so these seedlings have competition...tough conditions, but if they can make it here, think how much better they'll do in great soil.

My Chuck Hayes gardenia had a spectacular year last year. It was blooming away like crazy when frost got it last fall. We had a tough winter, but I think it made it through that fine...it was a couple of late winter/early spring freezes that got to it, unfortunately. It looked like a pile of black sticks. However, I wasn't prepared to give up on it just yet...and I'm so glad I didn't. It actually has given me a bloom (so far), but even that seems remarkable given how it looked....


Here's a look at it recovering pretty well...


The Kleims one didn't suffer as badly, but it also hasn't bloomed. I am considering moving it to the backyard by the back of the house...where I think it will be warmer and get more sun.

Early evening the air on my deck is perfumed by some potted tuberose...very nice...


Naturally, though, I have some late blooming daylilies to show...

CIMARRON ROSE continues to delight me...


(How could you not like that??) AIN'T I SOMETHING...on a rebloom scape...


A true late, LAST CHANCE FOR ROMANCE...two views...



One everyone thinks of as a late, SANDRA ELIZABETH...


closer...


LOVE OR ELSE still going on...


LOOK HERE MARY (with some SANDRA ELIZABETH showing, too)...


More of LOOK HERE MARY...


COTTON CANDY CUPCAKE blooming on Georgia rebloom...thanks to the kindness of Tim Herrington...


LOVELY PINK LADY which wins hands down for the longest blooming daylily in my garden this year...


There are some others blooming still, just not today...

A couple of my late seedlings...

8-185


...two views of 8-181



I saw in my drafts that I have a post I started for July 30th...noting what was still blooming then....I might go ahead and finish that one...time is just rushing by me this summer...

What Was I Thinking!

So this nice man comes to my door and asks me if I could use some cypress mulch. Apparently, my brain only heard the word 'mulch' and nothing else.... This tree company was taking out a couple of trees on another street and needed to unload their 'mulch' to save travel time to get another truck as the homeowner had decided to take out additional trees..,


I truly had no idea how much one of those trucks holds! What I have is a mountain....motor home size...of wood chips and branches...


DD and I made an attempt to sift and bag some of it, but quickly gave up. Now, I'm in the process of hauling it to the backyard as fresh wood chips are not really what you want to put in your garden beds (consumes lots of nitrogen as the chips break down..). I mean, it will be mulch...in a couple years...lol.

I figure I might have most of it gone by Christmas...I hope.

Summer Meeting...Region 3....2009...Bennett Garden

Held in Maryland this year, Region 3-ers (and others) began the meeting on Friday evening (July 10th) with a buffet dinner and an auction...but, let's get on with what we want to see...daylilies! Saturday morning, bright and early (as always), we boarded buses and took off.

Our first stop will be the Bennett garden. Charter member of NCDC (sponsoring this year's regional meeting), Mr. Bennett's garden was at peak bloom...perfect for a tour. You should know that Mr. Bennett hybridizes and his seedlings were on grand display in the garden. Mr. Bennett's daylilies are mostly in the backyard (a few are on the side, you'll see..), so his garden is not really visible until you walk around back...and then...wow!


Let's back up, though, and have a look at the daylilies we first see, growing along the right side. Here, there are some very interesting ones...like

TACTICAL CAT...


TACTICAL CAT was one of several up for an award (Region 3 hybridized)....all of those were marked with these special markers...


JOYFUL LASSIE...


A close up of JOYFUL LASSIE...


PURPLE MOUNT...


FOOLISH FLING...


a big shade area...


continuing with the daylilies....a couple seedlings...

03-6-11...


04-3-14...


KANSAS KITTEN...


SOCIAL LION...


another seedling...04-5-3...


Sedum shoes...


KIWI MAGIC...


For many of us, visiting the Bennett garden gave us a first chance to see some of his introductions...

BIT OF JAM...


Seedling 03-4-3...


GHOST OF WINYAH...


This is what you first see of the backyard garden, as you look up from exploring the first daylilies on the side and the shade garden...


Yes, the backyard is quite large...and flat! ...very nice...

POLAR FIZZ...


ELDERBERRY CANDY...


LATE DEBUTANTE....


Seedling 03-5-4...


Seedling 04-12-1...


02-7-10...


The Bennetts have a big vegetable garden. I think it used to be seedlings...



Everything looked so healthy and green...I'm sure it's providing the Bennetts with lots of fresh veggies...however, they're calling us (the daylilies, that is....we want to look at them!)...

CREATIVE SPIRIT...


YELLOW EXPLOSION...


HANDY ANDY...


ANY OLD TIME...


Daffodils were drying in the shade...very neat and organized...


MULBERRY CHARM...


MULBERRY CHARM as a clump...


I was told that WILD CHERRY WINE is perhaps Mr. Bennett's best known daylily, so let's devote a little time to it...





To give you an idea, it's the pink that stands out in this border...


Yes, indeed, it had a marker...I think you can see it in the picture...


Seedling 06-2-1...


Seeding 04-13-3...



Seedling 05-4-1...


In case that picture of the border left you wondering, yes, Mr. Bennett's daylilies were grown in clumps, making for a spectacular show...


Seedling 05-8-10...


Seedling 05-11-3...


Seedling 04-2-6


....another view of the veggies...


...while I get into position to show you from the veggies looking back at the home...


Seedling 05-4-8...


closer...


Seedling 04-14-8...


05-8-8...


Everthing was so well grown...we have to pause a minute to admire the phlox...without a spot of powdery mildew...




Seedling 04-2-11...


Seedling 05-8-4...


Seedling 05-13-1...


06-18-1...


The bricks that edged the garden were all made by Mr. Bennett...


Seedling 05-1-28...


Seedling 05-4-3..


Seeding 04-2-3...



04-8-10...


SITTING COOL...


ANY OLD TIME...


JUST ANOTHER LOVE...



TOP BURNER...


GALA GOLD...


SOMEDAY SOON...



This seedling 96-34-18 was putting on a show...




Sometimes you get lucky with a picture...I really like this...


Seedling 02-3-3...


Another view...


You probably recognize this red...ROCKET BOOSTER...


CASINO JACK...


ART ATTACK...


BURTONSVILLE BLUSH...


really pretty...the pinks and purples together...


ART SCENE...


HERE MY LOVE...


RUTH'S DREAM...


Seedling 03-13-11...


is tall...


LACE CAP BLUSH...



Okay, induge me with some pictures of MOVE OVER which was just amazing...and somehow, didn't win best clump (hehe)....





Just in case you didn't get the message...


(just kidding around)....there were chive borders in several areas looking swell....


SOUTH SEA ENCHANTMENT...


BOLD DECOR....


Seedling 03-14-8...


Seedling 04-2-13...


More great pink and purple


some views of Seedling 04-1-3...



BO KNOWS...



RASPBERRY WINTER...


and as clump...


Seedling 03-2-6


Seedling 03-4-3...


growing with friends...


BIG HEARTED LADY...


Now, as your reward for making it this far (grin), here are some images of color...so you, too, can feel as surrounded by color as we did...









(I couldn't decide among them...they all are so cheery...) Well, we're about to have to leave....

Chives...


Heucheras...


and, finally....the first border we saw on our way in and now on our way out..


Mr. Bennett certainly has a passion (and a talent) for big open diploids. Our next garden will take us in a different direction as the owners of that one are into minis....stay tuned!

Thanks to the Bennetts for allowing us into your garden! It was just beautiful!