Loving the Outdoors - Daylilies Part 1

I love the Spring for so many reasons. One of my main reasons are my/our daylilies. Those cheerful yellow flowers just brighten up my morning. I grab a cup of coffee (well, usually my 2nd) and start the "grand tour". Then Mr. Dumpling will do the same thing and inevitably ask me..."Did you see the .....". With daylilies, every day really is a new day!!

Today, let's cover some of our "recurrent, reblooming" lilies. The first we tried was the Stella de Oro. WOW! This is our very first bloomer every Spring and it really does bloom until the first frost. For Louisiana, that is at least 5 months of continuous blooms!

They grow quickly and we have already divided the ones we planted 3 years ago. These are the darkest yellow of the rebloomers. However, they probably give the biggest bang for the buck.

Happy Returns is a medium lemon color and blooms profusely! Overall, it is probably my favorite yellow but we don't have many of these. It's almost time to divide them tho.

Going Bananas (don't you just love that name?) is quite showy. It's the lightest of my lilies but blooms so profusely. They are taller and make a nice display around the fountain.

Here's a comparison of the three blooms for size and color: Left to right: Stella, Going Bananas and Happy Returns.


Lilies can be a lot of work. I go around each day pulling off the day old wilted bloom. You don't want them to make seed pods unless you plan on storing them. Seed pods will decrease blooms. However, I actually enjoy doing this. I know...I'm strange. This is a bunch of Stella's that need some work. See those pods?

No post is complete without a pic of Boudreaux/Boo/BooBoo/AngelBaby...Is he spoiled you ask?



And just so OnlySon doesn't get jealous, here's a pic of him and Miss E....one of my favorites.




Next week, we'll take a look at some of our really special lilies. They will just knock your socks off!

I'm participating in:

Outdoor Wednesday
Wednesday Wow Us

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Outdoor Wednesday - 5/15 - Roses, pansies and birds!

Spring is definitely here and Outdoor Wednesday is the perfect showcase for it! Jump over to Susan's at A Southern Daydreamer for more outdoor adventures!

The weather has been pretty cool here but some lovely sunny days. Here's some pics of how the yard is progressing.



With the cooler weather, the pansies are still blooming. I just love their cheerful little faces.








The knock-out roses are starting to bloom. If you don't have knock-outs, I highly recommend them. They are disease resistant and bloom constantly!





The knock-out tree rose. I can't wait until it is in full bloom!





Even the magnolia "Little Gem" trees are loaded with blooms. I love the smell of a magnolia bloom...such a clean, crisp lemony smell.




The Stella daylilies are just loaded with buds. In a few weeks, they should be putting on quite a show.





My favorite for today? Remember the little bluebird next with the pretty blue eggs?





Well, they are hatching! Look at these little birdies singing for their supper!'



See the one little egg left - He's a late bloomer I guess!



So with all this blooming going on, Here's a closing thought for today -

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Outdoor Wed - 3/4 - Plants and more plants!

I love Outdoor Wednesday. Everyone is so creative in what you find...even in the midst of winter for some. Susan is the hostess over at A Southern Daydreamer.

Well, we're almost through with our arbor project. I hope I haven't bored you to tears with this! We added plants this past week.




We went to the nursery to browse which isn't how we usually do things. We typically have a plan and are seeking specific plants. This time...not so much.

We found some gorgeous yew which was already potted. They are huge! I love that they give the landscape a look of being there a while. We took one out of the pot (which had been broken).



The other one we placed on the far side of the arbor. I love the age on the urn. I will add my mother's bird bath and a concrete bench I've had forever.





We also planted abelia. Love the glossy leaves!



A double bloom red Knock-out tree rose. Our's looks like this:



But it will look like this one day...I hope!



We added three of the new Sunny Knock-out roses. Ours -



Eventually -



My daylilies are coming up like gangbusters!



We hope to hit another nursery this weekend to add a Climbing Pinkie rose and purple clematis to the arbor.





See you tomorrow for Tablescape Thursday!

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