Growing Habit: Like their name Hemerocallis ("beauty for a day") indicates, individual daylily flower lasts only one day. A single plant may produce over 50 flowers, however, extending blooming period of a plant for several weeks.

Daylilies produce a wide array of blooms. Some varieties provide single trumpet-shaped flowers. Others are double, ruffled, fringed or spiderlily-like. Bloom sizes among varieties range from 2 - 8 inches. Gardeners especially value daylilies for their wide range of colors, as there are varieties available in every color except blue. Some daylily blooms are a single color, but many are multi-colored.

Most daylilies have arching foliage that grows 18 to 24 inches tall. Some varieties have erect foliage, however. Some grow as low as 12 inches and others reach 3 feet. Leaf color ranges from pale green to dark green with a bluish cast.

Daylilies are perennial plants, with deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen varieties available.

Location: You can find daylily varieties for all U.S. zones, however, daylilies thrive in zones 4 - 9.

Although they are adaptable to most soils, daylilies do best in slightly acidic, moist soil that is high in organic matter and well drained. Excessively rich soils may result in increased foliage growth and decreased blooming.

Daylilies prefer full sun, but will tolerate light shade. In hotter regions, some light afternoon shade will protect blooms of some daylily varieties from fading.

Although daylilies are drought-tolerant once established, consistent watering while they are budding and flowering will produce better-quality flowers. During hot weather, they should be watered at least weekly with 1/2 to 1 inch of water to encourage best and longest-lasting show.

Propagation and Planting: When planting daylilies, whether divisions or newly-purchased plants, you should dig a hole slightly larger than roots to be sure roots are allowed to spread out. Make a small cone of soil in center of hole and place plant on top, fanning roots outward and downward. Carefully work soil in around roots. The crown should be set not more than an inch or so below soil surface. Tall cultivars should be spaced 24 to 30 inches apart with smaller types 18 to 24 inches apart.

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Make Your Garden Unique

Garden decor, along with things related to gardens, provides a return to nature, a sense of spirituality, and a return to earth as people journey on their quest for significance and ultimate meaning. Moreover, through use of decorations, gardeners reveal their quirks and shortcomings, their wit, their creativity, and their desire to make their gardens unique.

Transform Your Life

Gardens and their ornaments are symbols of enchantment, mystery, meaning, and of ultimate being. Another way of looking at this is to see that gardens and garden accents provide power to transform one’s mood and one’s life. To be sure, garden accessories can become symbolic reminders of life’s blessings as they encourage people to enrich their surroundings by transcending mundane.

The Gardening Imagination

Garden ornaments help people take an active stance in their lives by enabling them to create a niche in world that is in concert with their values and their dreams. Indeed, it is this “gardening imagination” that provides people with opportunity to select meaningful objects that speak to their senses, to their experiences, and to their lives.

An Invitation to Add Garden Decor to Your Life