Lily and Daylily Flower Show

Daylily Flower Arrangement

This past weekend I attended the Day Lily and Lily show at the Chicago Botanic Garden sponsored by Sponsored by the Northshore Iris and Daylily Society and Wisconsin-Illinois Lily Society respectively. 

At Chicago Botanic garden flower shows - there is placement of only one stem with one flower each submitted by member of the sponsoring society. In the lily show they had also purchased some for display. The layout gets you close to each flower to see the differences up.

I have been jaded by the overwhelming plantings of tawny daylily plants which are considered invasive in my area and many surrounding states. This is 

Ditch Lilies in Illinois

Hemerocallis fulva here is a shot of them in my garden.  Included in this are the Stella De Oro variety. They are pretty but, for me,  no longer pack a "WOW" in the garden.  They even varry the name "ditch lilies" because they can be seen by roadsides. It seems every year there are dozens of people giving them away for free - which is exactly where I pickup up most of mine. I was super pleased to see the potential and so many different varieties of both Hemerocallis and true lily (Lilium) . 

Please  enjoy the photos.  I'm not sure the colors are 100% true, but here are the shots of my favorites :)

DAYLILY VARIETIES Daylily plants are easy to grow and produce lovely trumpet-shaped florets. In summer, blooming daylily flowers offer shades of red, orange, yellow and multi-colored blooms as you can see below. Rare are the lavendar and bluish shades. Newer varieties offer reblooming daylilies will continue to flower right into fall. Daylilies are hardy and thrive across six planting zones, while offering strong resistance to pests and diseases. 

Day Lily Varieties L to R - Blackberries & Cream, All American Chief, Derrick Cane

Daylily Varieties L to Right: Ebony Velvet, Golden Beryl, unknown 

Daylily Varieties

LILY VARIETIES  When I hear the name Lily - I think of three things, the classic white Easter Lily, a Tiger Lily, and a stargazer lily.   Lily flowers are very showy and often extremely fragrant.  The room with this flower display was almost overwhelming.  They flower shape is 6 plain or marked tepals ("petals") sitting atop tall, erect stems.  You can find them in a wide array of colors and blooming times.   I have never had luck in my garden because of not enough sunlight and those Damn Deer!

Lily Varieties, L-R: Miss Libby, Orange Rain, Linda

Lily Varieties L-R: Starburst, Unknown, Kentucky

Classic Lily Flowers - Yellow and white