Today in the orchard
Orange and Green: Hemerocallis, July 24, 2025
Farm work with others provides time to talk. I call it “whistle while you work.” In other words, as long as you keep your hands (and feet) working, it’s fine to talk too. It’s a skill, like walking and chewing gum. Today Skylar and I completed the door we’ve been assembling. We’ll hang it later in the week. One of the subjects in our conversations (whistles) as we clamped and sawed and planed was color. Favorite colors, least favorites, shades, pigments, etc. When you get into apples, the colors are almost endless. Which brings me to today’s orchard report. The Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are blooming. On the roadsides of central Maine the naturalized Daylilies are in full swing, and they are definitely orange and green - my two favorite colors in combination.
While in general, I’m a big fan of Daylilies, some cultivars I love, while many, like the frilly ones, I don’t care for. Very few of the named selections are orange. That’s okay. My favorites are many of the yellow ones, some of the orange and some of the two-toned. Because there are thousands of selections and nearly as many colors, there’s bound to be a Daylily for everyone.
One of the great things about Daylilies is that they easily transplant all summer. That makes it possible to see the colors and forms and select them right on the spot. I used to go to a wonderful nursery in Carlisle, MA called R. Seawright. Anytime I was in MA in the summer during Daylily bloom, I’d stop by, wander the nursery rows and select a few new favorites. They’d dig them on the spot, wrap them in damp newspaper, and a few hours later I’d have them in the ground. Sadly R. Seawright closed a few years ago. But there are other Daylily nurseries. There may be one near you!
