Week of May 2, 2021

There is surprisingly little overlap in the plants and flowers that grow both in our Florida Garden and in our Upstate New York TAProots Farm. Perhaps the most prominent plant represented both places is the DAYLILY. However, the ones in the Florida Garden seem less robust than the Lakehouse varieties, growing less rapidly into smaller plans, likely due to the hot, dry summers in Florida. We have two batches of them, one in the front yard among the walk, and a second batch along the lanai. Both places can be very hot and dry. Each year, I add one or two plants, usually of a variety that I had not seen before. For example, this years variety is a deep reddish brown, with multiple small blossoms. They do spread out locally in small islands and do a moderately good job as weed controllers. As the name committees, the blossoms last the day but they have a lengthy blooming period . Daylilies are also hardy over our coldest Florida winters and can do well in heat and dry spells. An entire bed of them blooming provides a nice contrast of yellows, orange, and rusty red to the blue lantanas, white African irises, and green agaves in our beds in the full sun.