LilyPalooza 2017

Every year we tend to share posts that feature our day lilies as they enter peak bloom at the farm.  We thought we'd start formally calling it "LilyPalooza" in hopes that Rob will take the time to share pictures with you each year.

And hey!  If you want to see them in person, let us know.  We'll trade you a little bit of weeding time for a LilyPalooza tour of your very own!  Or maybe you can help us with the dishes...  Or you could try not wince too visibly when Rob throws a pun or two your way.

 Daylilies can be difficult for me to photograph sometimes because I admit to being an impatient "photographer."  After all, I am usually needing to do my job as farmer and taking a moment to take pictures of pretty flowers can usually only be an actual moment...

 Sometimes, the picture gets a little washed out looking when the flower is in full sun.  To my eye, many of those featuring yellows really show off during bright daylight.  Add a little red and perhaps some angle to sunlight and you get the picture above.

 At times, you get a little bit of a sparkle in the picture.  Yes, it is true, some of these daylilies show off because they KNOW they look good.

 As an opportunist when it comes to taking pictures, I'm willing to take what is given to me.  Some different shadows?  Ok.  Why not?  If they don't work, they don't work, that's fine.  But, I can still recall how nice it was to take a picture or two at 6:30am so I could get some different shadows on the flowers.

 At times, the colors are absolutely stunning.  I can only hope the camera will catch a bit of the color that is there.  The two surrounding this text are pretty good representations of what I was seeing during my LilyPalooza tour this year.

 If you look carefully, you might notice that daylilies are not all shaped the same.  Some have drastically different sized petals, some are rounder in the overall shape.  Some.... look a little spidery.

 And others just can't wait to open all of their blossoms at once.

 But most are happy with a couple at a time, extending their bloom over a period of many days.

 Some of the flowers are bold - saying "Look!  I have something to share with you."

 And others might rather stay in the corner and mind their own business.

 Perhaps they'll take a look at the aster plant nearby.

 Some of our daylilies are old standbys that we have had for nearly as long as we've been married.  Hyperion is not as flashy as many of them, but it is reliable.  And it makes both of us smile.

 And, Hyperion plays nicely with others.

 Every once in a while, we get a surprise.  We don't recall this one blooming before.  It has small flowers with a frilly texture.  It's actually quite nice, but you have to really stop and look at it to really appreciate it.

 Speaking of texture - even some of the bigger daylilies play that game.

 I suppose we should get around to figuring out what we have and trying to come up with a nice representative planting.  It sounds like a fun project.  But, who will weed it?  We have to ask these questions.

 Because it would be a shame if the flowers were covered up.

 The more I look at them, the more I realize that each one can make me feel differently.  Have a little fun and try something different says one daylily.

 Relax and have some lemonade says Prairie Blue Eyes. 

 And then there's Rocket City.  Not too hard to guess what it might say.

 A flower like the one below almost seems like it is wearing the flowers version of a tuxedo.  Bond, James Bond, it says.

 And this one is just "wedding day" pretty. 

 Then, there is the pinkish flower that just won't let me get it's color right when I take its picture.  Hopefully, I can take another crack at it.

 On the other hand, this one is really that red.

 And these are a coral color both of us love to look at.  It shows off most in the evening, but it just doesn't want it's photo taken then - they just never turn out the way I see them.

 And, if there was a clown of the flower world, it might look like this.

 Daylilies even look good if you don't get all of the weeds out of the way.  You just have to pull them to the side a bit.

 And, the biggest flower we have (for daylilies) is Big Bird.  The flower is a good deal bigger than my hand.

 Thank you for joining us for LilyPalooza 2017.

It's still going on at the farm and we hope to enjoy it as much as we possibly can!