Today is “deadheading” day in the ole Daylily bed….I just can’t seem to stay on top of keeping my plants looking in tip-top shape…but I love them anyway. Part of the problem could be that there has only been one decent shower here in over a month and while we’ve been watering other areas of the yard and some of the less drought tolerant plants, citrus trees, herbs and tomatoes, I have kind of neglected the lilies. Poor things are probably screaming at me to water them. Must talk to them and apologize for that.

The worst part is trying to keep the dogs from running through the beds and breaking stems with buds and keeping the stray oak leaves and pine straw out of the mulch. I really like for my daylily bed to be perfect, but it takes a lot of effort. I transplanted these plants to this bed last year. We had only been in this house for not quite a year at that time and the previous owners had a large “patch” behind a fenced area that was serving as a daylily bed, but it was not well kept by the time we got here, was not visible from the sunroom and patio, and was just too much to maintain. So we thinned out, shared a lot, I mean a lot, of plants with friends and family, and moved many to a smaller bed. I am expecting it to take at least another year for them to really fill out the bed and it may even require some dividing.

But no matter all the hard work, I enjoy doing it and love, love, love the beautiful blooms, even if each one only lasts a day!

If anyone has helpful hints, please leave me a comment on easier ways to keep up my beds (short of hiring a gardener).

Next, time to make the pesto!