July 17, 2019 Daylilies, John McMahan, Charles Theodore Mohr, George William Francis, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, Niels Mogens Bodecker, A Year in Trees by JC Raulston and Kim Tripp, Calendarize Garden Chores, and the Night-blooming Cereus
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Monologue
The Daylilies are blooming their little hearts out right now.
Daylilies are in the genus Hemerocallis, which has about 15 species of daylilies. They are not part of the Lilium genus, which is the genus for true lilies.
The name Hemerocallis comes from the Greek words ἡμέρα (Hemera) “day” and καλός (Kalos) “beautiful.” In China, the daylily symbolizes motherhood.
Their name alludes to the flowers, which typically last no more than 24 hours (about a day). Daylily flower stems are called "scapes," and as one fades, the next one on the scape opens, keeping daylilies blooming for weeks or even months.
Daylilies have been dubbed the ‘perfect perennial’ because of their wonderful features: they are pretty low maintenance, have beautiful, colored blooms, excellent drought tolerance, and can grow in most zones.
Botanical History On This Day
1850 John McMahon advertised a plant catalog of nearly 2,000 species in The Sydney Morning Herald, promising secure packing and “glazed plant cabins” for long journeys.
1901 Charles Theodore Mohr, pharmacist-turned-botanist and one of Alabama’s first major plant collectors, died after compiling an astonishing record of the state’s flora.
1935 George William Russell (“AE”), Irish poet, editor, and mystic, died, leaving behind lines that shimmer like heat over fields.
1996 Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, the master landscape architect who called garden design “the mother of all arts,” died after a career shaping landscapes around the world.
Unearthed Words
A small evening poem with a sharp little bite: Mosquito is out…
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Read The Daily Gardener review of A Year in Trees by JC Raulston and Kim Tripp
Buy the book on Amazon: A Year in Trees by JC Raulston and Kim Tripp
Today's Botanic Spark
189 A night-blooming cereus unfurled “its loveliness” for an audience, proving some plants insist on drama.
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