Daylilies

Daylily - "Little Wine Cup", Summer '07

Sometimes, living in the country does have it's challenges...

When I lived in the 'burbs, I had to deal with weeds in my garden. But boy, howdy! Most of the time, I seem to be losing the battle here on the ranch! Our property is surrounded by pastures and acres and acres of "as nature designed it" landscaping. The weeds & grasses, including the devil star thistle, grow without encumbrance, save the surrounding neighbor's cattle, horses, llamas & goats. The winds, the birds and even vehicle tires manage to scatter the seeds of this unwanted stuff all over! It does keep gardening interesting, to say the least.

I am lucky to have The Amador Flower Farm just an hour's drive away! Acres of gardens and thousands of specimens to choose from, it is worth several visits during the spring and summer. Daylilies are showy & hardy in the heat of California's central valley. So, I have developed a real affection for them. They are drought tolerant and WEED tolerant! As, you will see below, this is a good thing!

Our January storms, with their 70 mph winds and torrential rain blew away all my weedblock fabric and and washed away a good bit of the bark mulch in the daylily bed. The winds even tossed the little bridge you see in the picture above into the air and it crashed to the ground breaking into several pieces!

I was able to keep ahead of of the weeds for a while this spring. They appeared slowly and were fairly sparse. Then all of a sudden the weather got really WARM and the weeds rioted! Aided by the fact that I haven't been able to work in the garden because I am having some kind of "contact dermatitis" (breaking out in itchy hives from who knows what), my once beautiful daylily bed is a mess!

Yet, these wonderful plants are growing and blooming their little flower-hearts out! Each morning I walk by them and say a thankful prayer for their beauty & strength! I am asking God to help me to be a beautiful-inside, strong Christian woman whose countenance shines among the "weeds" of this life, testifying to His grace & love!

I am also praying that I will soon be able to work in my garden again! The pictures below, were taken this week and show the blooms on several of my plants. Unfortunately, the weeds are showing too. Please, just look past those weeds and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
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