As you can see, I'm not always prompt about deadheading the daylilies... I'll do it sometimes, when I think about it and have time when I'm already outside, but if I'm busy or have just done a lot of weeding or other tiring gardening jobs, I leave them to look after themselves. Some of them are fairly self-cleaning (though it can take a day or two for the spent flowers to dry enough to fall), but others do tend to make a mess that can sometimes (rarely) prevent new flowers from opening cleanly.
I ought to make more of a habit of dead-heading. If it weren't for mosquitoes, it could be a pleasant early-morning/late-afternoon garden ritual. But there are mosquitoes, and they always find me. (I'm one of those people they seem especially drawn to. Just lucky, I guess... It probably means something dire for my health-- but then again, I've always gotten a lot of attention from mosquitoes, ever since I can remember...)
Under the covered patio...
Purple coneflower...
This is a volunteer crepe myrtle that came up near our 'Victor' crepe myrtle. I transplanted it to a spot with more room, because I didn't have any crepes in that pale pink. (All the others are dark pinks / reds or white.) I'm happy with it so far-- especially for a volunteer/seedling. Not a bad amount of bloom, and it's growing quickly.
This is the bed I expanded late last year, along the western side of the house. Kind of a mish-mash, in this photo-- but that's actually how most of my garden looks. (g) That's cottage garden style, right?
I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of daylilies blooming in this bed, this year, because I thought I'd put almost only seedlings from last year in here. I wasn't expecting flowers until next year, at the earliest. But now I'm not sure if these are just early-bloomers (literally) or if I actually ended up moving some of the previous year's seedlings. Doesn't matter-- just unexpected.
Ok, maybe it looks messy, but I actually like it like this... Controlled chaos. Restrained jungle.
