My plant for July is the day lily, hemerocallis. Hemerocallis comes from the Greek words for day (hemera) and beautiful (kalos).
When I was growing up I was put off by the name day lily as I didn’t understand why anyone would want a plant that only flowered for one day. It took me a while to understand that while each flower only lasts one day each plant has many flowers that come out over a period of weeks. I have over 10 different varieties in my garden and together they have flowers from May through to September. The first one to open has a yellow flower and a very strong scent, and the last one to flower has variegated leaves. I have found that the ones with yellow flowers have the strongest scent and I have positioned one of these next to the seating area on my patio.
I deadhead the old flowers to improve the appearance of the plant. The only other annual task is to pull off the leaves when they turn brown in the autumn. This autumn I will also be dividing a couple of my plants, and moving a couple of others where they are too close to my stepping stone path.
