Queen for a day

Every morning I run outside to see what wonders my garden has produced and every day I am thrilled to see a whole new batch of beautiful day lily blooms. Day lilies are the quintessential “carpe diem” plants as each blossom lasts only a single day. But maybe because of this, each blossom seizes the day with intense colors and stunning blossoms.

Day lilies are ancient plants that have been cultivated for 4000 years in China. The original tawny or orange day lilies (Hemerocallis fulva) were grown not for their beauty but as food and medicine. Day lily buds were (and still are!) considered delicious, either fresh stuffed with cheese or shrimp salad or dried and used in soups.

In China it was called hsuan t’sap, or “the plant of forgetfulness”. It was said to cure sorrow by making one forget troubles. Day lily images were often embroidered on pillows, invoking the peace of forgetfulness. If worn during pregnancy, dried day lily buds were thought to cause the birth of a son.

Day lilies are actually botanically closer to asparagus and agave than to true lilies, which are poisonous. Tawny, or orange, dallies are native primarily in Asia, but not in North America. Today, these orange lilies have escaped cultivation and are naturalized along roadsides and in ditches throughout the country.

These flowers were first introduced to Europe from the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century but it wasn’t until the mid 19th century, when China opened up to the West that many of the beautiful hybrids were seen. Today there are hundreds of named cultivars, though the common orange is still considered the best one to eat.

Day lilies like a lot of sun and well drained, rich soils. For years I had these plants in a partially shaded area and they produced only a few blossoms each year. It wasn’t until I moved them into a place with abundant sunshine that they bloomed prolifically. Apparently, to seize the day, you have to seize the daylight first. Carpe Diem!

Happy gardening.

Laura