A Visit with Dr. Darrel Apps, and Of Course, Daylilies

High summer is here, and in Wild Rose, as strange as is may seem that the name of the village is not Daylily, that means looking at, thinking about, talking about, and evaluating daylilies.  Last night, I fell asleep thinking about daylilies.  I would bet that is the situation for my neighbor, Dr. Darrel Apps, too.

Dr. Apps, has retired to my village, but the use of the word "retired" is probably not correct.  He has simply changed his venue.  His daylily breeding program is moving along faster now than it probably ever has.  

So Which Daylilies Did I Select?

My photo of a photo taken by Dr. Darrel Apps of 'North Wind Dancer' (Schaben, 2001).  All the pictures of daylilies in this post are pictures of a picture taken by Dr. Apps, unless otherwise noted.

There were quite a few "Goings-on" in my neck of the Central Wisconsin "New North" this weekend.  For area gardeners, we have had a couple pretty cold "cover up your coleus and clip your basil" sort of cold nights; not the "Run, run-- collect all the cukes and tomatoes" sort.  We also had the opportunity to select from some truly superior sorts of modern daylilies from the hybridizer, Dr. Darrel Apps, who as a member of the local Kiwanis, donated daylilies to their fund raiser held in conjunction with the Classic Car Show Pancake Breakfast.

With 70 different selections, the choice was difficult.  That pale yellow spider on the far right was not among my selections, but would have been a nice addition to my long border. (My photo.)

Dr. Darrel Apps, daylily hybridizer and Kiwanis member.  (My photo.)

So what did I select?

Oh, It's a Pretty Little Thing

A rejection from Dr. Apps.  (Cute though!)

 After the Armageddon that is pruning the wine grapes and the dappled willow (which I had left a tad too large last year because of the drought and heat, and this year too late because of the garden walk, using my new-to-me (garage sale find/gift from my beautiful SIL) and more powerful hedger (It actually cuts through the stems of the dappled willow versus just tearing them up and getting stalled/stuck.); I am back to admiring daylilies blooming in my garden.

(How many run-on sentence fragments can I jumble together?  I tell you Internet search engines have rotted my brain!)

"Austin's Beauty" and other unnamed daylilies

Daylily 'Strawberry Candy' and gooseneck loosestrife

Daylily 'Saturn...(something)' (LOL)  I don't care for those laterals

Close-up

One mustn't forget foliage, and there is some interesting stuff in my tiny bed that I have planted tiny things I didn't want to "lose" in the long border or the shrub alley hedge.  I could never decide what to plant there, thinking it should be "special".  It turned into a "holding" bed.  "It" has come up with its own plan it seems...

'Tis the Season! Daylilies, Like Christmas in July!

Unknown daylily in my long border, probably bought out of someone's yard years ago as a fan dug then and there.

Daylily Strawberry Candy

Daylily Mary Todd, always one of the first to bloom, given to me as a garden-warming gift from dear friend Sheila Mukite.

Unnamed seedling bought out of an IL breeder program

Photo: Courtesy Dr. Darrel Apps; an unreleased seedling from his breeding program, a diploid rebloomer.  Yes, I'm sure it's really those colors, and he has two even more scrumptious than that.  (Retired, my butt!)

Everyday around here is like opening a new Christmas present!  Between the daylilies blooming in my yard and the chance viewing of some of hybridizer Dr. Apps' across the way!

Enjoy!