Re: OT St. Louis Botanical Gardens

--- In iris-talk@egroups.com, James Brooks <comeback@u...> wrote:
> Dear Kim -
> I once agreed with you about day lilies, but I'm becoming a 
convert, putting
> in about 200 varieties this year...

Perhaps some day I'll reach a higher level of appreciation for the 
day lilies, like you.

I'm a rank amateur with both iris and day lilies, although I've been 
gardening for many years.  I spent many years chasing things like 
delphiniums, foxglove, etc. -- all of those gorgeous English climate 
flowers. I had a certain amount of distain for the common peonies, 
iris, day lilies, etc. that are reliable backbones of midwest 
gardens. But I got over that (after spending way too much $!) and 
started looking seriously at iris and day lilies few years ago. I 
learned to say no to the iris that my neighbors offered to me because 
they were not very interesting, and I pursued named varities. 

Now I am seriously interested in iris, but I wouldn't say that I've 
reached the level of most people on this list.  I can see, however, 
how iris can inspire that level of dedication. I can't see it with 
day lilies.  They all still look pretty much alike to me. There seems 
to be a much much bigger universe of cultivars in the day lily world 
than in the iris world. I believe I read there are 42,000 named 
varieties of day lilies. When you all on this list talk about a 
specific iris, sometimes I actually know which one you are talking 
about.  Once in a great while I even have it in my garden. That never 
happens with day lilies I hear and read about other than perhaps the 
top five in popularity.

Case in point: the two day lilies I most admired at the Botanital 
Gardens were not to be found in the Roycroft catalog. I've searched 
on the Internet at major day lily suppliers and can't find them 
either. Besides, even if I did find them they would probably be 
horribly expensive.  That's another thing--new introductions of day 
lilies go for $100 - $250--yikes! New iris seem to be much less,go 
figure.

Yes, the Asiatics wre wonderful and reliable.  The Orientals are 
stunning and exotic.  I worship them.  

This is an IRIS list, so I'll shut up about all these lily issues.

I enjoy the comments of all you knowledgable people on this list.

Kim in ST. Louis 


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