Friday, July 04, 2008

The First Orange Daylily


Though considered by many to be somewhat ordinary, I find the blooming of the first orange daylily a special event. It seems to me that the garden is celebrating, if not Independence Day, then the arrival of high summer. The daylily is the tallest flower in my garden right now, on a stalk that rises up over deep green, sturdy leaves. The fireworks this evening will be worthy of "oohs and ahhs" but, for this gardener, the explosion of fresh orange blossoms over a patch of white daisies is more satisfying. Ordinary? Perhaps, but also reliable, colorful, and vibrantly alive. I'm somewhat ordinary as well, but wouldn't mind being described by those adjectives.




photos by Aisling, July 4, 2008

10 comments:

Cheryl said...

Thank you for dropping by my blog....Is any flower ordinary....are they not beautiful in their own way.....
A pretty post....

Marcie said...

Cheryl, I certainly think they are all beautiful in their own way!

I enjoyed my visit to your blog. Thank you for returning the visit! :)

Robbin said...

Aisling, My mother always says, "the old fashioned orange daylily is blooming but I love it too".
And I also like it. And I think you're anything but ordinary but I agree with the other adjectives when describing you. I hope you had a Happy 4th of July with nature's beautiful fireworks in your garden.

Marcie said...

Robbin, I've heard them called "ditch lilies" and even "plain old orange lilies." When I look at my photos close up, I see anything but "plain old orange." The shading ranges from rose to apricot to rich orange. You get a whole different view when you take a closer look at something ordinary.

Thank for saying that I am anything but ordinary. I feel pretty ordinary, but I don't think it is a bad thing. *grin*

Hope your 4th was wonderful, and especially that you got some time to relax and enjoy after the work day was done.

Memaw's memories said...

You have such a wonderful way with your pictures and with your words. I certainly enjoy your blog.

I'm praying for our friend Robbin as well.

Marcie said...

Shirley, Thank you. That's a really sweet thing to say.

I'm glad you are looking out for Robbin too. The more prayer warriors the better! :)

Anonymous said...

They're beautiful—I love them all. One of my favorite things about high summer is the 'plain old orange' daylilies blooming all along the ditchrows here in North Carolina. They used to be planted around houses, and now they've naturalized everywhere.

Marcie said...

Anita, I saw a ditch full of them today, here in the Great Lakes region. It is a very pretty sight to me!

Thank you for visiting! :)

The Diva said...

Beautiful photos. I, too, like orange daylilies. They are hardy, reliable performers in the summer garden. I especially liked the photo of the daylily against the sky.~~Dee

Marcie said...

Dee, Thank you for your nice comment on my photos. I like that one against the sky too. You can really see the orange of the petals, and the contrast against the blue sky is such a pretty color combination. :)