stretching myself with spiders--wordless Wednesdays

OK--I confess that when I first saw them I went ho-hum. I mean why would anyone want a flower that doesn't fill the space. That isn't big, lush and round. Isn't that how flowers should be, I thought. But still these are just daylilies and so I got a few. Maybe if I studied them and learned to see them a bit more I would start to appreciate them.

Now there is an actual definition as to what a "spider" daylily is--something to do with the ratio of width of the sepal to its length.  And there are all of these wonderful terms to describe the particular twist and turns of these flowers. Yes, I should learn them. And probably I will. Sometime.

But for me daylilies are  fun. Nothing relaxes me as much as being in my garden--seeing what is new. Admiring what is there. Wondering what is to come.  Although I confess that I use my process of learning about daylilies to also try to understand how others learn about fine craft and in particular quilts. How does one look and appreciate what is there? What are the questions? And what questions come after the answers? Do you do this?  But enough--time for some pictures. Didn't I promise that this post would be "wordless"?

One of my first spider daylilies. Nutmeg elf.  The flower is so small--about 3". So cute, isn't it? A clump blooms so full of yellow it always brings a smile to my face.

nutmeg elf--daylily--Ann Brauer

And  "cat's cradle." Maybe about 8 inches across. Yes, I got it for the name. Blooms a bit lower to the ground than I might like--or maybe it is the location in which I have it.

cat's cradle--daylily--Ann Brauer

This is "easy Ned." Presumable named after Ned Roberts who was one of the first hybridizers of spider daylilies. I love that green in the center, don't you?

easy Ned--daylily--Ann Brauer

And this one is "revolute". As you can see, now they are getting to be fun. Yes, I should do more research on it.

revolute--daylily--Ann Brauer

"Down south". A daylily of substance I got up at Olallies. Look at the little ruffles on the edges of the petals and the unusual shapes. Isn't that cool? And yes, that is tradescenta in the background. Love the contrast in color.

down south--daylily--Ann Brauer

And now a couple from Dan Bachman who has a garden Valley of the Daylilies in Ohio. Yes, I confess that visiting this garden is on my "bucket list" but luckily for me they also have a web site. http://www.thevalleyofthedaylilies.com/ And he does have the best names for  his flowers. This is "shouting the blues".

shouting the blues--daylily--Ann Brauer

And "cheetah wheelies." Oh it is hard to take a picture of this one. But so much fun.

cheetah wheelies--daylily--Ann Brauer

And yes, spiders are not all yellows. There are reds and purples and whites that I really want. But enough for now. Oh so much to do. So many questions. So much to absorb in such a short time. Does this ever happen to you? What interests you?