June is Day Lilies . . .

 

June --  the roadsides  and stream banks in our area are ablaze with wild orange day lilies. Hardy, rapid growers, they do well wherever there's a bit of sun and moisture. Each plant produces multiple blooms and each bloom lasts only a day -- hence the name.

But they aren't wild and they aren't lilies. Hemerocallis fulva is an import from China and Japan that naturalized long ago. The unopened buds are good in stir fries and the flowers can be dipped in tempura batter and fried to produce a lacy, mildly oniony tasting treat.

There are only 20 species of Hemerocallis world wide but breeders have come up with some 20,000 hybrids, a few of which are blooming in our yard just now.

And there's always room for more.