The Pink Flirt Day Lilies Have Returned!

Well, gardening season is at hand, and I’m more excited about this season than I have been in a while. I miss playing in the dirt, and all signs indicate I’ll be pulling weeds before long. When brown descends across the yard every winter, anxious waiting takes hold, and there is always the question of who will return, so the green tips of my Pink Flirt ladies are a very welcome sight.

One year, much of the black and blue salvia did not make it. The creeping phlox played coy more than a few times before making up its mind to be a permanent member. I lost a Lily of the Nile to the polar vortex, and two years ago, the crocosmia bowed out, never to return.

The irrigation system I put in place was damaged two years ago, so last summer, the ladies did not receive their usual twice-weekly watering. Over the summer, I watched them struggle with less water, causing them to bloom less profusely and for a shorter period. Watering was not a problem in 2022 because it rained regularly all summer. The Pink Flirts usually appear in January, making me spend a few evenings covering them from frost before spring arrives. When no shoots had appeared by late January, I wondered what might have caused the delay.

These day lilies are precious because they are not common. I had to order them from a nursery, so they are not easily replaced. Should I move, I’m digging them up and taking them with me.

Now, happily, they are back! All four plants made it, and they look nice and healthy. Sometime in the next few weeks, I’ll clean up the yard and replace the irrigation tubing. Then, in April, as soon as the soil has warmed, I’ll give them a little fertilizer and pamper them until they bloom. My ladies have returned, and in three months, there will be gorgeous blooms!

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