HB to Me!

Yesterday was a very happy day indeed for me...my 55th birthday! As Mr. T had business in KS, Mom and I made a day out of it, with a visit to the Wine Country Gardens for lunch and to attend the Daylily Festival. We rounded out the day with a Devil's Food Birthday cake (photo, left) from our newest bakery in town, Heaven Scent Bakery, and Rainbow Sherbet from Baskin Robbins. Yummy!

At the Daylily Festival, we were fortunate enough to snag one of the golf carts, so we could zip around the 42 acres of gorgeous blooms, taking pictures and tagging purchases. This was the first year that they have allowed customers to tag the blooming plants in the field for purchase...and they will dig your selected plant and call later for pick up (and yet another chance to visit...:).

Here's a photo of Mom in the cart (right), surrounded by a background of color. In the foreground is the Wayside King Royale, a purple variety that we tagged for Missy M, who had asked us recently if there were such a thing as a purple daylily. This is as close as we could find to her specifications!

We also tagged a lovely bright yellow variety named Atlanta Full House (of course that one was a favorite!).

And, we purchased pots of varieties called South Seas (a gorgeous coral color; see photo to left) and Hyperion (a tall, clear yellow). Woo-hoo!!

Of course, it's mid-July...so, in addition to being time for my B'day, it's also time for the All Star Game (played on Tuesday night...and into Wednesday morning!) And, it's also HOT. Hot, hot, hot. And, dry, too, believe it or not. Still, Mom and I were most impressed on our drive along Missouri's Weinstrasse (Wine Road...AKA Highway 94 through St. Charles County) with how GREEN everything was. We remarked on more than one occasion that it looked more like June than July.

After we got home, I toured the yard trying to locate appropriate spots to plant the newest members of our Daylily Team, and I snapped these photos of some that are currently in bloom. The Waysides (bright orange) have about finished their show, as have many of the others. But, just beginning are the Chicago Comanches (big, bright red ones), the Texas Choice (big, bright yellow ones), and the Blanche Browns (full, creamy white ones). See what you think!