They're a classic Vermont summer flower. They've been grown for medicinal and edible use in Asia for millennia. The individual flowers only open for one day but the plants produce lots of them. Yes, they are daylilies!
While there are literally hundreds of different varieties of these colorful summer bloomers to choose from, I'll focus on the ever-blooming varieties in this episode of The Vermont Garden Journal. Plus, how to properly deadhead the queen of these repeat bloomers, the Stella de Oro.
Now for this week's tip: when harvesting basil, don't just remove individual leaves, but strip off whole branches back to the main stem. This will stimulate more branching and bigger new leaf formation. If you only remove the leaves, the new leaves will eventually get smaller and smaller as the summer goes on. And keep pinching those flowers.
