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Wandering around other people’s gardens gives me a chance to see flowers that I don’t have in my own garden. It’s one of the pleasures of visiting them, especially the large and well-stocked gardens that can afford to grow a wide range of plants. Sometimes I find plants I’ve never seen, except possibly in photos, and other times I see plants I can’t grow at home.
Daylilies (Hemerocallis), like those shown here, are too toxic to cats for me to risk growing. (Like Lilium species, daylilies are deadly to cats, even in small amounts – so much so that the water from a vase that the flowers have been in is toxic to them.) So seeing them elsewhere is a rare opportunity for me to photograph these beauties.
If it wasn’t for the risk to my cats, I might be tempted by the vibrant colours of daylilies, especially the fabulous purple shade of the flower above. As it is, I will just have to admire them when I see them, and perhaps be lucky enough to be able to photograph them too.
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
I didn’t know that lilies are toxic to cats. It’s good you can enjoy those flowers away from home.
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The pollen of lilies is especially bad because it can get on a cat that brushes past and the cat then licks it off its fur. It’s toxic enough to kill a cat through renal failure. (I didn’t know this when I first had cats many years ago.)
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We’ve a few different daylily species here in the yard but most are Hemerocallis fulva, the Orange Day-lily, that grows wild all over our landscapes and is a non-native.
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It must be spectacular to see it in the wild but I wonder if it supplants native species.
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It would seem like it would but I’ve only seen it in bunches of itselves in the wild. Where we have the most of it is under our kitchen windows and it seems to get along well with our irises and evening primroses although the primroses have declined a bit.
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Seems like it isn’t doing any harm – that’s good!
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Beautiful lilies…but never knew its toxicity….!
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If you have cats around it’s something that is important to know! (Quite a lot of plants are toxic to cats, but lilies are probably the worst.)
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I’ve never been all that fond of daylilies, but I grew up with fairly plain yellow and orange species. The ones you’ve posted are beautiful. I did find something odd in an east Texas ditch, and after reading Steve G’s comment, I went a-looking. I think it might be a fancy Hemerocallis fulva; I need to check it out. There was only one, in an area where I’ve never seen them. Curious.
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Sounds like it could be a new arrival to the area. Maybe you’ll be seeing more of them in future. 🙂
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I do have a couple and I like the colours of these two. Mine need dividing badly, the one downside of daylilies is the amount of foliage.
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Yes, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of leaves for the amount of flowers. They must need a fair bit of space!
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Vibrant colours indeed, Ann! They seem to be leaping out of the screen. Too bad lilies are toxic for cats.
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Thanks Tanja! Yes, I could be tempted by these if it weren’t for the cats. I saw some more lovely lilies while visiting a garden today, so at least I get a chance to enjoy them elsewhere. 🙂
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It’s fun seeing gardens with different designs and flowers from our own.
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Although they do look spectacular in the right places, I don’t tend to grow them as I don’t like the smell much. I have no cats but my neighbours do.
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I haven’t noticed their smell, but I don’t have a great sense of smell anyway. Next time I see some I must have a wee sniff! 🙂
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Spectacular!
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Thank you Jaya! Glad you liked them! 🙂
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