Wednesday

Hope everyone has had a good day. Weather has not been the best here today. Had three tenths of an inch of rain. Very windy!

Until next time, Happy Gardening..

Phew ...

In all things of nature there is something marvelous. -Aristotle

What a busy day! Outdoors, yes, outdoors, there is sooooo much to do! And with great weather, it is easy to get overwhelmed with what "needs" to get accomplished. Needs: weed pulling in the front flower bed, weed pulling in the back flower bed, weed pulling near the clematis (oh I have said that already!) Then there is a calmness of seeing what was "actually " completed. Like: grass mowed, asparagus cut, gate repaired, caprine fed, nature photographed. One must set priorities, right? ;)

Until next time, Happy Gardening.

It's Monday

"Plant smiles; grow giggles; harvest love" ~Author Unknown

Hello All. Hope you shared time with family and friends over the weekend. There was beautiful weather here yesterday. A bit windy, gusty at times, and overall great! Even bet there was some "sun burnin'" going on!!!!

And today has been forecast to be nice and sunny, mid to upper 80 temps. Oh, we do love spring!

I was asked a question yesterday, What do the terms dormant, evergreen and semi-evergreen mean? Well, those terms describe foliage behavior, usually winter foliage behavior. Dormant refers to plants whose foliage dies all the way back in the winter. Evergreen refers to plants whose foliage retain their color throughout the winter. Semi-evergreen refers to those who fall in between dormant and evergreen. The foliage does die back but not all the way and leaves remain somewhat green.

All for now. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Easter Sunday ...

Beauty blooms in the garden as it does in the heart
~Author Unknown

Are you going to Easter Sunrise Service? Or have you been? Going to an Easter lunch with family and friends? Whatever activity comes your way, hope you enjoy.

Look what's new at Oakville Farm ... "Beautiful Bloomers"

Ante Bellum
Cherry Festival
Elegant Candy
Round Table
Sound and Fury

PLUS....

Double Daffy
This double yellow daylily with a mahogany eyezone and green throat is a mid season bloomer. The scape (stem) grows to about 2' tall and has a bloom of about 4". A very cute one. :)





Double Dribble
This striking daylily is about 2' tall, presents a 5" bloom and is double coral in its color. It is a rebloomer and we sell it for $5.00 per double fan.




Glad Promise
This daylily is persimmon in color. It blooms early mid season and is a rebloomer. We sell it for $4.00 per double fan.





Red Twister
This daylily is a red bitone with green gold throat. Grows about 2' tall and has a bloom of over 6". Very showy in the bright sun. We sell the daylily for $5.00 per double fan.




Three Wishes
This daylily is a lavender and cream bitone in color. Bloom size is about 3.5", is an early mid season rebloomer. It will provide color from midseason to frost. We offer this daylily for $5.00 per double fan.

As you can see, daylilies present with great color, interesting texture, unusual form and sometimes slight fragrance. They are an asset to gardens/yards. Check out those newly added daylilies at our website at: www.oakvillefarm.com

And while there, look under the "Specials" section for discounted daylilies. We are passing on great deals to you, our valued customer.

Thank you for your visit. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Saturday ...

The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.
~Hanna Rion

WOW, what a nice day here at Oakville Farm. Began overcast and cool like, and has turned into a most delightful day, weather wise. Light cloud cover, sun, slight breeze, a very nice spring day. Hope others of you are having a good Saturday.

Our azaleas, iris, crimson clover, crab apple and kwanzan cherry are showing their pretty color right now. And the peonies (another of my favs!) are up and buds will be opening soon.

Had about three tenths of an inch of rain yesterday. A welcome event, the rain. The ground is now pliable. Was able to dig up several daylilies/separate/move/replant without much difficulty.

Here's hoping that Liza and Anna received their daylily orders and have found a good place for them. :) Gardening...

The daylily we want to showcase today is Hemerocallis Trahlyta. This daylily is a grayed violet with a darker eyezone and green throat. It is about 2 1/2' tall and has a bloom that is approximately 6.5" wide. Trahlyta is a early mid season bloomer plus is a rebloomer. A great daylily which will bloom, with the proper conditions, up until frost. The daylily is available for $8.00 for a double fan at www.oakvillefarm.com

All for now. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Earth Day

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb



Earth Day, yes it is.
Looked up Earth Day at Wiki and found en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day. Might want to check it out. Also found so many cool websites for kids and adults with fun, innovative activities for this special day. Hope you will find some, get outdoors, give back to Mother Nature and have a great day. :)

One good way to begin Earth Day, is to plant something new in your yard. And how about daylilies? They make a great addition to your yard/garden.

Want to share photos from Oakville Farm. Would love for you to come and visit us in person, if not, please visit us online at www.oakvillefarm.com And check out our weather at www.weatherlink.com/user/oakvillefarm/

Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Thursday ...

Hello all. Hope everyone had a good day, yesterday. Hump Day, ya know. And now on to the later part of the work week. :)

"This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green,
Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,
Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between
Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes.
I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration
Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze
Of growing, and sparks that puff in wild gyration,
Faces of people streaming across my gaze."
- D. H. Lawrence, The Enkindled Spring

Today, I want to share with you a drawing of a daylily. It was taken from the AHS website. It labels parts of a daylily. A good reference. I sometimes need a visual to trigger a word/thought and this is a good drawing to use for that. Hope you find the drawing informative.


All for this time. Hope you have a good day and until next time, Happy Gardening.

Hello

Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. ~Lou Erickson

Would you agree? It does take work to have the "perfect", well groomed garden. If you have a great perennial called "daylily", your worries will be mostly put to ease. Oh yes, daylilies are a very low maintenance plant to have. Daylilies tolerate most any soil type. They are disease/pest resistance. Grow fairly quickly. With such vigorous growth, daylilies choke out most other weeds and unwanted plants. Every 3-5 years, daylilies should be divided and shared with friends and family. Daylilies have a beautiful bloom, come in a multitude of colors, are of varying heights, and are tolerant of little water. Daylilies do bloom best when provided with 6-8 hours of sunshine per day. So ... do you have a place in your yard/garden that is the perfect spot for such a forgiving plant? Come and visit us ... www.oakvillefarm.com. The daylily world awaits you. :)

Please remember that we are offering the Stella de Oro daylily for $5.00 per clump. Yes, that is more than 40 individual fans in one large clump for a mere $5.00. Give us a call at 252-257-4454 for this special offering.

We want to showcase the daylily Starstruck. It grows about 2 feet tall, has a large bloom, over 5" wide. It is a tetraploid. It is said that tetraploids have thicker petals and stronger scape, and this daylily does. It is a later blooming daylily, here it blooms the second week of July. The color is yellow with green throat. And while it blooms later, Starstruck almost glows in the bright summer sun. It is certainly an eye catcher. We sell this pretty speciman for $8.00 for double fan.

Hope you have a great day. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Sunday ...

"Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers."
- Thomas Tusser, A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry, 1557

We are well, no storms here. Received about three tenths of an inch of rain yesterday afternoon. It was a different story for many NC residents, however. Tornadoes, strong winds, rain ... homes destroyed, lives lost. Mother Nature can throw us some mean punches and can turn right around and provide beauty. Oh my.

Not a cloud in the sky here currently. Wind is blowing consistently and water puddles abound. So will not venture out for a while. Let the winds dry it out some, I say. :)

April 15 ...

Let me see, Tax Day? Nope! According to a website, http://www.walletpop.com/2010/10/28/why-tax-day-wont-be-april-15-in-2011/:

Traditionally, Tax Day falls on April 15 unless that day happens to be on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday. In 2011, April 15 meets none of those criteria -- it falls on a Friday, and there's no federal holiday that day.

So what's the deal? In 2011, Washington, D.C., will celebrate Emancipation Day on April 15, a day earlier than normal, since April 16 falls on a Saturday. Emancipation Day marks the anniversary of the day that President Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act. The Act, which was "for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia," freed 3,100 slaves in the District, making DC residents the "first freed" by the federal government. In 2005, Emancipation Day was made an official public holiday in the District of Columbia.

In observance of the DC holiday, Tax Day will be moved forward one business day, this year landing it on Monday, April 18. That's the date your form has to be either submitted electronically or postmarked by for your tax return to be considered timely filed by the IRS.
So for those of you who wait until the last minute to file your taxes ... that is the story!!!!

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.

- Margaret Atwood

Now, on to better things, OUTDOORS! Had a beautiful, soft, calm, slight fogginess sunrise. Just gorgeous. And now, WOW the sun is shining ever so brightly, slight breeze, and the daylilies are GROWING, GROWING, GROWING.

Now is a good time to divide and separate your daylilies. For us and others in Zones 7 and higher, ya know. Time to purchase new daylilies as well. Time to find a new, beautiful plant that will have a special place in your yard and find a special place in your heart. Gardening is good for the soul.

As always check us out at www.oakvillefarm.com. Hope you have a good day and until next time, Happy Gardening.

Gardening ...

Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. Gnomologia, 1732

Yes, my goodness it is Thursday already, the garden is growing and growing and growing! As I look out the window, I see a bright sun in the eastern sky, no wind ... seems like a good time to use the glyphso. So until later .....

I'm back! The time slipped away from me, no glyphso spraying today. And it was calm all day. Hope you were able to complete what was on your "To Do List"! I so deviated from my list. And that was OK. :)

Want to showcase the daylily Martha Fawcett. It is midseason blooming daylily here at Oakville Farm, usually blooming the third week in June. Martha Fawcett is a rebloomer. It is light pink with a rose pink eyezone and yellow green throat. Grows about two feet tall. The petals have ruffled edges. Martha Fawcett daylily is a tetraploid. Tetraploid refers to it having four sets of chromosomes in each cell of the plant. Some say that a tretraploid has a stronger scape (stem) and thicker sepals and petals. It has been reduced from $9.00 for a double fan to $5.00 for a double fan. Check out our website: www.oakvillefarm.com for this and other great daylilies.

So until next time, Happy Gardening.

Hello ...

To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.- Mohandas K. Gandh

So, have a walkabout your yard, your garden, your neighbors yard and find soil that needs tending!

It is looking like it will be a good day weather wise here at Oakville Farm. Had about a tenth of an inch of rain last night. Late yesterday afternoon, I was in the pasture with the goats and it was sunny, slight breeze ... I looked to the west/northwest and it was as dark as could be! Clouds continued to roll in and the rains fell. Pretty, actually.

Check us out at www.oakvillefarm.com. We offer over 150 different daylily cultivars. They come in many colors and various heights. Something to please everyone.

I am headed outdoors for a bit of S & W (sun and wind) and will check ya later. Hope everyone will "make it a great day", as my brother says. :) And we say, Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Sing A Song ...

My garden is my favorite teacher. ~Betsy Cañas Garmon,


I was at VES today and heard a class of kindergarten children singing, "Old MacDonald Had A Farm..." And oh yes, don't we love a farm? A farm full of animals, full of fruits/vegetables, full of flowers .... oh my

It is drizzling here at Oakville Farm. Enough for the goats to get under shelter, dogs to get on the porch and me to sit inside drinking a glass of cold milk.

Hope everyone is having a good day. Was out early this morning digging up a few weeds (couldn't be pulled up, weeds had gotten waaaay too big!). I have the glyphso ready for use, but not when rain is forecast. It is looking like tomorrow will be a better day for spraying. Look out WEEDS!

Today we would like to showcase the daylily, Charles Johnston. A daylily which I noted yesterday as being a rebloomer. It presents cherry red self with green throat. It blooms early mid season and is semi-evergreen. It was hybrized in 1981 and has been a very popular seller for 30 years. It sells here at Oakville Farm for $8.00 It grows to about 2 1/2' and the bloom size is about 6".

All for now. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

04112011

"When at last I took the time to look into the heart of a flower, it opened up a whole new world; a world where every country walk would be an adventure, where every garden would become an enchanted one."
- Princess Grace of Monaco


What a day! Started off foggy and cool ... turned out to be a bright sunny, breezy afternoon ---
80+ degrees. :)

How are those flower gardens progressing? Hope you are seeing much lush greenery. And if the unwanted lush weed greenery is showing its dreaded head ... use what I like ... glyphso. It works great under fencing, you know the difficult area to mow! Just spray it and in a few days: wilt, wilt, death! Don't hit daylilies with it though, they don't like it ... it burns! I have been known to get the glyphso spray a bit close :(

Rebloomers. While most daylilies bloom once during their growth bloom season, usually 4-6 weeks, there are other daylily cultivars that have several bloom times during their blooming season. And that is called Rebloomer. With proper conditions, ie adequate water & 6-8 hours of sun daily, rebloomers, will produce more than one flowering per season. Some of the rebloomers that we have for sale are: Stella de Oro, Big Kiss, Cabbage Flower, Charles Johnston, Martha Fawcett, Pirate's Promise, Sebastian, Trahlyta. When reading the description for the specific cultivar, if it is noted with "RE", then it is a reblooming daylily. Please enjoying perusing our website: www.oakvillefarm.com. Daylilies make such a great addition to a yard/flowerbed. :)

Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Sunday

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
~Proverb

And here it is .... SPRING. Weather temperatures that fluctuate ... oh WOW! 49 degrees yesterday, 76 degrees today, 87 degrees tomorrow. And pollen flying, resting, working ... yes pollen everywhere.

Another day to the weekend, Yeah! Hope everyone will enjoy: spend time with family and friends, eat a scrumptious meal and spend time outdoors.

Had a rain last night, accompanied with lightning/thunder. About 3/4" of rain. There is a pretty thick fog this morning. The daylilies are in the background in this photo taken today. Forecast is for 76+ degrees today. The GREENERY will show its self today if that forecast comes to be.


Today, we would like to showcase the daylily Petite Rouge. A cherry red self daylily which has a yellow green throat. Petite Rouge is a semi evergreen which blooms early mid season. We offer that daylily, special price $2.00. A great bargain. Get them while available. ;) You can view this and many other daylilies at www.oakvillefarm.com

All for this time. Hope you have a great day and until next time, Happy Gardening.

Saturday ...

Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed.
~Walt Whitman

Good Morning all. Had about two tenths of an inch of rain last night. Just in time after the daylilies had been tilled. And today looks to be a cool spring day here at Oakville Farm. Our moment by moment weather can be followed by logging on to our personal weather station site: www.weatherlink.com/user/oakvillefarm

So what is happening out there in your daylily world? Yesterday, someone asked me how to dig up daylilies. I want to share the tools that are used here.

1. Garden Fork ... fairly light weight, easy to use, will dig up any sized clump. A must have for all gardeners. May want more than one, since they sometimes take a "missing" in the yard/garden! :)



2. Scissors ... used to cut off foliage before replanting. We recommend that you cut foliage off to about 4 inches and you may want to lightly trim roots, thus giving the plant new reason to grow. Any regular type adult sized scissors can be used. You will want to keep plenty of pair on hand ...





3. Knife ... used to cut clumps apart if too thickly grown. Sometimes a machete is used.





4. Spade ... used to cut out one or several fans out of a clump of daylilies that you wish to remain the ground. Sometimes, you do not want to dig up the entire clump, just separate out a fan and a spade is used.




These are tools we recommend. If there are other tools used in your daylilies, please let us know.

Hope you find time to walk among the flowers. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

"Friiiiday ... "

'Just living is not enough,' said the butterfly.
'One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.'
~Hans Christian Andersen

What a week, huh? Hope you found time to spend outdoors. Sunshine, wind and light rain, stimulate our sense of touch. Red, yellow, bright green and white awaken the eyes. Gardenias, iris and lilac excite the olfactory. Whipporwills, frogs and turkeys activate our hearing. What a wonderful thing .... Mother Nature.

Hope you will find time to also check out our website: www.oakvillefarm.com Find that daylily that will complete a beautiful space in your yard.

Have a good day and until next time, Happy Gardening.

Wednesday ....

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."
- Lady Bird Johnson, Public Roads: Where Flowers Bloom


Did you know?

Hemerocallis (hem-er-o-kal-lis), the botanical name for daylily means in Greek ''beautiful for a day'. Each flower only opens for one day. After it is spent, the next day's blossoms "shine". Established clumps bloom for weeks and weeks. Daylilies are native to Asia and have been hybridized in the US and Europe since the 1930's. Daylilies were originally found in Manchuria, Mongolia, Northern India as well as throughout China, Japan and Korea. In their natural habitat daylilies are found in swamps, seashore meadows, forests edges and on mountains up to 10,000 feet. From approximately 20 species of daylilies to over 60,000 varieties of daylily hybrids have been developed. Colors of most species are orange, yellow, pink and shades of red, purple, near white are now found. No true blue nor brown daylily has been developed currently.

The ease for which they grow, disease/pest resistance, color, and low maintenance are several features that make daylilies a real joy to have in your yard or garden area. They are easily adaptable to most any soil type and growing conditions.

Daylilies which provide much color, both from lush foliage to vibrant blooms, are a welcome perennial to any garden/yard. Give them a try. You will be pleasantly surprised and warmly satisfied of their beauty. Please check out our website www.oakvillefarm.com We offer a variety of daylilies for your enjoyment.

Have a great day and until next time, Happy Gardening.

Tuesday ...

Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair... ~Susan Polis Shutz

Sun, not today! Currently having a light drizzle. I do believe that the worst of the forecast is over for us. Will not work amongest the flowers today.

Just added a new daylily cultivar to our "Specials" section. Zagora presents 2 1/2' tall, dormant daylily that is a mid season bloomer. A vigorous grower. Zagora is amber in color and has a deep purple eyezone. An eyezone refers to a darker area on the sepals and petals of the flower above the throat. And for this daylily, the darker area on the flower is on the petals, not the sepals and that is known as a band. Zagora has been reduced to $5.00 per fan. Check us out at www.oakvillefarm.com for this and many other daylilies.

Have a good day and until next time, Happy Gardening.

Hello

In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~Abram L. Urban

Busy day ahead for most, Monday, ya know.

I have been watchful for daylily scapes. Scapes are the flower stalks. The Stella de Oro is our first daylily to bloom. So I was looking for a scape, just one .... but not yet. They usually bloom the second week of May, maybe I am overly anxious, well, with all the lush foliage growth, it is no wonder!

Our "Specials" daylily for today is Jubilee Pink. This daylily presents as dormant and blooms in mid to late time of the bloom season. It is about 2 1/2' tall. It is pink with a green throat. The term throat refers to the innermost center of the bloom where the pistil and stamen join the bloom. Sometimes the throat is a different color than the rest of the bloom, sometimes not. For the Jubilee Pink, the entire bloom, including the throat is pink. Another feature of the Jubilee Pink, is that it is fragrant. When the sun hits it after many hours, you will have a light pleasing scent. Jubilee Pink is on sale for $2.00 and offers many pleasing characteristics. So check it out on our website: www. oakvillefarm.com

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be unstable. Possible high winds, tornadoes, rain. Yikes! Log on to our personal weather station page to check out our wind speed, rain accumulation: www.weatherlink.com/user/oakvillefarm/ Thanks ..

And until next time, Happy Gardening.





PS Wanted to add an photo of one of our goat kids. This was taken back in early March. Enjoy...

Sunday ...

Hello,

Cares melt when you kneel in your garden.
- Author Unknown

It is looking very bright and sunny out our north facing window. Not a piece of wind stirring. Looks to be a great day to get out and enjoy Mother Nature.

Our "Specials" feature for today is Coral Dawn. This nice reblooming daylily is coral pink in color. It blooms early in the season and is semi-evergreen. It has been a fast grower here. It is currently on sale for $2.00. Check it out at www.oakvillefarm.com


And when looking for a large clump of Stella de Oro daylilies, give us a call (252) 257-4454, we have a great sale going on. An entire clump of daylilies is on sale for a mere $5.00 A clump of Stella de Oro daylilies will provide you with 40 or more individual fans. Stella de Oro makes a great g covering along a driveway, on a bank or any area where you may want to see good green foliage and great golden bloom color for months and months. The Stella is a rebloomer and will give you many days of blossoms.

Hope you have a great day. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

Saturday

Hello All

Hope everyone has had a good day. It was so very very windy here today. Although the temp reached 60+, the wind made it feel very cold.

Would like to add Liza to our list of online daylily purchasers. Thank you.

We have added five new daylilies to our list ... Big Apple,
Ivory Gown, Hot Town, Stolen Treasure and Royal Braid. Check them out on our website: www. oakvillefarm.com

Want to showcase Hemerocallis Mary Todd from our "Specials"
section. Mary Todd is an early bloomer, a tetraploid and semi-evergreen. The term tetraploid refers to having four sets of chromosomes. Some say that in tetraploids: blooms tend to be larger, bloom color tends to be more intense, and scapes tend to be stronger. Mary Todd daylily is buff in color; brown yellow, if you will. And in the case of Mary Todd, the bloom is a strong, showy one. The width, in my term, is large, more than 5" across. A very pretty daylily. It grows about 2 1/2' tall. It would present beautiful, in contrast with a dark red or purple daylily. This daylily is now on special for $2.00. Get them while they last. :)

Guess this is all for now. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

April 1 ....

Happy Birthday Raymond. Make it a great day.




Weather is cool, overcast for yet another day. And I am not complaining. We were in a drought, not sure of the status now that we have all the rain, however rain is always welcome. The daylilies certainly do love it. Check out our weather station info at www.weatherlink.com/user/oakvillefarm for the up to the minute weather here at Oakville Farm.

Then while you are at it, check out our daylily website: www.oakvillefarm.com.

Daylilies are such a great perennial. They are essentially pest/disease resistant. Most say that their nemesis are the four legged creatures called "DEER". For years now we hve customers who reported having problems with deer eating the fresh lush foliage. Customers said that deer would walk right past small foliage plants to get the large thick lush foliage. We read about: putting human hair, body soap shavings, tin foil/pie pans in and around the area; adequate fencing; use of dogs; pigs penned around the area, etc. One of our customers suggested a product called Milorganite, that sounded like a "good try" for us. It is spread over the daylilies every 30 days and that seems to do the trick. It is a fertilizer, with an "aroma" or taste (not sure which) that deter deer. So it is out there. Have not seen fresh deer tracks nor new nibblings within the past week. :)
To our readers, what effective ways do you have to deter deer from the yard/garden? We like to hear from you :)

Make plans for a daylily .... or daylilies .... to make your yard/garden beautiful. All for now. Until next time, Happy Gardening.