These two plants must be the lazy gardener's best companions as with so little effort they will produce such a show in summer. As its name implies, the day lily has to be enjoyed on the day it opens. However, a flower stalk usually carries a few buds so you can be assured of at least a week long of showiness. I brought the plants from my previous garden, temporarily housing them in pots, and planted them in the garden bed facing north west. Nothing happened the first year. Even the leaves looked small and insignificant. I heaped more compost and blood and bone. The heavy rain must have helped as well. The plants came up looking strong and healthy and when the flower stalks appeared I was thrilled. I love results in my garden and if a plant is not doing what it should be doing I will go looking for the reasons why it is failing. My peas, for example, are a miserable failure. I have harvested a few pods, eating the sweet peas in the garden and that is all I am going to get. The plants seem to refuse to grow any bigger. The other plants in the bed are thriving so it cannot be from poor soil. Maybe I need to add some lime to create a more neutral soil, not too high in acid. I don't know if I'll bother with peas. Another failure is the brassicas. The cabbage leaves are full of holes and the brussel sprouts are taking their time in producing a crop.
The shasta daisy seems to flourish without much help, except for tying them up to a stake. The mass of white flowers are a joy to look at. They seem to sing out summer and sunshine. Given half a chance they will spread. If you have space and little time for gardening plant the shasta daisy and you will not fail. I will be dividing them in autumn and may put some in pots for next summer's "show" on the verandah perhaps.
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