On the first day of summer the Daylily Collection at the National Arboretum is beginning to flower

The Daylily Collection, The Daffodil Collection, the Peony Collection, and the Boxwood Collection share a garden. The boxwoods form a framework within which the other three groups display sequentially. There are plenty of traditionally typical daylilies but I'm drawn to these oddballs.

Actually, as much as I love this collection and as wonderful as it is, there's something a bit off-putting about hundreds of daylilies lined out side to side. They're too much the same; the flowers are spectacular and unique but they're mostly in the same color range. And the plants are almost identical. And not especially attractive. I use them often in borders, mixed or perennial, usually inserted singly. The form of their flowers is much more effective when there aren't 500 plants shoulder to shoulder. Still, I wait eagerly every year for the season to begin and I'll get out there a couple times a week till they're done.