You know it’s high summer when crowds of tawny daylilies line the streets and byways to wave hello at passersby.
These lovely rabble, despite their name, are not true lilies, genetically speaking. But who cares? They get their name from the fact that each flower usually lasts for only one day and looks lily-like. Fortunately, each plant has many buds, which usually insures a long-lasting greeting.
They’ll thrive almost everywhere and are bright spots in drought and on land needing erosion control. (In days of yore, they sometimes were called what amounted to “outhouse lilies,” with the word “outhouse” pronounced “sh__house.”) Nonetheless, they’re welcome here.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 14, 2025.)