July (and this year, August) are really like an extended Christmas for me. Every visit to my daylily field is bringing a bunch of new, first-bloom beauties to my attention.  There are plenty of disappointments blooming, too. 
      I have always loved the palest  yellows/near whites the most. Making my own crosses and buying seeds online from the daylily auction (www.daylily.com)  is fun alright, but it is when they bloom that it is finally payday.  It takes one or two years.
         This year I am very happy with a batch of seedlings from a cross between ‘How Beautiful Heaven Must Be’ and ‘Victorian Lace’ .  Two of the seedlings are  shown in the photo here. Both have soft, Creamsicle-orange ,  huge flowers with wide, thick petals. 
       Some other teriffic seedlings are blooming from a cross I bought over the internet.  I paid about $6.00 per seed for  ’Across The Universe’  (boy, I love that flower) crossed with ‘Fringy’  . These are all fabulous ! Three flowers are in this picture, but all ten seedlings are promising.
            I feel guilty if I miss a day or two visiting my daylily field. I am sure many seedlings bloom and I miss seeing their first flower.  That is why I always wait to discard a plant. I have to see it in bloom myself. Out of hundreds of plants, I only keep two or three in the end. It is all very ‘Sophie’s Choice’ , but no popcorn.