The battle has begun

For the past three days, I’ve been slowly destroying the orange daylily garden in my back yard. On purpose. I’ve ripped off all of the leaves – a struggle that usually ends with me sitting down hard on the lawn clutching a particularly stubborn clump. The real war begins when we attempt to remove the underground bulbs though. Orange daylilies are known for their ability to breed like rabbits and the roots and bulbs are everywhere. Paul is going to have to help me dig them all up because our soil is rock-like clay and my attempts so far have been feeble.

It’s taken me a long time to get to this point. I really resisted taking these flowers out because I thought it was sacrilegious to destroy a plant. I figured that I just wasn’t trying hard enough to appreciate their beauty. Paul helped me see the error of my ways. Orange daylilies are invasive. They kill other plants. Baby lilies have broken through the garden barrier and are making a run for the lawn! No matter where I stick my trowel, I hit a mass of daylily bulb.

The battle was begun, but it remains to be seen who will win the war. I’ve heard of weary gardeners still fighting the fight even years after they’ve attempted to ban these flowers from their garden. We may just have to move instead.