Daylily

This most common of flowers grows in gardens, fields, and roadside in zones 1 through 10 (homerocallis fulva). However, it is not native to North America having been brought here by British colonists in the 17th century, and has its origins in the steps of Asia. Dig up a root and move it 100 or a 1000 miles and it will spread, creating thousands of glorious new blooms every year. These flowers came from a root in my great grandmother’s garden. With each succeeding generation the roots made their way through Plymouth Massachusetts, to Bucks County Pennsylvania, to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and finally to my garden in Delaware. Not that it matters as I could have dug up a root from any local field or roadside patch. Never the less, they grace my gardens beginning in late May through mid-June faithfully every year. The USDA lists the orange daylily as an invasive weed! If so, it's the most lovely invasive weed on God's green earth! Every June the blooms seem to shout, “welcome sunshine!”

I shot this photo in intense mid-day June sunlight at f-stop 18, 250 shutter speed, and the woods in the background created a natural dark ground. It was necessary to remove one small brilliant spot of competing blurred green. The other darker green spots of foliage blended naturally into the background, and I felt no need to remove them. I did nothing else to the photo other than crop it to the square format I desired. I find that the square format donates an equanimity and peaceful continence to the presentation of this series of flower photographs.