Earlier I posted a picture of the first scape of 2014 - on Butterscotch Ruffles. Here's a shot of the bloom on 9 March. (It bloomed on 15 march last year.)

The scape isn't nearly as tall as it should be, but the bloom is just about full-size for this cultivar, which falls just a bit bigger than the definition for miniature.

Pretty...I like the color

I am really surprised it bloomed earlier this year than last, guess the cold weather didn't get down that far or didn't stay long if it did. Wonderful to see blooms already for this year.

Oh the season has begun. Yippee! Can't wait to see more.

Seedfork said:I am really surprised it bloomed earlier this year than last, .

So am I. In 2013, January was extraordinarily warm, and many things began to grow. There were scapes and buds on several early-blooming daylilies by the end of January, and we had a bumper crop of mulberries coming on our mulberry trees. Then, in Feby, we had two weekends where the temps got down below 25, and everything was toast. Fortunately, Butterscotch Ruffles wasn't far enough along for its buds to be affected.

As I mentioned, Butterscotch Ruffles isn't the prettiest daylily in the garden, but it is certainly one of, if not the, most prolific. It was still putting up scapes when I divided it in August.

It has high bud counts as well. I couldn't manage to get a decent photo of a scape on the plant, so after the blooming season, I painted a couple of them white and laid them on the grass. Both of the scapes shown had multiple branches, and bud counts in excess of 40.

Nice image of the scapes Seeing the season start is exciting!

Char said:Nice image of the scapes Seeing the season start is exciting!

Thanks. Maybe my new camera will allow me to photograph them adequately while they're still on the plant. With my older camera, they blended into the background totally.

Very nice.

Nice branching on those scapes. Wish I had more like that!

This is my BUTTERSCOTCH RUFFLES from 2011. I no longer have it since I got rid of most of my "garden" daylilies when I moved, but it was one of the first blooming for me and the very last blooming (I think up until October)

photo taken April 8, 2011



photo from June 24, 2011

I like all the different shades BR has. That is a nice bouquet, Michele!

I'm so jealous! I have Butterscotch Ruffles also & it is always the first to bloom for me. This past winter has been brutal in NY in terms of cold & snow. All the snow has finally melted but I've been afraid to look too closely at the garden for fear I lost some of my perennials. If it survived, I will hopefully see blooms in a couple of months. I can never get a good picture of the blooms though. The color always looks much more washed out than what I see. Does anyone have any tips? It doesn't seem to matter if I use my phone or a digital camera. Also doesn't matter if its sunny or cloudy. I'm stumped!

Bxncbx, I take most of my pictures in the morning before the sun comes up. I think you need to make some setting adjustment on your camera to get the best pic. What brand of camera are you using? Maybe someone here is using the same model that maybe able to share some advice. On my Kodak I use the 28" or closer setting along with the close-up of self. Tweak the minor settings to get the best pictures. I usually take at least three pics and sort out the best ones on the pc. I take them from different angles. I am no pro so I am still learning.

I always use an umbrella to take my photos even if it's early morning. I use black for dark colors/reds and I use white for all other colors, it filters the light so I get a more true color.

tink3472 said:I always use an umbrella to take my photos even if it's early morning. I use black for dark colors/reds and I use white for all other colors, it filters the light so I get a more true color.

That's an interesting idea - I'll have to give it a try. After seeing what two hurricanes did to trees in 2004, I sited our new home in a field - at least 200 feet from the woods. An unfortunate side effect of that is the fact that we have no shade - anywhere. I do have a pair of Golden Rain Trees, but they're a few years from producing shade.