First of all a thank-you to you seniors on this thread who are making me feel young!

Totally agree that at some point available time, physical ability, and perhaps even desire may fade and become limiting factors. Lately all the work making new beds, re-mulching, and maintaining everything has, in truth, provided very beneficial exercise for me.

I have found that Preen has drastically reduced the number of hours I spend weeding. Have developed a deep, heart-felt appreciation for that stuff…

Spacing of daylilies is of particular interest to me. My previous experience with daylilies was only with a few cultivars such as ‘Rocket City’ and ‘Chicago Sunrise’. These beasts, for me anyway, almost immediately fill out 4’ clumps. So most of my daylily spacing has been 3’ or 4’, which may be a bit much. However, I really do want my daylilies to form big clumps of that size so they can wow me at their fullest potential. Have to believe that most of them will, at least eventually, be happy to oblige.

Another key factor for me is maintaining a proper balance within the landscape.

On the one hand, a couple areas of my place are totally dedicated to daylilies: a seedling bed and a bed of cultivars selected for hybridizing with.

On the other hand, with the majority of my place I am working to create a “normal” landscape. While I am definitely featuring a lot of daylilies, I still want to have a balance between daylilies and other perennials and shrubs. I want the daylilies to fit in with the landscape as a whole and so there would be a point where too many of them would look out of place. Definitely an exercise in self-control to limit the number of those beauties!

Dennis - I have not found that balance in my raised daylily beds yet. Do share photos of your garden landscape. And I do like the exercise I get, too.

I think I am going to try and stay close to 300. I am now on the backside of my fifties and my joints keep reminding me I am not in my 20s or 30s anymore. I worked/weeded etc yesterday 3 1/2 hrs and I can sure tell it! Believe me I WANT them all. I also collect some hosta and iris. I just had rather have a smaller well kept garden than one that is not well maintained. Sticking to that plan is difficult.

I love preen. It has saved me so much work.
I also bought one of these on Amazon and I really like it, you do have to be on your knees somewhat to use it, but I am there a lot anyway. Found that it is easier to just get all the way down than to try to bend and reach things I really can't. This little tool will take downright abuse, but it does an amazing job for it's purpose. I have used it alot. Even my kids like using it, I had to order one for my mother.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BK2IMO/

Teresa, I guess everyone is different in what they consider a 'successful' garden. I decided that if I nitpick every weed that comes along, I will spend all my time pulling weeds and never enjoy the flowers, and that is of course the main reason I have the garden-to enjoy the flowers. So to me even if the garden is not what I consider well maintained (weed free, mulched, pruned ect) as long as the flowers do ok that is all I really care about ultimately. I would rather have a larger garden with more variety even if I wasn't able to keep it maintained as well as I like.

LOL, oh I have weeds! I am a firm believer in the parable of the wheat and the tares growing together. I just strive for a perfect garden, not that it is happening!

I attempt to spend an hour a day weeding, not that it always happens. I still see weeds every time I go out. I'd never heard of Preen. It sounds awesome! If I get a good weeding done, Preen will be coming on!

Frillylily said:Teresa, I guess everyone is different in what they consider a 'successful' garden. I decided that if I nitpick every weed that comes along, I will spend all my time pulling weeds and never enjoy the flowers, and that is of course the main reason I have the garden-to enjoy the flowers. So to me even if the garden is not what I consider well maintained (weed free, mulched, pruned ect) as long as the flowers do ok that is all I really care about ultimately. I would rather have a larger garden with more variety even if I wasn't able to keep it maintained as well as I like.

I'm right there with you!

I, personally, think it is absolutely impossible to remove every single weed. I remove enough to make it look like I've got it under control .....

This is a very good thread and got me to thinking. My husband doesn't want anything to do flower or plants of any kind. Although he does enjoy bloom season. I have close to 500 Daylilies. In the past 8 months I have had 2 strokes. Friends helped me last fall and this spring. I am working my way back to being able to maintain the stamina just to weed, do a little daily. Been trying to give my noids away.
I found gardening in my late early 50's. Gardening is what I do to relax and distress. There is something about digging in the dirt and seeing something besides weeds grow.
This thread has made me realize my thinking needs to change.

I seen a yard awhile back that looked really nice. I say really nice because I was surprised to see as I got closer (driving) that it was fake
well usually fake flowers LOOK fake, but this looked really well done. Lots of rocks, bright colored birdhouses and a birdbath under a tree and it had some fabric flowers.

I guess I could imagine that they were real now, listen to me going off sounding all Anne-like

Frillylily said:under a tree and it had some fabric flowers.

Ahh, blasphemy! Lol! Maybe that homes owner is just waiting for an experienced gardener like yourself to inspire them and show them how it's done. (Is fake-flower-house near your house?)

My wife says; "One more is too many."

We have a few over 100 with a dozen new ones coming in.

Charley

Becky, it does depend on your health, if you are not having problems at 60 you should be alright at 70. I have had a lot of arthritis in my spine for years and with age it doesn't get any better. I have tried Preen but I think the darn weeds here are getting immune to it. I also have tons of wild violets in my garden and nothing seems to kill them. The only thing I saw that ever killed them was one spring we had a lot of slugs and the slugs ate them down to nothing. Maybe that will happen again this year as we are having so much rain and slugs love wetness.

I have tons of violets in my yard, this spring I had solid white violets and I actually dug them up and moved them to where I wanted them. I hope they will come back white. I have dark purple, light purple, and striped ones. I love violets. If they come up where I don't want it, I just wack them out.

DogsNDaylilies said:

Ahh, blasphemy! Lol! Maybe that homes owner is just waiting for an experienced gardener like yourself to inspire them and show them how it's done. (Is fake-flower-house near your house?)

yes it is near my place, I assume a 'little old lady' because that is really all there is in the yard.

I tried the digging them up thing for several years and I just couldn't get ahead of them. Sometimes I just take my weedwacker to them.

I feel I should go to your place and save the violets

You can have as many as you want.