Some Ideas:

--As you say, don't just plant rows and rows of daylilies that look great for five weeks, then look like drought-stricken corn the rest of the year.

--Plant tall daylilies in back of the border -- I have learned to actually be more carefull about placing taller ones in the back.

--Look for some very lates.

--I have a lot of beds with winding grass paths through them.

--Think curves, not squares.

--Some small trees add height.

--Enjoy experimenting and breaking rules.

--Have something blooming thoughout the year.

--Study other gardens, visit them more than just read books, but find what works for you. Enjoy the process!!

I agree on the rows. I don't want it to look like a "farm" but more like a park ... a pleasant place to visit. Benches here and there, a few statues, etc. I saw a picture of Rev. Marlow and AdaLee Shubert's Garden in the Region 6 Newsletter which looked really neat. I just have no experience at creating pretty flower beds -- am not sure where or how to begin.

All my daylilies are planted in mixed borders of trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials, some areas being more heavily daylilies than others. Through the years I have tried all kinds of combinations. However, I'm so far north of you that it is hard for me to make really specific perennial plant suggestions. Here are some ideas that may be somewhat helpful for you.

I like catmints and salvias with my daylilies, both for their contrasting overall shapes and leaf textures, and for their colors. The soft blues of catmints or deep blues of salvias can be matched with almost any color scheme, & where you live you can use lots of salvias in many colors that I cannot.

I also like things like gaura and knautia around daylilies. They act as sort of see-through plants and also move in the wind (daylilies can be sort of static looking). Their small flowers are also a neat contrast to the big daylily blooms.

I also use quite a few yarrows. Their flat flowers contrast with the daylily flower and can be used to make nice color echoes to the daylily color, or even sometimes to the eyes of daylilies.

Sedums, with their long season and thickish foliage, also can be used near daylilies, providing just a bit of architectural effect to a planting of mostly so so strappy daylily foliage.

In addition to the above kinds of plants I also like to interplant bulbs that bloom before & after the daylilies bloom. This can be a bit of a problem, if you move things a lot!

You might also want to consider adding a small amount of late blooming perennials or grasses to the area. I find that after the big explosion of daylily color that I am quite satisfied with a smaller display & a more monochromatic soothing palette later in the season. A couple of nice clusters of late blooming perennials also helps pull the eye away from the declining daylily foliage.

As for overall design and layout of the beds, I was wondering if you plan on putting paths through the area. I would plan out how you want to move yourself and wheel barrows & do maintenance through the area. Do you need a large walkway to the ranch gate with other paths leading out from there?

Once the traffic flow is determined, it becomes much easier to plan the bed layout. When I looked at your drawing I immediately thought of a swirl pattern through and around various trees, with large pennisular areas in open spaces, and smaller areas with special collections here and there. You could move the color through the beds in various ways as well, in a rainbow type way or in the high contrast way I prefer. It just depends what you want.

BTW, the paths you make (whether formal or just places you can step into the beds to work) do not need to be formal or necessarily wide (at least not everywhere). Mowed meadow paths look wonderful around daylilies, & mulch or stepping stones can also be used with or without larger paths.

If you do decide to make winding paths through the area, you may find that some of the beds will become almost island beds and you can plant them as such, with taller plants in the middle and shorter ones to the front. This mix of heights can add an extra bit of interest to daylily beds, and both the island style and the more graduated pattern of short to tall planting of one-sided beds can be used effectively in different parts of the same garden.

You can also use something large like a big tall grass (or two) to mark a bend in the road, or as I tend to do, use it to hide small plants in secret areas, often changing the path texture or narrowing one part & continuing the rest of the path in another direction. If you want to see everything in my garden, sometimes you have to hunt. LOL.

Sorry, this got so long...but you asked a big question! Have fun with your new gardens.

Here is a visual look at islands and paths

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One thing you must have is water. A pond, a fountain or a stream.

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Tom

Tom that is beautiful how you set your beds up I'm going to show them to my DH so he'll see how great it looks.
I'm also glad to see these pictures cause I want's sure about how to go about planting the daylilies color scheme wise but your mix is beautiful.

Some great ideas for you there! I just wanted to say that adding a water feature is never out of the question as you can get solar powered fountain and small pond/waterfall pumps.There are also some very nice wrought iron like gazeboes that have optional bug net coverings that you can train climbers up the 4 corner supports as you would an arbor.Don't forget solar powered lights!

Betsy

The pictures are heartbreakingly beautiful! Very inspiring!

Thanks for your suggestions. Tom, your place is beautiful and I will save these pics. Thank you for sharing them with me. I do love ornamental grasses and hostas, so definitley plan to incorporate them along with perennials and a few annuals. It gets so awfully hot here in July-Sept that the weather wipes out so many things, while we have to constantly battle the encroachment of native flora. Our flowers vanish at that time.

Where do you find solar powered fountains? Solar garden lights that put out a fair amount of light? Going solar would be perfect there in that area. The ones we have in another area just put out a very small amount of light -- hardly worth the expense of putting them in.

I love the picture of the pond. I did have a lily pond or koi pond in mind, but am not sure where it needs to be.

We have a small wet weather creek with a lot of slabs of rock which I could use in landscaping if I could figure out how to get them moved up the hill to this place.

The ranch gate entrance to this future daylily garden opens onto a gravel driveway leading into our place, but the front of it faces the main road.

Lots of places sell the solar fountains and pond pumps.I saw some at Lowes last year.The site below has all kinds of pumps and lights.

Here is a link that might be useful: Solar stuff

If you decide on a water feature that will have fish, be sure to place it so you can run electricity to it. The solar power features would be great for you in sunny Texas but you will also have to rely on electricity to make sure your pond filters function all the time. Koi in particular need their water quality monitored all the time.

Brooke

Thanks for the solar website link. I visited it, and found many interesting items there.

I need to start putting in a bed on the south side along the road. I was thinking of using black plastic to kill the weeds/grass. Or should I just till it? What's best?