The Urban Permaculture Farm Magazine

How much do you really know about the flowers you see everyday?
As a free range poultry man, I am always curious about the plants that grow on range.
I’d like to introduce you to
The Daylily… it’s edible, did you know?

By Frederick J. Dunn
www.FredsFineFowl.com

There are many different species of lilies, in my neck of the woods they line the road sides and are actually considered invasive species (tiger lilies). There are domestic varieties and in this case it’s the Daylily, one of the widest spread landscape cultivars you can find in the United States, genus Hemerocallis. This easy to grow cultivar can be successfully planted from zones 1 - 11.

I have several varieties here on my property and when I was dead heading them, I tossed the wilted blooms and the chickens immediately ate them! Turns out that the daylily varieties I have here are edible not only for my chickens, but for people also.

I have made a short video introduction to the Daylily with my friends and long time Daylily cultivators Roger and Pat Rouse. Roger explained to me that you can eat Daylily blossoms as well as other parts. A word of caution, some varieties should not be eaten!

My research led me to a website that presents many different recipes for the Daylily. It’s called Front Range Living and here is the LINK to their daylily page! I put Daylilies in the category of beautiful food!
I can’t eat the daisies or morning glories, but I can and will eat the daylilies when they are in bloom!

Visit my friends Pat and Roger at there daylily gardens in Erie County Pennsylvania by watching an
introduction to the beautiful daylily.

Daylilies… they are edible, now you know.

I wish you all well!
Fred