Some people have referred to daylilies as the poor man's orchid. Indeed, daylilies, like orchids, are a beauty to behold. Daylilies are no longer just the muted yellow and orange plants grown in road ditches. They come in every color from white to deep purple (almost black) and in a variety of sizes.

If you don't' have a green thumb, daylilies are the perfect plant.

They are relatively carefree and can turn an unused, dull area, into a stunning bed of color and texture. Daylilies flourish almost anywhere. They are also an excellent plant to use for erosion control, such as on a slope that is difficult to mow, and also as a ground cover plant.

There are indeed a lot of the common yellow and orange daylilies around. However, there are some spectacular varieties that you should keep an eye out for:

Black Eyed Susan: A real standout in the garden. This daylily has rich yellow-orange petals with a maroon and dark orange throat.

Bama Bound: This daylily has a deep reddish color giving it a satin like appearance.

Little Grapette: A miniatured sized daylily with grape-purple petals and a green throat.

Beauty to Behold: A light lemon colored daylily with a green throat. The flowers are satin in appearance. The flowers are nocturnal; the day's flowers actually open up the night before.

Hyperion: This daylily has been around for over 80 years. The canary yellow flowers have a trumpet shape and are treasured for their delicate fragrance.

Stella d'Oro: These daylilies are one of the most popular around. They are a deep yellow gold and bloom from mid-July through frost. Old blooms should be trimmed off to promote reblooming.

Donna evans is co-owner of Gizmo Creations, a landscape and website design firm, located just north of Merrifield Minnesota. Gizmo Creations creates landscape design plans and has a host of landscape resources on their website, http://www.gizmocreations.com. Unique and hard to find landscape books, as well as Gizmo Creations own home landscaping manual can be found on Gizmo Creations' website.