First Daylily of the Summer

My first daylily flower has opened, and I did indeed mean to put summer in the title. Although technically it will still be spring for the next couple of weeks, it sure feels like summer here right now, with temps in the mid-80s and bright sunshine. Air conditioning is not a summer staple in this part of the PNW, so when it gets hot we just have to grin and bear it. It has made sleeping very difficult for the past two nights.

Hemerocallis 'Barbara Mitchell'

I'm thrilled to see that this bloom at least is not afflicted with daylily gall midges. I had to cut and destroy most of my earliest blooms last year in an attempt to cut short their life cycle. I'm going to have to keep an eye on any other early bloomers (the gall midges tend to afflict primarily the earliest flowers). I won't post any photos of affected plants from last year, since I'd like you only to remember the beauty of my 'Barbara Mitchell' flower. But here's a link to some info.