I've always thought that when you used the same plant over and over in a yard it was a more formal look. Sort of like putting one plant on each side of your door or making one side of your yard look like the other side. It's personal preference but I like it to look a little less neat. I don't want my plants to look alike.. although I guess it could be argued I'm doing that by pretty much limiting myself to daylilies and ornamental grasses. *g*

The plant beds in the yard are here and there. Some may only have 3 plants in them, others might have as many as 16. It's just a mix match way of doing it, but it's been a lot of fun.

I have to admit that I like a variety so I get one of each. I would get bored looking at just a few varieties. Large clumps look really nice though. The most of one kind that I have is (I think) H. Fulva. When it flowers I'll have to post a picture and get an i.d. A friend sent me about 30 fans so I planted them apart from my other daylilies. It's personal preferance, you have to decide for yourself what looks better to you. Marg

Sorry for the follow-up but when I said I didn't want my plants to look alike.. It was more about the different kinds of flowers (doubles, gold edges, ruffles, teeth, tentacles, colors, heights). I just one (or 2) of each.. ;)

I get what you're saying - you're talking landscape value VS letting your "collecting gene" come out. A few years ago, I along with two other club members, planned and designed a large AHS Display Garden for our club. While we wanted to feature an entire Stout Medal collection along with a variety of all types of daylilies, we specifically designed the front of the garden ( that would be seen by a lot of passers by on a busy road) to feature large swatches of color alternating in red and cold. we planted groupings of 6-8 clumps of reliable reds alternating with golds. (Smugglers Gold, Ruby Spider,and I can't remember the rest as its been years) but the "landscape section" in the front has achieved the desired effect - it stops traffic. This is at the large garden center that houses meetings for all types of garden clubs in our area. Other clubs tour the garden during bloom season, etc.

For your personal garden, it depends on how you have your garden planned. If you are using beds in one color, then you might enjoy daylilies planted in groups of 3-5 of the same cultivar to emphasize a color scheme, etc.

Personally, I enjoy the "mixed" garden but unify it by the use and repetetion of other perennials interspersed with the daylilies.

I am of the "one of everything" school however, I do use colors and textures to make the landscape look less chaotic. As a former floral designer I am very anal about colors. I also have a small garden and truly, don't care what it looks like to the rest of the world. My yard is by far the nicest on our street regardless of my collections.

Daylily foliage all looks alike so most of the year a garden with 35 of the same color looks just the same as one with 35 different colors....

I have collections of daylilies, hosta, rhododendrons, ferns, dicentras, clematis, daffodils, heathers, dwarf conifers, huecheras and more.

I plant one of a kind of daylily but the daylily clumps themselves are massed in garden sections. If I had lots of room I would have larger displays of one kind. Just not possible here.

IMHO if you have a lot of space put in a bed that has one color. I know what you mean about nature having drifts of color it is truly breathtaking. We were recently in New Mexico and the foothills of the mountains in some areas were carpeted with california poppies blooming it was something to behold. When you walked up to the poppies some of them were slightly different in color than the others. Wow did they make an eyecatching statemet overall.

My garden has many one of a kind daylilies as there is not the room for a large bed of one color.

I want too many of them to limit to one color or kind. I do have a few doubles, and I enjoy the impact of more...for a while. then, I just have to have another one, and something has to go...usually a duplicate if I don't have an under-performer to SP.
kay

I like both, but am limited due to lack of space now. I do have one smallish bed with just pink daylilies in it. I also have a bed in which I tried to feature 'hot' colors, and then I have a section of one of the beds with just white and black daylilies. Then everywhere else it is whatever goes!!! I do like to see beds of mixed daylilies that are mixed in with other perennials. I bet the drifts of red alternated with gold looks fabulous.
Cindy

I'm like most of the above posters -- not enough room to have mass plantings of a single cultivar, plus it's more fun to collect and enjoy all the different ones.

As I've gotten closer to filling up the available space, I actually find myself shying away from BOGO deals and looking for single plants. A lot of my duplicates have been given away to family.

I think on a forum like this you'll find more collectors than pure landscapers.

Nate