Salmon Stuffed Daylilies, Surprise Lilies, What Is A Daylily

Daylilies are one of the most versatile plants you'll find in the garden. You can steam young stems in spring like asparagus as well as add buds and flowers to salads. You can also use them as containers for the following easy summer recipe.

You'll Need: Washed daylilies with center stamen removed. Canned salmon. Apple. Mayonnaise.

To Make: Stuff the center of the washed, hollowed out flower with combination of 1 can of pink salmon drained, bones removed. Chop up one apple and add to salmon along with a couple of dollops of mayonnaise to taste. You can also use a favorite tuna salad or egg salad recipe. Garnish with wild onions.

Daylilies are Hemerocallis and not really lilies. The word is Greek for "beautiful". The flowers get their common name because most species open at sunrise and wither at sunset, replaced by another one on the same stem the next day.

Daylilies are not commonly used as cut flowers for formal flower arranging but they make good cut flowers. Cut them while they are still in bud to extend the blooms.

Surprise lilies are perennial bulbs like daffodils that collect energy in the spring and bloom late July or August.

In Missouri these cousins to the Amaryllis are also called naked ladies because when they bloom they don't have leaves or other greenery (photo).