Dopamine and Daylilies: Do Your Blooms Make You Happier?

Have you ever wondered why we are so drawn to daylilies and gardens in general? This is the time of year when I wake up, remember it’s daylily season, and can’t wait to go out to the garden. Now that the empty pots are filled, it’s even better. A lot of positive emotion – feelings of awe, gratitude, and curiosity abound. Daylilies are like velcro, drawing me out to see what is new.

There have been lots of studies looking at flowers and wellbeing. This linked article gives a great synopsis of the research. I need to remember to use my sense of smell more when I am out there, though.

I think daylilies are extra special because the garden has new blooms daily. So, going beyond color, fragrance, and our internal connection to nature, our brains adapt to our surroundings very quickly. My begonias with beautiful leaves or the stunning blooms on my orchids increase my sense of wellbeing. But, day 2 is a little less than day 1 . . . each day, my brain adapts and stops reacting as strongly to the beauty. Less dopamine.

Adaptation is the same mechanism that makes vacations “lifelong memories” and raises in salary not such a “lifelong” joy. The good part about adaptation is that it can boost resilience. If I get bad news, the news usually seems less bad the next day. Give me 120 days after even devastating news, and like most people, I’m probably back to my baseline happiness. After 120 days of the orchid or begonia, I am probably pretty unaffected by their presence.

With daylilies, every day is a new day with different colors and blooms. I think that is why I love daylily season. And, even though blogging about it is work, it does help me savor the joy of the flowers each day. It forces me to take notice of my surroundings.

PS – My doctoral work in nursing revolved around the science of positive psychology and optimism. Positive psychology is one of my favorite garden tools!

Daily Daylily Update from My Garden

I didn’t work in the yard today other than to take photos of my bloomers. Did you know I take a photo of each blooming cultivator every day? Then, I file the photos by name and make an Instagram reel for both my pages. Then, I write the blog. So, every day is a daylily day this time of year – unless it is a camping day.

I did have two first blooms for 2024: Inwood and Thin Man. Both beautiful blooms, keeping a dozen other blooming cultivators company. Inwood is an older cultivator and reliable bloomer. Thin Man reminds me of a droopy Ruby Spider.

As for scapes, I’m at 90 +/-. I decided today that I have no yardstick (so to speak) to keep track of scapes (or cultivators with scapes) like I do blooms. So, is 90 scapes above, below, or at the mean? Hmmmm. I need a better reference. I do know that several early bloomers don’t have scapes, which makes me nervous because it’s almost July. Does anyone else out there count scapes? Any good systems for tracking these each year?

Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale on Etsy

One of the items I have for sale this summer is this Ruby Spider plant pot. I painted it in several layers so that the paint has a textured feel. The background is a very flat chalk paint on terra cotta, while the flower is bright acrylic. The 6-inch size is perfect for many houseplants. It comes with a saucer, also done in chalk paint. The red and teal are a stunning color combo. And, it is 25% off until my last daylily blooms for 2024. Click this link or the photo below to visit the listing. That’s only about $20 and includes postage!