PALANTIR (King-Lamone 2002)
The best seedling out of crosses made between
(MOONLIT ORCHID X ASTERISK) This very delicate-looking pale blend of colours
change to a lemon-ivory in hot sun. Upon opening the flowers are a pale
salmon pink blush with a cream throat and stay in this delicate pastel pate'
until heat and hot sun lighten them. I bred this one in Italy where our
sun scorches many delicate colours in daylilies, but I had a "Secret
Garden" in England in mind, where it's colours will remain delicate
and enchanting for the entire day. In cooler weather, it is as ethereal
in colour and form as is MITHRIL VEIL, which it resembles in certain aspects.
The illustration below shows more of these delicate colours. The flower
form is polytepal in the illustration, a form which it does not regularly
produce.
Flower form similar to MITHRIL VEIL, but slightly
smaller and with wide, candelabra branching. Superb hardiness and growth.
One of the simplest and most delicate flower forms I have ever introduced.
The sepals always quill, sometimes to their entire length, underlining the
asterisk form idea.
The name came from the idea of looking into the
Seeing Stone of the Lord of the Rings and seeing to other worlds and countries.
The movie portrays the stone as dark and sinister, but when I named this
flower, I thought of the refracted light pattern in a Star Sapphire and
thought that this refracted light pattern would have been a reflection of
the shimmer on the PALANTIR when it had been used for good purposes.
When I look at this flower, it is so utterly different,
it gives me the feeling of glancing in a distant, somewhat fairy tale land.
(I'm a hopeless romantic!)
DOR, DIP, NOCT, FRAG. MID. Ca 36 in, ca 5in flowers.
