Day Lily: An Ornamental Edible
Daylily Pickles
Collect daylily buds when they are not quite full sized. Fill sterilized jar with buds. Make a brine of cider vinegar, sugar and pickling spices and bring it to a boil (proportions according to your taste buds). Pour over daylily buds and seal. Wait a month before tasting. These will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of months. For longer storage, process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
Daylily Soup
Early on summer evenings when the daylily flowers are just starting to close, go out and collect as many as you can (they won't reopen anyway). Strip the petals away from the center of the flower. Dry the petals in a dehydrator or by stringing them with a needle and thread, leaving a little air space between each petal. Crumble into a jar. Midwinter, add these to your soups after you turn off the heat, think of summer, and smile.