Regina, I have to say your gardens are really impressive.
Larry, I am 66 and thinking of cutting down on the daylilies here. Not sure how many I have, but about a 100. I know when I'm out there in a few weeks dividing all the ones I sold on the classified ad, I will be wondering why I do this to myself year after year. It is hard work! Some of these won't be replaced with daylilies. I am getting more and more into lilies and find them easier to dig and divide.
One thing I would strongly suggest is not planting them too close. I think 24" between crowns is perfect. This means you don't need to divide them so often. 18" minimum. When you plant out those first single or double fans you may think this is way too far apart. In 3-4 years, you will be glad. Also either keep the beds narrow enough that you can reach into them to deadhead or plan paths right from the start. When you do this, you may not have room for as many as you think.
Once you've grown daylilies for a few years you may find you only need so many purple spiders, white with purple eyes, ect. By then you can see which of the purple spiders you grow is the most pleasing to you and get rid of the others. I have two purple spiders in my front garden but they bloom at different times, so am keeping both. Same with plain yellows, orange doubles ect. Evaluate them for a few years and then cut back if you need to. I love iris and lilies just as much as daylilies and would recommend not using all your space for daylilies and try branching out a little if you haven't already. I always keep a little space for annuals too and often move pots of annuals like coleus out to the daylily beds when the daylilies are finished.
