Creating modern hardy hybrid daylillies...
especially for gardens in northern zones!

Daylily: Down by the Creek*

What GORGEOUS cascading form... AND colors!!! Simply FLAWLESS unusual form, and of quite nice dimensions. It's a bud builder, and I've had single scapes produce as many as 38 of these super-sized and free-flowing bad girls! Truly unusual, and VERY desirable!!! One of the longest-blooming plants in the garden as a result, spanning from mid through very late season.

I'd been calling this one "Fruit Loops" for years, 'cuz it describes the feeling it gives when seeing it SO amazingly well. The reverse bitone effect of having the darker raspberry edge on sepals (with peach center strips) is not only "slightly different" in the scheme of daylilies, but a nice contrast to the pink self of the petals... and enormous green throat. Put all this on a plant that has wonderful look overall, and call it "a Winner"!!!

Because the "flow" of this plant is simply impeccible, I thought it HIGH time to FINALLY pay some tribute to my sidekick here... Bobby McCraw. Bobby's been working here for like 8-9 years now, and been my only help since Eric passed away in 2017. I've some shots of him above, and anyone who's been here knows JUST who he is! I love the shot of he and his daughter Bobbi Jo, who got married to Wes here just a few years back. The fact is... at this point, this garden is as much a part of Bobby as it is me... which is really saying something. SO many times I get stressed about things totally out of my control (like losing 20K daylilies in 2016 due to having used a toxic compost), but Bobby's smooth nature just manages to make true sense of of it all. It's so funny to watch him with other people, as he's often kinda quiet... but boy, he's better than I am a lot of times in figuring folks out. NEVER condescending, and always respectful... because he knows he has the most wonderful family waiting for him, down by the creek.

Bobby lives on family land... almost a picture book style of life. Originally a huge tract of land, the descendants have all built their homes somewhere on it... and all get along amazingly well (for all the best of intentions, how many of us could actually do this???). Even Bobbi Jo and her new family (indluding her new daughter, "LILY" - imagine that!) have taken up the orginial historical house! In the middle of the spread (essentially a stretch of the Duncan's Creek Valley), there's a big flat clearing right on the creek. You should see it... it's truly AMAZING place. Beautiful green bottom land, with a pristine creek that's swimmable (at least for all the kids, 'cuz MY old butt would FREEZE in it!), and a SUPER cool pavillion that they built that looks like from a painting. As long as there's a hint of warmth in the air, the entire family comes together there for dinner in the eves... and Bobby grills out for the lot of 'em, with his wonderful wife Ginger right there by his side. Kids playing, dogs barking, people laughing, the smell of clean earth and good food all around them... almost as if in a whole 'nuther world than the one our culture tells us is "the better one". Bullshit. It's because of people like Bobby and his family, down by the creek, that help me SO much in remembering what life is really all about. I couldn't be more proud of any one person's realistic view of life, other than to call him... my friend. I value everything about Bobby, and can't imagine what my life would be like without him in it. My garden has literally become my soul over its decades of hardships, and Bobby's the only person in the world... I would ever trust with it.