Daylilies are easy to take for granted. I see them in catalogs all the time, and think, “Oh, that looks nice.” But then I look at the price, add in shipping, and decide, “Nah, not this time.” So my collection of daylilies has been limited to passalongs from friends plus an anniversary special from Wild’s–20 daylilies for $40–that I ordered more than a decade ago. So when my friend Donalyn invited me to see Bob and Norma’s daylilies, I wasn’t expecting this:

Seeing top-of-the-line daylilies in person is a whole lot different than in a catalog. They knocked my socks off!
These were not the daylilies I was used to. These were certainly not my grandmother’s daylilies. The flowers were often bigger, and even when they weren’t, there were more of them. The colors were more vibrant and the shapes of the flowers were more varied. You see, Bob and Norma are in love with daylilies, and not just any daylilies. Many of their daylilies were cutting edge when they purchased them. Bob has done some breeding. They used to sell their surplus, but mostly so they could buy more, I suspect,
because Bob hasn’t registered any of his crosses. I’m not sure any of them have names. And of the many cultivars that Bob and Norma have, well, they don’t remember the names of all of them. Theoretically, each one has a tag, but not all the tags can be found. Norma remembers a lot of the names, but not all of them. Name or no name, they still love them.The sea of color was overwhelming, so as I and a few other friends were traipsing around with Norma on a hot day, she’d point out her favorites, and we would pick out ours and ask her about them. “Oooh, what’s that one?” we’d ask again and again. She would tell us if she knew. She was very patient, as sometimes we asked about the same cultivar several times when it caught our eye in different beds. We were writing the names down on paper, wondering how we were going to remember which name went with which flower.
The Daylilies I Left Behind

This is not a true representation of the color, which was a pure pink, not at all peachy. Norma didn’t know the name.

Norma called this a spider form daylily, the only spider they had. Someone gave it to them and the giver didn’t know the name.
The Daylilies I Bought
Much to my surprise, when I arrived to pick up my daylilies, there were a few extras in my order:Visit A Local Daylily Grower
Even if you are absolutely certain that you don’t want to buy any daylilies for your garden, I encourage to visit a daylily grower when the daylilies are blooming. You will never take daylilies for granted again. I certainly don’t.
More From My Friends
My two friends took a lot more pictures than I did. You can see more daylilies and get their accounts of our visit by following the links below.
Daylilies Teresa’s post includes a photo of Norma
Day LiliesNicki’s post has a link to her Flickr album, which has a picture of me chatting with Norma, a photo of Teresa, and a whole lot more daylilies.
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Daylilies are really pretty. I have dozens of them growing on my garden. My aunt was the one who convinced me to grow them. She also had lots of beautiful daylilies. Anyway, I love what Bob and Norma did.
Sarah 😀
I moved to a house a couple years ago and was thrilled that day-lilies were among the perennials. This year the blooms have failed to make an appearance. I have foliage but no flowers. Could it have anything to do with the weird weather patterns?
Too much shade would be my first guess. Too crowded would be my second guess. If there is a daylily nursery near you, I would ask them.
Love your blog and those daylilies made my heart skip a beat! The double looks like a daff!
Always loved daylilies, and you have some beauties. I always favor the yellow and the pink ones. The old fashioned Hyperion is well worth growing- it has a beautiful fragrance.
I agree: I love Hyperion myself.
Lovely! I like all your choices, especially Something Splendid. Coincidentally I just got 4 big clumps of daylilies from someone in the area downsizing their garden, but he didn’t know their names. Nothing like the ones you have. And you’ll always remember the fun day you had when you see them blooming.
There were pink ones you left behind, but did not get any new pink ones for replacement. Would pink bring back memories of the old place?
I did bring some pink daylilies from the old place. The ones I left behind at Bob and Norma’s garden I may be able to get another time.
I have gotten most of my daylilies from local growers and buy them when I can see them in bloom. My daylily bank is now full and really beautiful. My husband likes them because now he doesn’t have to mow the steep bank.
Like Jean, I’ve walked through fields of daylilies with the owners and waited while they dug the plants I chose. Definitely this is more fun, and more rewarding in many ways, than buying through catalogues or from pots at local outlets of chain stores.
I’m sorry that I missed the visit this time 🙁 Some of my favorite daylilies came from Norma and Bob. I can attest to how lovely Monster is – I have a huge clump of it and it’s beautiful.
I think there are more places like their down south – you go walk around with owner who carries a shovel and some plastic grocery bags and they did them right up and send you on your way. Ellyn and I visited some when she lived down there.
Another good place to get daylilies is ebay – many growers offer a flat shipping rate for a certain number of fans. No more for me for awhile – I have run out of space and I’m not sure I have the time to take care of any more anyway.
So glad you found some to love!
I’ve acquired most of my daylilies from local breeders and growers who often dig them up from the field while you wait. I agree that this is the way to buy them. Not only are the plants big and healthy (and adapted to local growing conditions), the prices tend to be lower than for potted plants at nurseries or mail order plants. Love your selections. I have a number of fragrant yellow varieties, and I never get tired of that vanilla scent.
You took home quite a few beauties! Love Monster and the double they gifted you is a treasure. Now to pop over to your friend’s blogs to see what they took home. gail