Growing Daylilies Together

I'm from Garden City, Kansas and I first started collecting daylilies in 1992.  Pat Elliott (daughter of Marthella Shoemake from OKC) invited me to go with her to the 1992 National in Shreveport. All of the COHS members on that bus were good enablers and they got me hooked. I came home with 26 daylilies, pulled up all my green beans and planted them. The next year I still had room for 4 tomato plants, by the third year it was all daylilies, all the time.

On that first trip we stopped at Ury Winniford's in Dallas and I made my first purchase, SMALL PRIZE.  I continue to grow it because it still looks great at sundown. Some of my other first purchases were

Kropf doubles, AMETHYST ART and BUTTER DISH.

Unfortunately, I am so far removed from cities with daylily organizations, clubs or groups that I do not belong to any, however, I try to help out on a regional level as much as I can and have attended several Region 11 meetings. On a national level, I have attended the convention in Shreveport in 1992 and OKC in 1999.

My daylily business is called 'Earlybird Daylilies'. I specialize in the complete collection of the late Frank Kropf and am continuing his lines. My daylilies are field-grown and proven hardy.

Our bloom season is from mid-June through mid-August but 'peak' bloom is in July. If the weather isn't too crazy, we can have decent rebloom until mid-October. I am also an AHS Display Garden. No set hours and visitors are always welcome.
Every order I send out is dug and packed with love and special care. I feel all my customers are friends first and customers second. I hope that I have played a part in all my customers addiction!

Every time someone announces a website update or new introductions, I go look. I love to 'discover' hybridizers that are not very well known. Some of the best plants in my garden are the products of these 'discoveries'.

In far western Kansas, in the land of extremes, the daylily is the perfect plant! No matter how hard the wind blows, the driving rain falls, or sun bakes, the following morning brings all fresh, new blooms. Every day is joyful in a daylily garden. Plus, you'll not find any group of people more fun-loving, caring, generous, and friendly than daylily people. I have held a lot of interesting jobs over the years (including horse trainer, zoo keeper, elephant handler, feedyard doctor and vet assistant), but daylilies have been the most rewarding.

As far as my hybridizing 'program', I find it very hard to stay focused on just one goal. I'm all over the place.  I am working on layered doubles utilizing the Kropf lines, spots (such as broken-color iris), really saturated colors, neon eyes, extreme spatulate UFs (someday with teeth!), true miniature spiders, and metallic edges. My mantra is 'Don't get hung up on the details- keep it fun!'