Friday, August 10, 2007

Hawthorn Hill Daylily Farm



Before I tell you about the lily farm, I must thank a very good blogging friend for the above award. I've been remiss, since sweet Susie of Susie's Space presented me with this award several weeks ago. Because I recently turned 60 (yes, I'm blaming that momentous, over-the-hill milestone), my mind doesn't seem to retain things that need to be remembered quite so well anymore! I make lists, and then forget to read them. I think there's just too much information to remember.........and not as much room left to store it, after years of accumulated "stuff" :) Does anyone else have this problem?
I truly appreciate the compliment Susie. Thank you so much.



It's been two and a half weeks since our visit to the lily farm, and I've managed to find homes in our gardens for the 7 new lilies we came home with. I've also moved a couple that I planted last year, and still have more to move. The 2 lilies in the foreground of the above picture are not among our newest choices, but they look like good candidates for next year's consideration....



As you can see by the photos, there are so many lilies to choose from!! It truly is a paradise.
The owners, Sandy and Dick deRosa are both retired now, and obviously spend countless hours keeping this large area looking as beautiful as it does, not to mention all the other work it takes to run a business. So I guess they're really not retired :)


Here's Sandy picking off spent blooms......something she does automatically, as she patiently answers questions, explains helpful information, and names the various lilies. Posted by Picasa
This picture was actually taken last year with my little Canon PowerShot.





Adding to the beauty are perennials interplanted among the lilies.Posted by Picasa

This hummingbird moth visited the liatris while I was close by with the camera.







Posted by Picasa



The beautiful pink Mariska was one of my first choices.



Here's a closer view.


White Temptation is another that came home with us. Posted by Picasa



Closer view



Third choice, Abstract Art.



Fourth choice, Strutter's Ball. This one looks like velvet!



The name tag was missing from this lovely, very tall purple, so it is "Unknown Purple". Hopefully we'll find out a name for it eventually.


We bought a clump of this gorgeous light yellow Atlanta Moonlight.

Sandy and Dick are clearing some of the lily beds and will use the space to grow organic vegetables. They're planning to downsize their operation in order to have more free time for travel, and visits to the grandbaby. So there are some specials....and this was one of them. There was a 25% discount, and we could buy a whole clump for double the price of one plant (which is always more than one fan).......so we did.....and ended up with about 9 or 10 fans for $9! What a bargain! Posted by Picasa
And now............drumroll...........will the real Janice Brown please stand up? Posted by Picasa


In the last post I mentioned that my "Janice Brown" had a story to tell. Well, during last year's visit I noticed that "my Janice" didn't have the rose pink eye that their Janice B. did. Sandy offered to give me a replacement then, but I wasn't at all disappointed in "my Janice" and said no. As you can see, she's truly beautiful and one of my absolute favorites.
I certainly wasn't complaining........but this year Sandy absolutely insisted that the "real" Janice Brown was coming home with us, by hook or by crook!


So now, I proudly present to you the true Janice Brown!

But now my soft peachy pink beauty doesn't have a name!


Here are a few others that caught my fancy. This one is Flutterby and looks rather like the unknown purple above, but is a bit shorter and a more bluish-purple.



Smith Brothers was pictured recently on Karen's blog (she has a fantastic collection of daylilies). It's a real beauty!



Lady Fingers is very tall, and shaped like my gorgeous Cleo. I love this yellow-green lily.



Buddha...dark and dramatic.


Bama Music........pretty in pink! Another very tall one.Posted by Picasa

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And here's Ross patiently waiting while I was taking these photos :) We thoroughly enjoyed our morning in this wonderful place, and Ross truly seems to love being there just as much as I do. It's become something that we look forward to doing together each year. Posted by Picasa


This weekend's weather promises to be fair, after a very wet Thursday evening and Friday morning. We've had "inside" weather today, which has given us a chance to catch up on some indoor chores.
If you like poetry, and especially William Wordsworth (of clouds and daffodil fame), check out my good friend Judy's new blog. She posts beautiful photos at
Seeing Anew, and has recently begun a new blog called Walking With Wordsworth where she has recorded a series of Podcasts of Wordsworth's "The Prelude". You can read along on her blog as you listen, or you can download the podcast and listen on your iPod as you take a walk. I think it's a lovely idea.

Have a great weekend everyone!

29 comments:

Christy Woolum said...[Reply]

Congrats on the award and thank you for introducing me to many varieties of lilies. I can't wait to recreate a garden I have with more lilies. You are an inspirational gardener.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Just wonderful to see all these beautiful lilies. How lucky you must have been to stay at this lily-farm. I've just started to "collect" these plant after having seen so many lovely pictures in the various blogs. Greetings from Switzerland. Barbara

Elzie said...[Reply]

You have such a beautiful garden. Can't get enough of your lovely pics. This will be a good inspiration for me this coming winter.
Love Elzie

Susan Tidwell said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri! Thanks for all the comments on my little blog.

Congrats on the award, well deserved. I followed your 'garden blog' banner and found a neat map to other garden blogs, thanks!

The lilies are beautiful! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

I also recently found Judith's Wordsworth blog, looking forward to finding the time to catch up on it, also.

Have a great weekend!

Alice said...[Reply]

I love the setting of the daylily gardens almost more than the lilies. The surrounding trees make a great backdrop to the beautiful flowers.

Once again, I'd never be able to choose my favourites. I'd need to have one of each. Could I afford them?

I think I really like the Janice Brown imposter better than the real one.

It looks like a fantastic place to spend a few hours, and the weather looked perfect, too.

Susie said...[Reply]

Good morning Kerri,
What an enjoyable visit to such a lovely place. I remember your post on this last year..
My very favorite is that dark velvety "Strutter's Ball" I'd find it so very hard to choose.
I must say, though, that I love each and every one you purchased and can't wait to see them in your future posts.
Sending you lots of warm sunshine!
(it's going to be quite warm here today)
love and ((hugs))

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...[Reply]

I don't think i have seen as many lilies ever in my whole life time as i have seen on your pace..and lovely little notes to go with each of them too. I am so happy about your "new Janice Brown" and one of my favorites (i loved them all) was definitely the abstract art ..thanx for making my weekend beautiful with all these exquisite lilies :)

Tammy said...[Reply]

I had no idea there was such a thing as a hummingbird moth...what an interesting specimen of nature!!
:)

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...[Reply]

They are all beautiful! I'd have a very hard time choosing, although I'm partial to the pinks and white. The weather today has been just perfect; I spent the entire afternoon working in the garden and plan to be back out there after dinner. I hope you enjoed the day as much as I did!

Annie in Austin said...[Reply]

'Ladyfingers' and 'Atlanta Moonlight' would be my choices if I'd had the chance to visit Sandy & Dick's farm. And Alice is right! The 'not-Janice Brown' is prettier than the real 'Janice Brown'.

What to name the first one you chose?? Let's see - it's beautiful, obviously would be happy with peaches and pinks, is very feminine looking, and has a Heart of Sunshine.

There's no possible name for that daylily but 'Dear Kerri' !

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Philosophical Karen said...[Reply]

I noticed a few daylilies we have in common. 'Mariska' was one I bought last year that had trouble flowering this year for me. As you mentioned 'Smith Brothers' is a new one for me this year (though mine seem a lot darker than the ones you show). And I did get 'Lady Fingers' this year too, although I haven't found a place for it yet. It's supposed to grow tall, so I'm not sure where to put it.

Val said...[Reply]

What a lovely display they've made of the daylilies.

I used to go to the iris farm when I was collecting irises - amazingly they had the irises planted in alphabetical order so you could wander up and down the rows following the order of the catalogue. Impossible to choose!

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

loved your visit to the lily farm. We have one not too awfully far away, but I haven't been there yet. I hear they are spectacular places to visit with all their colorful lilies.

I still love your Janice Brown lily and I like the true Janice Brown also. Strutter's Ball is lovely with its deep color. Now I know why I've never visited the daylily farm...It's because I'd want to bring home a little bunch of each color.

I've also never seen a hummingbird moth before. What an interesting looking moth.

Still no rain here, but no water advisory yet either so on occasion Jimmy lightly waters his favorite flowers.

Carole Burant said...[Reply]

Hello dear Kerri:-) Trying to catch up with a few blogs this evening! Oh my goodness, look at all those fabulous lilies!! I love the ones you chose...I would have had such a hard time choosing because every one of them has their own little character, don't they!! Congratulations on the Reflection award my friend, you truly do deserve it!! Thank you so much for your kind words of sympathy on the death of my SIL. You don't know how much it means to me to know you're all here for me!! xox

Mountain Mama said...[Reply]

Oh what a wonderful place! I'd have a very hard tome getting out of there without spending a lot of money! The pink with ruffled petals is my favorite.
When I was a girl we only had orange and yellow day lily's.
I have started collecting what I believe are Asiatic lily's. I have orange, yellow, pink and a deep burgundy purple colored one. Also a stargazer, but I don't know if that is also an asiatic. It smells like heaven~

Anita said...[Reply]

Wow, what a lovely place this lily farm must be! Thanks a lot for sharing all those pretty pictures! Well, I guess I definitivly need more daylilies in my garden, too!

Best wishes from Germany,
Anita

Jellyhead said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri,

Repeat after me - 'My name is Kerri, and I have a day lily addiction' ;-)

Seriously - it is lovely that you and Ross so enjoy visiting the day lily farm, and can spend time together admiring those stunning blooms.

Hope your week is going well,
XO Jelly

Lis vom Lindenhof said...[Reply]

Yes, what a nice place to visit! So many plants are in flower and such lovely pictures too. I like daylilis and I have 30-40 pices of them

Jo's-D-Eyes said...[Reply]

Hey Kerri,
My congrats, with your award, thats really something nice to get, But you deserve it, your blog is always so full of life and pretty colours.! I hope the weather stays well there, anyway BETTER than here in Holland, its raining ever since I can remember...YAK!

We/I were/was a away for our (SUNNY :) )holidays and we're back again, we went to France and Spain, we came back earlier because our dog was sick (bone problem).

I posted som of the area on my blog already, today I posted something of our "COWS", a funny story, but I had to think about you, so now you know, You might like to check it out and visit my blog when you have some time?

Bye have a great week.

JoAnn from Holland

Val said...[Reply]

Now all the wedding busyness is over, and the American relatives departed back to Florida - I can catch up on blog reading and gardening. I realise that I only have one variety of day lilly (donated to me of course) but I am going to rectify that this weekend, and see if I can find some different colours! Thanks for the inspiration.

Pear tree cottage! said...[Reply]

Hello Kerri, how beautiful! I can understand why you had a lovely morning there, to think all that colour and all those to choose from gosh! what a job you did so well with those you have now taken home to put in your garden.

I know I missed your 60th birthday but I am sure one more "happy birthday" will not hurt now will it. I hope the day was filled with happiness and I know there are many more to dream about too. So Happy Birthday to you my upstate NY blogger friend from Central Victoria lol lol lol lol.

See youa gain real soon.
Lee-ann

HORIZON said...[Reply]

l can well understand how you and Ross enjoy this visit Kerri- beautiful layout and variety of Lilies. Those old fences are just fantastic- adds to the feel of the place so well- l would enjoy a visit too.
Congratulations on the Reflective blogger award :) Happy to let you know that you also have another to add to it now- the Nice Matters Award! ;)
I have been away too long- so much to catch up on. Missed you much.
Bests

Midlife Mom said...[Reply]

Oh my! What gorgeous lilies! I can't imagine having so many different kinds and KNOWING all the names! You sure have some gorgeous ones too!

Congrats on the award, very well deserved!

I think my e-mail address is on my site somewhere, if not I'll look for yours tomorrow. The deer are sure feasting on my gardens and a remedy would be great!

Anonymous said...[Reply]

(This is the third time I have written this comment - my relationship with Blogger remains the same...)

Sorry to have missed your birthday - looks like you had a great day.

I love your lily pics - I think I would have gone photo-crazy at the lily farm also.

Congratulations on the award :)

Giddy said...[Reply]

As always, your photos are a feast for the eyes! I just love visiting lily farms, botanical gardens, etc - anywhere I can see beautiful, colorful flowers.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...[Reply]

Hi Kerrie,
Just my best wishes for the coming week, I visited you blog again.

Today I posted some Spain photo's and I also want to thank you for you comment on my "rebel-cow" Haha! You gave the cow that name...

:) JoAnn

sonia a. mascaro said...[Reply]

Congratulations for the Award!

What a lovely place, Kerri! I am enchanted with those gorgeous photos!

Marlene Depler said...[Reply]

Yes, congratulation on your award! And what wonderful daylilies! I've never seen so many wonderful colors.

Vérone said...[Reply]

Magnifique garden !
I love you garden daillily and garden de reves !!!
Vérone