The Big Time | It's okay to covet.

Driving out near Carlyle Lake, I passed this happiness-waiting-to-happen.

Overgrown and in need of some TLC (the structures, not me) I pulled over and got lost in a thought of owning it.  I thought about what the name of the place would be and how I would set it off from others in its niche.  I noodled on making it a destination and not just a place to buy plants.  I imagined one building for selling/growing while the other could be done up for events and flower shows and celebrations and high teas and classes and church services.  I thought about how I'd refurbish the buildings in the back into barn wood-covered beauty, adding a garden art store and air-conditioned seating area that offered the best peach lemonade in the state.  

It was awesomeness.  The people who visited my gardening destination were laughing and smiling and spending a lot of money.  People were learning and everyone was clamoring to book their next event here.  All of the classes were sold out and every garden club within 100 miles planned to visit.

It wasn't for sale, and I wouldn't know where to begin even if it were.

I let out a big sigh, put the car in drive, and continued on.

H. 'Tricou Fedora' - neat throat texture and awesome diamond dusting!

The daylilies planted last fall ALL seem to have survived their first winter.  The last week we have had several warmer days and today for lunch I walked the garden to look for no-shows.  There are only two that have not cracked the surface, but I know those two are super lazy dormants, so I'm not too worried.  I did notice that several clumps that I divided before I left Michigan have come back better than ever.  More evidence to support that the daylilies do indeed like to be "messed with" every now and then to give them a burst of growing energy.  For instance, H. 'Holiday Party' for instance was a large, undisturbed clump of about 20 fans.  I reluctantly sold some before we moved and worried that it would never bloom as beautifully as it did in 2010.  I replanted four fans last fall and today I counted nine!   This past weekend I also got all the remaining potted daylilies out from under the deck, where they were stored last Thanksgiving for the winter.  They are all now in the sun and already growing green and straight!  

HOORAY - we made it!  

Here is H. 'Holiday Party.'  It's a stunner.