A Very Special Announcement | My First Introduction!

I am very proud to announce the debut of my first registered daylily!  

In lieu of a haiku this week, I wanted to share this special announcement with you...my first daylily introduction - H. 'Blessings in a Backpack' - will be officially registered and released in 2013!!
  

It is a fiery orange and gold bi-tone with consistent paprika sepal stippling and a haloed golden throat.   Segments gleefully display tightly crimped edges.  Selected for its vigor, outstanding show presentation and garden value.   Here are its stats: 5.5”, 35”, ML, Dormant, Tetraploid. 22 bud count, 3 way branching.

In 2013, this first introduction will be released and sold in limited collections to benefit child hunger in the United States through the established and successful “Blessings In A Backpack” school program.  For many elementary school kids, the cafeteria meal is the only one they get and on the weekends, nothing.  The Blessings In A Backpack organization provides backpacks full of nourishing food and gives the child the peace of mind knowing they will eat that weekend.  It builds self-esteem and feeds their minds and bodies.  It is a cause I think we should all get behind - feeding our own first.  It only takes $80 to feed a child for the whole school year.  I know that you will help me next year in raising enough money to feed 50 children.  

Yes.  The need is that great.  

Pause to think about your own refrigerator and pantries right now.

I'll need $3500 bucks to feed 50 kids for the whole school year and its the first time I'll ask my friends and daylily fans to help support my passion.  This daylily will be part of a greater collection, and details of how you can help the cause will come out at the end of the year - but I'll ask you to earmark some cash for me in 2013 to feed some growing minds and bodies. I won't be sending a check to someone to hope they do some good with it - through Blessing In A Backpack's established contacts and procedures, I'm going to adopt a school here in southern Illinois and with the help of these daylilies and my daylily friends - feed them with my own hands.

Your first chance to buy this daylily starts on March 14, 2012!

Because I also support the daylily ambassador community in the AHS, for the Region 2 Internet Auction I have donated two fans of H. ‘Blessings In A Backpack.’  This is the only double fan to be offered outside of next year's fundraising effort to provide food for our nation’s own hungry children.  Winner of this very special auction will receive a double fan this Spring.  No other divisions will be released until Spring 2013.  If you are not a user of the Daylily Auction site, contact me via email and I can help you out.

You can see it on the auction and place your bids here!

I've loved it since it first bloomed and although it isn't full of fad, ruffles and teeth - its saturated, prolific, proportionate and very deserving of the garden real estate it takes up.  Its scapes and branching are show-quality, and I plan to get it into a couple of shows this summer to let the judges chew on its merits.  

These two photos show it in clump form, baking in the Illinois heat at 100 degrees+!  It fades when the heat is extreme, and provides highlighted midribs as a bonus when it gets real hot.  

I hope you like it as much as I do, and I hope you not only bid on this one-time auction but that you support the greater cause next year to feed school children in the United States through Blessings In A Backpack.

Click here to see all the Region 2 Benefit Auctions!  Act fast...they are ending soon!

First time offerings of first introductions by Bob O'Neal, Larry Work and Patti/Ron Byerly are also being auctioned.  Larry Grace's SOLD OUT and much sought-after H. 'Dr. Stump' is also listed and is a HOT item!  There are also 60+ other donations from generous Region 2 supporters being loaded each day.  Check it out - bid high - bid often!