Observing the beautiful garden of a old friend, Ruth Benjamin who was well over 80 years old at the time, and knowing that she neither spent a lot of time working in the garden nor had a gardener to assist her, I asked what her secret was. She leaned forward closer to my ear and whispered "Hemerocallis...don't ever forget it"! I have never forgotten.

Leslie Honey and Bill Williams of Florediem know the secret too! "Hemerocallis"- or as most of us know "daylily"- is the answer. What began as a hobby for Leslie and Bill seven years ago after receiving several daylilies from Howard Andros' garden in Walpole has blossomed into a passion.  They now have 350 varieties of Hemerocallis covering a hillside. You may visit Florediem and the Lily Days Festival  at 313 Hill Road, Alstead, NH this Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22 from 9 A.M.-4 P.M. to see these amazing lilies.

The Festival will include a tour of the garden and iced tea and lemonade  served under  the canopies. Knowledgeable gardeners including Barbara Katz from Mansfield, CT, Donna Buric from Acworth, MaryAnn Melquist from Alstead will be there in addition to Honey and Williams to answer questions. There will be a door prize each day as well.

There will be several contests like "Find and name as many of the Stout Silver medal award winners" for example. One Stout medal is awarded each year for the best hybrid day lily there are 24 at Florediem. There will be others.

Leslie Honey comes alive as she talks about her daylilies, "You can use them for borders, landscaping, along the woods....they're not fussy and are full of vigor."

There are three types of daylily foliage: dormant in which the leaves die completely after a hard freeze; evergreen which stays green even in the deepest winter here in NH; and semi evergreen which is somewhere in between. Flowers, which only last one day come in great variety single, double, sleek, ruffely, sharp tooth edged and bubbly. "

"They are wonderful!" she exclaims, "You generally don't have to water them and they pretty much take care of themselves as long as they have soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7 (a measure of acidity or basicity) and are planted in a warm sunny spot where they can have 5-6 hours of sun per day and they'll be happy!. "It also helps to have a lot of mulch to minimize weeding." she laughed.

Floridiem will also sell 'fans' of Hemorcallis to be transplanted. "The crown of the daylily is the solid white core between the leaves and the roots. The crown produces leaves and scapes from the upper surface while the roots grow from its sides and bottom. The leaves fall to either side of the crown forming a "fan". A double or triple fan is considered the most desirable transplant size. There will be diggers to assist in the process.

 You can plant daylilies anytime from May to September. Florediem will provide instructions for successful transplanting.

Floridiem will be open through August 31, Friday through Sunday 9 am to 4 pm and by appointment. Peak bloom is late July through mid August so come visit!