Hello Daylily Friends,
Diana and I have just returned from visiting Seattle, Washington and Victoria Canada, and we were led on this exciting adventure by our Georgia Gardening Friend, Walter Reeves. There were 30 Georgia Gardeners on the Trip, and a highlight of the trip was a visit to The Space Needle which is an observation deck that was built in 1962 for the World's Fair. Interestingly, the Space Needle can withstand winds up to 200 miles per hour, and can also withstand an earthquake of up to 9.1 in magnitude. Also interesting is the fact that The Space Needle is protected by 25 lightning rods. Quite a structure.
On our trip we primarily visited gardens, and one beautiful flower I saw that I liked was a red marigold called a "Sinnabar." It is an old fashioned color with cinnamon red blossoms with a gold edge. It mixed well with the flowers where we saw it blooming, and I'm going to grow it in our daylily beds. I particularly like its dark green foilage and the fact that it apparently blooms from midsummer to frost.
Also interesting were the glass art works done by Dale Chihuly who is from Tacoma, Washington. Although we have seen exhibits of Mr. Chihuly's work here in Atlanta, the exhibits in the buildings next to The Space Needle were fun to examine. There were so many exhibits but I particularly noticed two. The first was a massive sized vase that was blue and yellow in color. Quite nice. I liked the shape and the colors. Then there was an odd exhibit for what I've seen from Mr. Chihuly. He created a glass sculpture of a white snake. Just eery. Art is just such an incredible field, especially for an artist like Dale Chihuly. 
I must also point out that there were so many massive trees in Washington and Canada. There were Furs, Redwoods and Hemlocks, and all were of huge size, but I have never seen a Sequoia. I was so surprised to personally see this massive tree. I don't think that Sequoias are natural to Washington, but they do live in California and Oregon. I also understand that Sequoias can grow to about 300 feet in height, but the root system is only about 6 to 12 feet deep. The roots do spread out to about 50 feet and the tree roots are often tied together to give more stability. I would add that Diana purchased a Redwood Seedling and she now has it growing here at the house. One thing I know for sure, if her Redwood survives it will be a giant tree.
We also went to see the incredible "Butchart Gardens." Wow. What an incredible place. I understand that there are 46 full time Gardeners who keep this place at its pristine perfection. We saw valleys, waterfalls, roses, Japanese Gardens, and plenty more. Seeing a perfect garden just lifts the soul. We took our picture just as we were entering the gardens, and later I took a picture of Diana Rae. Choosing pictures is indeed a chore when there was so much to photograph. Sadly, these gardens were near the end of our vacation, and I doubt that we will ever see them again.
Also have had some wonderful blooms that I haven't yet reported. One new bloom was Seedling 6-121, and here is the parentage: (Barbara Watts x Opa Klaus). It was 26" tall above arching foilage and it had 2-way branching. I expect more height and more branching since the seedling was only planted on August 20, 2015. I was particularly impressed with the "teeth" on the seedling. So, I took another close up view of the teeth. I had hopes that the teeth from BARBARA WATTS would transfer to OPA KLAUS, but I had no idea that I could have had such tremendous success.
I also have an update on my prior work in trying to convert Billy Dick's double named PEACHLAND RAINBOW. Back on July 8, 2015, I stated in this blog that I had it converted. So, I put the plant in a bigger pot, and I had plans to use it this summer. But it never bloomed. Then today I was able to check the pollen on a new bloom. I was so pleased to again see tetraploid pollen. On my scale the pollen measures between a 13 and a 15 on a hundred point scale. Hopefully I can freeze some pollen and use it next spring. And this time I will make sure that the plant receives plenty of cold weather this winter.
Having returned home from vacation, and having made progress in the garden getting everything back on track, Diana and I were most fortunate to travel to the North Alabama Daylily Society in Huntsville, Alabama. We got up early on Sunday morning, had a nice drive over, and then met The Club's President, Dave Flannigan, and Jim and Sharon Beecher for lunch. Got to the meeting and set up the program, and failed to take a Club picture as I had planned. Nevertheless, our friends, Roger and Cherry Harper took several pictures and sent them to us by email, and I'm posting several of these. It was good to go and visit friends in Huntsville. As I said to the Club, I am among friends who will let me talk a long time about my most favorite subject: Daylilies!
Also, we are all so blessed that Lily Rae is visiting this week-end. It is always a joy to be with her. On her last visit we all went to Georgia Tech on fan day. Lily Rae and her Mother Kelley Rae had their picture taken with Buzz and several cheerleaders. Grandpa bought Lily Rae a large Buzz from the Tech book store. Then this morning Lily Rae and her Mother were sitting together and I had to get a picture. They are so glad to be together, and I'm just glad to be with them both.More news soon.
Bill
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