Lee Comes to Visit.

Hello Daylily Friends,

This morning I was a little "slow" in getting out of bed, but I did have a good night of sleep.  I am recovering from my "Macular Hole Eye Surgery," and Dr. Halpern says I'm doing well.  I knew that my friend Lee Pickles was coming over this morning, and so I went outside to "deadhead."  I saw this little beauty on the left, and I thought to myself that I should stop and take a picture.  Instead I kept going.  Then I thought to myself that Seedling 8-99 was as beautiful as I can ever remember.  So, I went back and took this picture.  Here is the cross that made 8-99:  [(Leslie Renee x Angels Gather Around) x ((Mandalay Bay Music x J. T. Davis) x Winter Springs)].  What I like about 8-99 is the bi-tone.  The petals are a soft pink whereas the sepals are the perfect ivory color.  Then, there is the very attractive green edge on the petals.  I have wonderful measurements for this beauty in my log book, but I am not inclined to introduce the flower until I see the measurements repeated.  This morning the flower was 5 1/2" in diameter, and it was 27" tall with only 2-way branching.  My log book, however, shows 32" in height with 4-5 way branching.  These were not Greenhouse measurements.  I really like 8-99, and I hope to get it introduced soon.

At about 10:00 a.m. Lee arrived with his friends Bob and Barbara Pappenhausen from Moline, Illinois.  Is Moline an important place?  Yes!  It is the home of John Deere Tractors, of which I own three.  We walked all over the garden, and I know that I "wore-out" both Lee and Bob and Barbara.  They requested a siesta/rest on the bench in the shade.  My good friend David Arthur came over, and as you can see from David's shirt, here in Marietta it is HOT.  At our Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens, it has been 95 degrees every day this week.  Under these conditions, it is difficult to work outside and make seeds, but I keep trying.  Oh where oh where is our May and June weather that is traditionally in the 80s?

That is the news for today.

Bill.