Lois Hart keeps more than 800 varieties of daylilies at her home, Hart’s Delight, in rural Louisburg. She hosted more than 50 visitors Sunday and Monday on her annual daylily walking tour, which guided visitors through her seven gardens filled with daylilies and other flowers. (Photo by Kristen Waggener / kwaggener@miconews.com)
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Hart’s Delight is feast for the eyes
Annual daylily tour shows dozens of perennial flowers in all their colorful glory
By Kristen Waggener, kwaggener@miconews.com
Behind a windy road nestled between hundreds of trees, Hart’s Delight is the perfect explanation of Lois Hart’s yard.
On 255th Street north of Louisburg, Hart has more than 800 varieties of daylilies — from orange to yellow to deep purple and pink — on display in seven different gardens, and this past weekend, she opened up her home to visitors wanting to see the bright colors on display.
Daylilies are a perennial flower, which bloom for one day, then wilt overnight, Hart said, but the vibrant colors and unique crossbreeding make them enjoyable to have.
Following a crowd of nearly 50 that visited Sunday, Debbie Hardy, her mother, Helen Hardy, and mother-in-law, Wanda Hahn, visited Hart’s Delight to experience the flowers.
“This is awe-inspiring,” Debbie Hardy said.
The Hardys grow a few daylilies of their own, and were looking to possibly expand their flower gardens by purchasing some of the daylilies Hart had for sale to benefit the Late Bloomers Garden Club.
“I have four,” Helen Hardy said with a laugh.
And as the trio jumped from one flower bed to another, they saw the multitude of daylilies Hart has grown since she started in 1993 with about a dozen plants.
The flowers range from doubles with two sets of petals, to spiders with long, thin petals, and come in almost any color imaginable — except for pure white and blue.
“They just can’t get there,” Hart said. “They’ve been trying for years.”
The colors daylilies can be bred in are limited because every daylily is a descendant of a typical ditch lily, which is an orange color, Hart said.
Now, there’s about 60,000 registered daylilies in the U.S., Hart said, making the differences between one lily and the next immense.
Some species are more rare and valuable than others, she said, with some costing $250 and higher.
“You can just get the catalogs and dream.”
Hart’s daylilies began blooming June 9, she told the ladies who stopped by Monday morning, and the plant will bloom for about a month.
But every night, Hart goes through her gardens and picks the blooms, so the next morning, the vibrant colors will be in the spotlight.
“I got into them because they were low-maintenance,” she said with a smile.
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On 255th Street north of Louisburg, Hart has more than 800 varieties of daylilies — from orange to yellow to deep purple and pink — on display in seven different gardens, and this past weekend, she opened up her home to visitors wanting to see the bright colors on display.
Daylilies are a perennial flower, which bloom for one day, then wilt overnight, Hart said, but the vibrant colors and unique crossbreeding make them enjoyable to have.
Following a crowd of nearly 50 that visited Sunday, Debbie Hardy, her mother, Helen Hardy, and mother-in-law, Wanda Hahn, visited Hart’s Delight to experience the flowers.
“This is awe-inspiring,” Debbie Hardy said.
The Hardys grow a few daylilies of their own, and were looking to possibly expand their flower gardens by purchasing some of the daylilies Hart had for sale to benefit the Late Bloomers Garden Club.
“I have four,” Helen Hardy said with a laugh.
And as the trio jumped from one flower bed to another, they saw the multitude of daylilies Hart has grown since she started in 1993 with about a dozen plants.
The flowers range from doubles with two sets of petals, to spiders with long, thin petals, and come in almost any color imaginable — except for pure white and blue.
“They just can’t get there,” Hart said. “They’ve been trying for years.”
The colors daylilies can be bred in are limited because every daylily is a descendant of a typical ditch lily, which is an orange color, Hart said.
Now, there’s about 60,000 registered daylilies in the U.S., Hart said, making the differences between one lily and the next immense.
Some species are more rare and valuable than others, she said, with some costing $250 and higher.
“You can just get the catalogs and dream.”
Hart’s daylilies began blooming June 9, she told the ladies who stopped by Monday morning, and the plant will bloom for about a month.
But every night, Hart goes through her gardens and picks the blooms, so the next morning, the vibrant colors will be in the spotlight.
“I got into them because they were low-maintenance,” she said with a smile.