Get Involved / Display Gardens
About Historical Display Gardens
What Is An American Daylily Society Historical Display Garden?
The purpose of an American Daylily Society Historical Daylily Display Garden is to educate the visitor about historical daylily species and cultivars, their beauty, and how then can be used effectively in landscapes.
In an approved Historical Display Garden, a visitor can view a large number and wide variety of labeled daylilies in a well-maintained garden setting. To obtain official Historical Display Garden status, certain criteria must be met:
- The owner or public garden liaison must be a member for two years or more, and must maintain his or her membership in good standing, to be eligible for a garden to be designated as either a Display Garden, an Historical Daylily Display Garden, or both.
- Although the number of daylily cultivars is not set, the garden must include a wide variety of daylilies (e.g., diploids and tetraploids; full, round, and spiders; small, miniatures, and large flowers; and eyes and selfs) from a number of hybridizers. For Historical Daylily Display Gardens, it is recommended that the garden contain a minimum of 50-100 historical daylily cultivars and species.
- The garden must be well maintained (i.e., water, fertilizer, mulch, etc.) and relatively free of weeds. The growing conditions and culture should show daylilies to their maximum potential.
- Plant markers should be maintained in good condition, with the name of both the cultivar and the hybridizer showing clearly. Date of registration is often included on the marker as well, and must be included on the plant marker for historical daylilies.
- Historical daylilies are defined as all daylily species plus daylily cultivars registered 30 years prior to the current year. A minimum of 50 registered cultivars is the main requirement to qualify as an Historical Daylily display garden. Gardens should contain a representative collection of historical daylilies with plant labels including the cultivar and hybridizer names, and the year of introduction.
- The garden should be open to the public during bloom season. The American Daylily Society’s insurance policy does not include Display Garden visitation. Garden owners are encouraged to carry their own insurance.
- Commercial gardens are requested to maintain a specific area designated as a Display Garden.
- By early September of each year, Display Garden owners will be notified about renewing their status. Forms must be mailed or submitted online by October 1. Failure to return the annual renewal form is cause for removal by the Display Garden Chairman.
To be added to the list of official Display Gardens and/or Historic Daylily Display Gardens, the qualifying garden must be inspected by the appropriate Regional President (RP) or their designated representative and recommended to the Display Garden Chairman. Following RP approval, the Display Garden Chairman usually approves the application if all requirements are met.
To be removed from the list of Display Gardens and/or Historical Daylily Display Gardens, a request should be made by the garden owner (or, if a public garden, the garden liaison person) by contacting the appropriate RP. The RP should then forward the written request to the Display Garden Chairman. Failure to return the Annual Renewal Report Forms is cause for automatic removal by the Display Garden Chairman. (Annual Renewal Request Forms will be sent to each garden in early September to remind all Display Garden owners of this requirement.)
The RP of each region or their designated representatives should visit each Display Garden in their region at least once every two years. Gardens that are in disrepair should be encouraged to improve. The RP can request to the Display Garden Chairman that gardens with little prospects for improvement be removed.
For additional information, contact the national Display Garden chair;
Sue Hill
8495 County Rd G
Verona, WI 53593
The American Daylily Society
