Welcome to Midnight Gardens Daylilies

I guarantee freshly dug daylily plants, state inspected. I ship double fans or better except on current introductions. All the daylily plants I offer have the hardiness imparted by being field grown. Although Portland is a mild zone 7, we do have some cold winters, so daylilies that do well here will generally do well throughout most of the U.S.

My primary hybridizing goal is to create daylily plants that are good garden performers - vigorous, cold hardy, disease resistant, good plant habits & lots of blooms that open well. To that end, I have been working on compact daylilies with foliage that looks good even after the first bloom and that continue to bloom until frost. My secondary goal is to create unique daylily plants - either in flower form, flower color, plant size, or foliage color. Some of my seedlings have variegated leaves, some have striped flowers, & some have intense bluish tones.

2011 Open Daylily Garden Dates!

Saturday through Monday, July 8-10, 2011. The growing / display garden will be open to visitors from 9 am to 6 pm each day for three days only. See for yourself how the daylilies perform in our area and place orders for fall shipment.
22390 SW 76th Avenue
Tualatin, Oregon, 97062
Garden viewing on other days by appointment only.

Midnight Gardens Daylilies - A Year in Review

2010 was a watershed year for Midnight Gardens in more ways than one.

It was our wettest, coolest spring in the Portland area in many years. So much so that many vegetable gardens in the area were not planted until May or June. It was the first year that my pumpkins, spaghetti squash and Long Island cheese squash – which normally bear many wheelbarrows full of delicious fall produce – did not yield a single ripe squash before the first frost killed the plants.

The daylilies, which grow and thrive through just about any weather, continued to grow through the onslaught of cold rain. First bloom came later than usual for most plants. Re-bloom, which normally begins heavily in late August and early September, did not begin until October. The unusual weather also gave insight into which plants do well in continually wet conditions and which do not – some carried on growing lush foliage while others showed a browning of the leaves. The plants that did not fare well have been composted and removed from my 2011 price list.

Although I have been selling plants online for several seasons, I hosted my first open garden in 2010. While people enjoy the catalogs and the online photos of the flowers, there’s nothing like experiencing these plants in person – their sheen, size, garden presence, fragrance and, well, even their taste.

I questioned my decision to open the garden for public viewing, which is probably why it took so long to finally take the plunge. If I did, would anyone show up? Would they appreciate this space? After all it’s not hundreds of acres of plants. It’s my personal space; my exercise in creativity - the garden equivalent of a boutique.

I was pleasantly surprised by the turn out. And, if I’m being honest, I must admit that I got more out of the event than my customers. To experience your personalities and free flow of ideas first hand was inspiring – Roberta and her ladies who lunch, what a fun group – Horace and your search for the ideal edible daylily – Gene and your perfect combination of colors and heights for a low-maintenance city-scape.

Blame it on the rain or maybe the Great Recession. Time after time I watched garden visitors flock to the flowers with more style and color than your Aunt Edna’s big Sunday hat with the silk ribbon. SHINING BEACON, RUTH OLIVER, MIDNIGHT SPIRIT WORLD, JEN MELON, ROSA BRYANT, HELEN SHOOTER and BEAUTIFUL EDGINGS stole the day. CERULEAN STAR with it’s spatulate shape in periwinkle blue, PINK STRIPES with bold strokes of pink and yellow, and EMERALD STARBURST with an enchanting, oversized green eye also drew attention.

Even the pastel flowers needed to look intentionally so – no washed out or faded colors. No peach, or melon or beige. No runners up, thank you.

Not since the Victory Gardens has there been such an interest in edible landscapes. Countless times this year customers have called or visited looking for daylilies to include in their edible landscapes. It turns out that all parts of the daylily are edible, from the delicate & crisp new spring roots to the flower petals which can be used in salads or dried and used as a base for Asian-inspired soups. The trend has also inspired a number of books, including “Stalking the Wild Asparagus”. The yellows and near-whites are reported to have the best flavor for cooking. One of my customers was looking for the best tasting flower and sampled several and even took some home to dehydrate. He noted that FRAGRANT LIGHT had good flavor and perfumed the house while it was drying.

As a complement to these edible gardens, many urbanites are once again learning the art of raising chickens. The birds help keep down unwanted insect and slug populations while helping to build top soil and providing eggs. Several of my guests this year took a detour on their way to see the daylilies and stopped to look at the large, feather-legged Cochins. More on birds later in the catalog…

In 2010 I was visited by none other than Barbara Blossom Ashmun – garden columnist for the Portland Tribune. We had a great discussion and tour of the garden, as if a discussion of plants between two plant fanatics could have gone any other way. The resulting article can be found at the following link http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story_2nd.php?story_id=128171214735341700 or by googling “midnight gardens ashmun”.

I continue to hybridize to bring you new and exciting plants. Plants you won’t find anywhere else. In fact, my entire price list is composed either of plants I hybridized (all start with MIDNIGHT) or plants I purchased for hybridizing. In 2011 I’m offering plants like WINTER CHILL, a near-white with massive scapes and big flowers; CHALLENGER, the 72” brick red beauty from Arlow Stout; and KALEIDOSCOPIC INTRIGUE, which brings a porcelain blue eye zone to a large flower – the eye is edged in royal purple rather than the more common magenta.

I have a strong pipeline of seedlings waiting in the wings. One of my favorite parents is a cross between MAGICAL MELODY and SMOKY MT AUTUMN that combines the substance and durability of fine china with the ruffles of MM and the ability to open in cold weather from SMA. All of this combined with the color genetics of SMA and strong disease resistance – could be the foundation of future introductions for a long time to come.

I look forward to hosting an open garden again this year. The dates are Friday, July 8 through Sunday, July 10 from 9 am to 6 pm. You may place orders at that time and I will also be happy to dig plants for you on the spot. Happy Gardening in 2011!

Bob Anderson,Owner
Midnight Gardens