Michael Bouman's Daylilies and Seeds
Michael Bouman and Karen Berry
624 Hidden Lake Drive
St. Peters, MO 63376
(636) 284-7745
Contact
Photos at Flickr.com, user boumanm
Blog: Creating Interest
About Daylily Lay
Daylily Lay is the name of a gardening passion. It's a whimsical name, lest I take myself too seriously. In Bob Dylan's Lay Lady, Lay there's a "big brass bed." Here, there's a big grass bed.
In September 2010, my late wife, Kathy, and I moved to a new place 20 miles west of St. Louis. We created gardens on a sunny lot of an acre and a half. There's a small lake in back, and there are many ducks and geese there, and one heron.
We drew up landscape plans as soon as we moved in. We spent four years developing the landscaping and gardens and then in mid-August of 2014, Kathy died from a cancer of the neck. Her presence is felt in this house and this landscape and this heart. A heart is a roomy place. It nurtures loves who have passed on and welcomes new love as well. I married Karen Berry, an avid gardener, bird-watcher, and concert-goer in June this year.
The primary joy of this property is the small lake and the waterfowl who use it year-round.
Karen and I grow 1,100 hybrid daylilies and hope to subtract 150 a year over the next five years. We want to provide the plants with plenty of space between them. Space promotes enjoyment. Crowding promotes anxiety. Early on summer mornings, I'm out there crossing one daylily with another in the hope of producing special new ones. I'm also out with my camera. Here's a photo montage of the daylilies I've registered.
I register my best hybrids with the American Hemerocallis Society (AHS). Plants are available only by mail, via internet sales, or through my donations to garden clubs. I do not operate a nursery here, and there are no direct sales. Visitors are welcome during bloom season. Mornings are the best time to enjoy the gardens. Please call ahead.
I am an AHS Judge of the national awards for overall plant performance, a "garden judge" in AHS parlance. Since 2004 I have served AHS as an instructor of new Garden Judges. A few years ago while serving on the AHS Judges Education Committee, I worked with several others to upgrade the training materials.
Currently I serve serve as President of AHS Region 11, a three-state association of local daylily clubs in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. I enjoy giving talks to garden clubs anywhere in North America. Recently I have spoken at the Cam-Am Classic in Toronto, at the New England Daylily Society, and at local clubs in southern Indiana, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
Ordering Information
Please contact me before sending an order, as supplies are limited. I ship USPS Priority Mail. Postage cost is $10 plus $1 for each additional plant.
2016 New Hybrids
An Old Fashioned Waltz (Volver
X Enchanted Forest)
Tetraploid. Melon chiffon pink with a tangy ruffled yellow
edge and a warm "citrus medley" (orange to yellow to green) throat.
6, 24, Dormant, Midseason. 4 branches, 23 buds. Wonderful
plant! $100 double
fan
True Fine Woman
(Truly Angelic X Texas Blue Eyes) Tetraploid, Smooth lavender cream
with periwinkle blue eye outlined reddish violet and a ruffled double edge
of reddish violet and lavender. "Citrus medley" throat of orange,
yellow, and green. Very nicely composed! 5, 26, Dormant,
Mid-late. 6 branches, 29 buds, fertile both ways, easy pods. $100 double
fan.
Your Warming Embrace ((Betty Warren
Woods x Persimmon Punch) x Butter Cream) X Pearl Harbor Tetraploid,
Glowing golden orange with a ruffled orange edge. 6, 33,
Dormant, Midseason, Rebloom. 4 branches, 35 buds, fertile both ways,
easy pods. $100 double
fan
Rainy Night in Georgia (Intelligent
Design X Cosmic Odyssey) Tetraploid, Veined dark reddish purple with a
notched dark violet eyezone and a bright green throat surrounded by a
zone of burnt orange. 5.5, 31, Dormant, Early midseason,
rebloom, cool morning opener. 5 branches widely spaced, 20
buds, fertile both ways. $100 double
fan
Full Moon Bay (Mee
Ying X Cerise Masterpiece) Tetraploid, Medium lavender with a
large notched watermark of melon cream around a gold to lime green
throat. Tightly ruffled yellow edge. 5.5, 28, Evergreen,
Mid-Late. 4 branches, 26 buds, fertile both ways, easy pods.
Makes me think of the moonlight in an imaginary harbor somewhere on
the coast of California. $100 double fan
Darcy Farrow
(Arnold's Daughter X Bridgeton Finesse) Tetraploid, Cream with a
washed lavender eyezone and a slightly ruffled and roughed edge of yellow
and caramel. Yellow to green throat. 6, 39, Dormant,
Midseason. 3 branches, 26 buds, fertile both ways, beautiful plant
habit and foliage.
$100 double fan. 
Ye Banks and Braes (Musical
Medley X Age of Aquarius) Tetraploid Medium lavender with an
outlined bluish halo around a yellow to green throat. Thin ruffled
double edge of dark violet and light lavender. 5, 30, Dormant,
Early-midseason. 5 branches, 32 buds. Eye-catching clump
appearance. $100 double
fan
Divine Ballerina (Come
Down O Love Divine X Ballerina On Ice) Tetraploid, Heavily
ruffled clear lemon yellow with minor sculpting on the surface,
recurved, with a small dark green throat and grooved cream yellow
midribs. 6, 39, Dormant, Mid-late. 6 branches, typically
down the scape, 27 buds, fertile both ways. $75 double
fan.
Santuario (Vertical
Horizon x Fantasy Eyes) Tetraploid, Near white with a
riveting large deep violet eyezone and strong green throat.
Violet picotee and more complex pattern on the sepals. 6,
28, Dormant, EM, fertile both ways. Vigorous grower, fine
habit, proliferations. Typically Y-branched with 16 buds,
with ample scapes showing 20+ buds. $75 double
fanThe Beds at Daylily Lay
I maintain photos of most seedlings that are currently under evaluation, plus a page of images from my collection. Daylily enthusiasts are welcome to use my pictures for educational purposes or on auction sites with photo credit to Michael Bouman.
The Library at Daylily Lay
From time to time I write about daylilies or daylily people. The Library at Daylily Lay is a download area for PDF files of the pieces I have saved.