Michael Bouman's Daylilies
Michael Bouman
624 Hidden Lake Drive
St. Peters, MO 63376
(314) 578-2716
Contact
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. My wife Karen helps with the daylilies and manages extensive plantings of many other things to attract birds, butterflies, and bees.
The primary joy of this property is the small lake and the waterfowl who use it year-round.
Karen and I grow 800 varieties of daylilies and have realized we grow hundreds too many! 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.
My seedling starter beds are in the forground in ten strips going down the slope to the lake. After three seasons the "keepers" from each crop of 2000 are moved to another bed and the rest are removed to make room for another crop. There are always about 6000 seedlings on the slope.
I register my best hybrids with the American Daylily Society (ADS). Plants are available only by mail via internet sales or through my donations to garden clubs. I do not operate a nursery, 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 enjoy giving talks to garden clubs anywhere in North America.
Ordering Information
Please contact me before sending an order, as supplies are limited. I ship USPS Priority Mail. Postage cost is $10 plus $3 for each additional plant.
2021 Introductions
A Painter Passing Through
(Kathy Bouman, 2021) (Wild and Wonderful X (Ellis Powell x unknown))
Tetraploid. UF Cascade, 7.5, 37, EM, Sev, RE, 4 wide and deep branches, 15 buds,
easily fertile both ways.
Pastel yellow with a notched bold red eyezone and a "citrus medley" throat of burnt orange, yellow, and bright green
throat.
The flowers usually recurve in addition to UF curling. The plants reestablish quickly and never have a bad bloom day. $100
double fan.
Artist in Residence
(Michael Bouman, 2021) (Captain Marvel X Harold Thomas) Tetraploid. 5, 26, EM, EV, RE, Ext, 3 branches, 14 buds, easily fertile both ways.
Rich blue purple, ruffled and recurved, with a generous lavender eyezone and a double edge of
lavender and yellow above a green throat. There are lots of daylilies in this color class and in my collection
but I have found this a special joy since the first day it bloomed. As a clump it has a definite presence
in the garden, a particular personality coming from its excellent color, form, and consistency. Divisions
rebounded easily after a fall transplant. My friend Mike Derrow made the cross and gave me the seeds. He's a
retired art teacher, and I wanted a name that would remind me of a friendship that exceeds twenty years.
$100 double
fan
Big Eyed Girl
(Michael Bouman, 2021) (Arnold's Daughter X Bridgeton Finesse) Tetraploid. 7, 28, EM, EV, RE, Y branch, 8 buds, fertile both ways.
Lavender cream with a 4" violet eyezone outlined purple and a ruffled double edge of lavender and purple. Green throat.
Good weather resistance. Big flowers with oversize violet eyes suggest a pathway to blue flowers, so I have used
this extensively since selecting it in 2013. Many of the offspring have oversize eyes and, probably due
to the genetics of two blue-eyed white parents, there are a lot of vibrant colors and various tints of blue
in their oversize eyes.
$100 double fan
Grasping at Straws
(Kathy Bouman, 2021) (Flying Trapeze X String Theory)
Tetraploid. UF Crispate, 9, 37, M, Sev, RE, 6 branches, 17 buds,
fertile both ways.
Bold apricot yellow, a warm straw color, remarkable in the garden for the way the pinched sepals reach out and grasp.
Plants are vigorous, consistent, and fully hardy in our taxing climate.
Kathy made this cross and planted the seeds but passed away before it came into bloom. I think she would
have loved the name. $100 double fan
Nod of Approval
(Kathy Bouman, 2021) (Dark Monkey X Freewheelin') Tetraploid.
9, 48, EV, M, RE, 5 branches, 19 buds,
fertile both ways.
Recurved dark orange red spider, 1:4.8, with a pointed black eyezone bisected by a gold streak emanating from
a gold to green throat. This was the only seedling Kathy saw in bloom in the summer she passed away. As we inspected
it she smiled and nodded. It makes a bold impression in the garden and has grown vigorously. $100 double
fan
Silver Spades
(Michael Bouman 2021) (Jitterbug Blues x Piece of Sky) X (Arnold's Daughter x Blue Desire)) Tetraploid.
5, 36, EM, EV, 4 deep branches, 24 buds,
easily fertile both ways.
Lightly ruffled lavender purple with a medium violet patterned eyezone and a yellow to green throat.
Light ruffling and a thin wire edge of white. Pattern is silvery and often reminds me of the
chrome-plated garden spades used in groundbreaking ceremonies. My friend Dan Robarts made this cross as
part of his project to create good patterns on northern-hardy plants. I selected this from seeds
he gave me and it has come through eight of our punishing winters with no damage. $100 double
fanThe 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.