Dick and Jo Palmer of Dysart pose with their Blue Ribbon Flowers of Month yard sign on Sunday, July 13. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

DYSART – Despite the brief, ephemeral nature of a daylily’s blooms, Dick and Jo Palmer of Dysart have developed an all-seasons love for the happy-faced flowering perennials. It’s an appreciation so deep, in fact, the retired farming couple’s Wilson Street yard today boasts more than 500 daylily plants (among an abundance of other flowers) – a feat that has earned them the Dysart Garden Club’s ‘Blue Ribbon Flowers of the Month’ for July.

“Lillies are [Dick’s] pride and joy,” Club member Cheryl Raub told the newspaper in announcing the Palmers’ selection earlier this month.

That daylily devotion is quickly proven on a ramble through the couple’s double lot at 1310 Wilson Street near the western edge of town – there are literally daylilies everywhere from the front walk edging to multiple, expansive flower beds, to the original bed they planted after relocating to the tidy ranch house from their farm south of town in the wake of the July 2011 derecho.

Daylilies, along with irises to a lesser extent, are the stars of the summer in the Palmers’ yard.

“It just got bigger and bigger,” Jo explained last Sunday evening during the newspaper’s tour as the sun fantastically illuminated the thousands of blooms on display. “We planted only a few at first.”

The Palmers’ 1310 Wilson Street backyard awash in daylily blooms last Sunday evening. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“[But then] we went wild,” Dick added with a chuckle.

From those first few plantings – many of which were a gift from Dick’s cousin, Gary Oster of Tipton, a similarly devoted daylily enthusiast – the Palmers have transformed their outdoor space by leaps and lilies into an extravaganza of color and variety.

The first blooms of a daylily plant typically open in early July with the plant continuing to produce subsequent blooms for about four weeks. Daylilies are fairly easy to cultivate, Dick said; they relish rain and sun – meaning, this has been a fabulous summer in Iowa for daylilies.

“These last few mornings when it’s cooler and rained, they like that,” Dick further explained.

The most time-consuming daylily task is splitting the plants up in the fall (so they don’t go dormant) and deadheading.

Just one of the Palmers’ thousands of daylily blooms pictured on July 13. This pink variety features a ruffled edging referred to by daylily enthusiasts as ‘chicken fat.’ PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“We will deadhead all these in the morning and then all of those [closed buds] will open up,” Jo said, pointing to a large daylily plant. “Everyday we deadhead. This morning it was two hours [of work].”

“If you enjoy it, it’s not work,” Dick added with a smile.

After spending their childhoods and pre-retirement years on the farm – Dick growing up right here in rural Dysart, Jo in Davis County near Bloomfield – moving to town was not exactly on their to-do list in 2011, but then the derecho hit their family farm hard, leaving them homeless.

But all those years farming seem to have translated well into cultivating daylilies. Instead of tending to crops or livestock, Dick and Jo now spend much of the summer and fall months tending to their flowers which include much more than daylilies. Jo also has an impressive vegetable garden plus dozens of pots made with annuals purchased from the Amish as well as a plethora of other perennial plantings.

But even with the focus on daylilies, there is never a ‘down time’ for blooms in the Palmers’ yard.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“[Jo’s] really good with planting in succession,” Dick explained. “Something is always blooming.”

Finding community

For many years now, the Palmers have been members of the non-profit Cedar Valley Iris and Daylily Society (CVIDS), a non-profit foundation that, since its inception in 1990, has “promoted interest in cultivation and hybridization of these colorful species,” according to the organization’s website.

Whether they’re trading with other CVIDS members, reading the newsletter, going on field trips, or visiting a fellow member’s garden, the organization has allowed the Palmers to both learn more about the flower they love so much while also developing new friendships.

“This is the time of year we’ve been waiting for, the first blooms of our newest daylilies and the comfort of seeing our old favorites showing their stuff,” CVIDS President Diane Derganz wrote in the organization’s July newsletter. “It always amazes me that one little bud explodes into such a beautiful flower, so many colors, such different forms and all sorts of sizes.”

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Those with an interest in daylilies and/or irises are encouraged to attend CVIDS’ meetings; for more information, visit cvids.org.

As the month of July begins to fade, so, too, will the daylily blooms. Asked if they plan to expand their flower gardens next season, Jo scoffed, shaking her head ‘no,’ while Dick raised his eyebrows, a grin slowly forming on his face. He then turned to Jo and began laughing before agreeing with her.

“We’re done killing off any more grass,” he said.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER