Sunday, Jul. 26, 2009

Business is blooming: Mother, daughter grow and sell 900 varieties of day lilies

Debbie Gray and her mother, Marie Johnson, never met a day lily they didn't like.

They grow and sell 900 varieties.

The showy, trumpet-shaped flowers color the low-lying side yard, fill a bed in front and stretch across a back field behind pine trees at Marie and husband Bud's home in Dorsey, 13 miles north of Edwardsville.

Not even a 3-inch rainfall and a generous helping of hail the night before could keep the flowers down.

"They're easy and they're beautiful," said Debbie, stepping onto a muddy path between rows and rows of her favorite perennial. "Because I am a teacher and off in the summer, I get to totally enjoy them."

Something she's been doing for a long time.

"Twenty years ago next month, I went to my first meeting of the Southwestern Illinois Hemerocallis (Greek for day lily) Society."

The group met on a Friday night when Debbie was free -- and it was having a plant sale.

"The rest is history," said Debbie, 55, who teaches art at Liberty Middle School in Edwardsville. "Gardening people are the nicest people. They welcomed me in. They give you that free plant. That gets you sucked in."

Big time.

Soon, she had her mother involved.

"In 1993, we decided, 'wouldn't it be kind of fun to have this little garden business?'" said Debbie. "She ran the warehouse at Olin Corp. (for 43 years)."

"When I retired, she said, 'Mom, you need something to do,'" said Marie, 78, joining her daughter on the driveway near a day lily bed. "It's true. You meet a lot of neat people and stay in contact. That's what I missed about retirement, the people contact. This kind of keeps you in touch with the outside world."

Debbie and Marie run Meridian Gardens, selling day lilies locally and by mail. Plants cost between $5 and $100.

Marie keeps a careful inventory.

"Someone may say, 'I will take all you have got.' We need to know if we have 5 or 25." And exactly where the chosen plant is growing."She does a lot of the business end," said Debbie. "I do a lot of the garden. I go to market. (The Goshen Market on Saturday mornings in downtown Edwardville)."

That's where her husband Ed comes in.

"He goes with me as my roadie," she said.

They're in the garden at 5:30 or 6, gathering flowers. At the market, Debbie takes orders, then digs plants during the week.

Ed also does a lot of the mowing.

Debbie often hears him say: "I could swear I mowed here last week. Wasn't this grass? Well ...."

The day lilies are on the move.

So is Debbie.

She drives a red scooter a mile from her home in Dorsey to her parents' gently rolling farmland. She spent a recent morning deadheading spent flowers. Each bloom lasts just a day.

"I am pretty much here six hours a day," she said. "With the rain, I can't keep up with the weeds. We mow every 5 or 6 days."

Marie and Debbie led the way past pine trees into a back field filled with thousands of flowers. Near one bed is a bench.

"On hot days, I will sit for a few minutes," said Debbie, "but you don't get done if you don't keep plugging away at it."

Mother and daughter peek from beneath sun visors as they introduce their plants. Each day lily has a name. Most they know without checking a label. They keep the The Eureka Day Lilies Reference Guide close at hand. It's a slick, fat color publication that IDs the plants.

"We call it the day lily bible," said Marie. "If you're looking for a specific plant, it's an easy way to find it. You pay to be in his (Ken Gregory's) book. It puts you up on the Web page."

The hybridizers have fun with names.

Meet Lace and Promise, a double stripey day lily; Red suspenders, a spidery fellow; and Winning Ticket, a warm peach shade.

Jambalaya is orangey.

Shrimp And Grits is pink with lacy edging.

There's a Voluptuous Mistress and one called Illicit Affair.

The Big Kiss?

Take a guess. It's flesh pink with a rosy pink inside.

"There's one called 'Sent from Heaven,'" said Debbie. "I've had people buy that when they get a grandchild."

Plants with people names, such as Katie, prove big sellers.

"A lady just bought one named Steve for a friend whose son was killed in Iraq," said Debbie. "She wanted it as a remembrance."

Customers are varied like the day lilies.

"Some say, 'Just pick me something nice that will look good.'" said Debbie. "There's a variety of levels of how people see the beauty of nature. Everyone sees something different.

"We have people come out and, in 10-15 minutes, say, 'I like that and that and that.' We have people who will be here four or five hours.

"We let people walk around and see what they enjoy. If they want to just look, fine. They see how pretty and easy these are."

What's not easy is digging up plants and dividing them.

"I'm in charge of digging," said Debbie. "She does separation surgery."

"I use a big old screwdriver to wiggle them apart," said Marie, shaking off dirt from thick roots. The less damage to the roots, the healthier the plant.

No matter how much work there is, Debbie doesn't mind.

"It's a passion. I can't imagine anything else in summer. When people come up and say, 'You know those day lilies we got from you? ..." They pause. I think, 'Oh no.' They say, 'They are wonderful.'"

They both like visiting with return customers.

"A gentleman from San Antonio just left," Debbie said. "He comes to visit family each year and stops and gets plants. You can almost depend on him if he's in town."

Marie has met people from all walks of life.

"There's an intensive care nurse from St. Louis who comes every year. She says 'It's my release from my job.'"

Day lilies bloom from mid-June through August.

About this time in July, mother and daughter look for the sherbet-colored Zella Virginia to pop.

"It just isn't blooming yet," said Debbie. "When he blooms, we know we are getting to the end of the season."

For information, call Meridian Gardens Daylilies at 377-6115, e-mail meridian@spiff.net or visit their Web site, www.meridian-gardens.com

Debbie is also at Edwardsville's Goshen Market on Saturday mornings. If you want to visit their garden, call first.

What are their hours?

"When we are here," said Debbie.