Drive a few miles south of Floyd, VA on Route 221 and you will come to Wildwood Farms, a treasure trove of daylilies. Mid-June to mid-July is their peak blooming season, but they are open through September with late-blooming varieties available.
Judy Bowman and her family operate this tastefully landscaped garden in a way that provides a memorable customer experience. You are greeted when you arrive and you get a price list that helps you wander through the garden beds and identify the plants you want to buy.
Judy has made daylily buying a pleasant family excursion even for spouses who are not up to browsing 30 beds of daylilies. These spectator spouses can relax in the
comfort of a padded swing seat while sipping ice-cold bottled water
provided by Wildwood Farms management.
Life doesn't get much better!
When the lily buyers finish their selection, the staff digs up the selected plants and bags then for your trip home. They will even ship your plants, if you are just visiting Floyd from a distant location.
There are over 50,000 named, registered daylily varieties available worldwide and the team at Wildwood Farms is adding to that list every year. While I was there I spoke with Judy's niece, Caitlin, who was working on new hybrids for the next season.
The daylilies at Wildwood show many variations in color, form and texture. They also come in a variety of sizes. If you browse through the two Wildwood Farms photo albums on the right side bar, you will see a hundred different plants that caught my eye while my wife was selecting ten varieties to plant in our garden.
One thing I learned from Judy was that daylilies are not prone to disease and insects. I saw Japanese beetles swarming on the blossoms, but they were not eating them. For those of us who have had entire trees denuded by these hungry pests, daylilies offer a welcome rest from battling beetles.
Make Wildwood Farms a stop on your trip through Floyd, VA, even if you aren't yet in the market for daylilies. You will come away inspired and will have beautiful memories of possibilities that you never anticipated.
Wildwood Farms
2380 Floyd Highway South
Floyd, VA 24091
email:rjbow91@aol.com
phone: 540-745-5155
For the past two years we have been developing a Daylilly cluster in our backyard with plants from your farm. Each year I've been wanting to add some wine/maroon color to the groupings and have not been able to find any that will fit the bill. Please advise if you have any plants available this year in that color; no yellow throats, just a plain solid color blossum. Thanks
Jeff Glesner
Blacksburg, VA
Posted by: Jeff Glesner | June 15, 2009 at 05:14 PM