Just a guy who likes pretty flowers!

I'm just a guy who likes pretty flowers. When I was young I spent a lot of time in the garden with my grandmother. She was an avid gardener who loved to have beautiful gardens. She loved to mix in annuals in with her perennials. I loved getting my hands dirty with her. In 2009 my wife and I were able to purchase a beautiful home, I finally had my own yard to fill! We have raspberries, strawberries, peaches, apples, asparagus, rhubarb, with a small vegetable garden as well. In July 2015 I stumbled into the DSSEW (Daylily Society of Southeast Wisconsin) daylily sale. I bought a few and was stunned by the colors and variety for sale. I also found several AHS show gardens nearby. I was able to visit two amazing gardens. In August 2017 I found garden.org. From there I purchased over two dozen different Iris from members. I also found the daylily auction website, www.daylily.com. I started buying dayliles from there as well. My first three dayliles purchased were Rollercoaster Rush, Spinefeld, and Blue Martini. I was hooked! By the end of August 2017 I had purchased my first bearded seeds; Michaels Sword x Cliffjumper, Flash Forward x Lady Patch, and Green Rainbow x Templar Sword. Before the end of the year I had added Michaels Sword x Emperors Crocodile, Michaels Sword x Foar Bizar, Chasing Your Dreams x Believe, Templar Sword x Templar Sword and Templar Sword x Kansas Kitten. I also added a fan of Texas Feathed Fancy, Michaels Sword, You Can Dance, Bee's Betty Sue and Lady Patch for spring delivery. My poor wallet. In November 2017 I tore my ACL playing indoor soccer (first game back after my son was born prematurely in July). In early December 2017 I had it repaired with a hamstring graft. During the first few days of bed rest I looked all over for more information on "bearded" daylilies and wasn't able to find much. I was really surprised. How could there be such a vacuum of information about this beautiful form!? Towards the end of my convalescence I started to put together a thread on garden.org with information on what I could find; Cristated or "bearded" Daylily in cooler climates for hybridizing- I'm in 5A WI - https://garden.org/thread/view/75311/Cristated-or-bearded-Daylily-in-cooler-climates-for-hybridizing--Im-in-5A-WI/. (not the original title)

In the thread I discovered why I couldn't find any information about bearded daylilies online. The "bearded" designation isn't approved AHS terminology. Searching "sculpted cristate" helped find flowers outside of Brad Best's but there was still a vacuum of hybridizing information on this style. I reached out to multiple different hybridizers who were working on the cristate/"bearded" form to see what they were willing to share. Two of the hybridizers I reached out to were phenomenal. Several others have shared their experiences and what they've seen.

Two of the others, well. It's been interesting. I found the "bearded" look through the www.daylily.com thanks to Brad Best and other hybriziders using plants from Brad's "bearded' program. Brad has some beautiful flowers. He also has major problems with AHS, Charmaine Rich and the term cristate. On the other side Charmaine Rich has major problems with Brad Best and the term bearded. Both started off great trying to help me. Both ended up being quite rude and hostile. They have over 10 years of conflict regarding the nomenclature surrounding the bearded/cristate form. I walked into what another hybridizer called a minefield. I managed to hit every mine in the field. Banned from garden.org thanks to Charmaine and Dave (thanks for helping keep a topic on flowers Dave /fart). Unfriended by Brad Best on facebook, removed from his bearded daylily group (BDS), and blocked from purchasing Brad's daylilies on www.daylily.com.

Charmaine claims I'm a Best acolyte. Brad claims I'm carrying the torch for Charmaine. I'm neither.

I don't care about their naming agendas or their personal conflicts. Between Brad and Charmaine, discussions are more than stifled. People avoid the topic to avoid either side of the argument. Both sides are more than a little passionate. Both sides insist you use THEIR naming terminology or you are on the "other" side. Liking Brad's flowers and using the term "bearded", or liking Charmaine's flowers and using the term "cristate" shouldn't make you an enemy of the other side. I'd like information about cristate or "bearded" daylilies for all to share, regardless of the nomenclature. I think such a beautiful form should be celebrated!

I'm hoping to share information that I discover and that others have shared with me.

Thanks for visiting!

Lady Patch and Texas Feathered Fancy