The Evolution of a Gardener

Yesterday I spent some time with Carol Carlisle talking about her Daylilies. My Mother has a long history of interest in plants that began when she was a teenager while in 4H she joined a shrub identification group. She and her team learned to identify plants by their foliage, flowers and shape. They participated in contests around the state of Texas and went to the state championships twice. Carol began to grow vegetables in 1964 to help provide fresh produce for her growing family. Through the years she has had flower beds but she did not discover her passion for wild flower gardening until the mid-80’s.  Well I remember pulling the car over to capture a wild plant that my Mother did not have in her garden. Carol and her husband Bob relocated to Mississippi. In 1998 my Grandmother, Ruth Carlisle, moved to Ocean Springs, MS. Carol helped her to transplant her flowers at her new home. Ruth had several heirloom yellow and orange daylilies; Coral thought that they were really pretty. Not long after she saw an advertisement for a Daylily Club meeting at her local library. She soon learned that daylilies come in all different colors! The first daylily she bought was, “Best of Friends.” When asked, Carol was unable to pick a favorite variety. “There is always something new blooming,” she said. 

Carol and her Daylily Club are getting ready for their 11^th annual show at Edgewater mall this Saturday. If you would like to learn more why not stop by? The show will be inside the mall in front of Dillard’s department store. The flower judging and the plant sale will be in the morning beginning at 10:00 am. The show is from 1:00 to 5:00 pm.