Daylilies low maintenance beauties

HEADLAND, Ala. - Daylilies didn’t thrill Terri Money when she first started planting them.

“I had grown a few but really thought there were only yellow and orange, and I wasn’t attracted to the colors,“ Money said. “Now I know there are over 60,000 varieties in all colors.“

Like pinks, purples, deep red and even green. They even come in multiple colors.

“They’re gorgeous,“ Money said.

She and husband, Ric Money, own Ric-A-Tee Daylily Gardens in Headland, home of the annual Daylily Festival. They planted their first daylily in June 1999. By the end of the year, they had 400 different varieties. Today, they grow over 1,800 varieties.

“They’re very versatile; they’re grown throughout the country,“ Terri Money said of daylilies. “They’re easy to care for; they come back every year ... you really don’t have to do anything to them.“

On Saturday, May 30, the Headland Chamber of Commerce will host the 19th Daylily Festival, and Ric-A-Tee Gardens will be one of four gardens open to the public for the festival.

“We have some of the most beautiful daylilies you’ve ever seen,“ said Mary Helen Jackson, executive secretary at the Headland Chamber of Commerce. “Of course, all daylilies are pretty, but these are just fabulous. And if you ever start collecting, you want to add to them.“

Visitors will be able to tour local gardens and even buy daylilies at some of them.

The Bush Gardens 11, the Kirkland Gardens and the Cole Gardens will be open along with Ric-A-Tee Gardens. Both Bush and Ric-A-Tee gardens will have door prizes and those two along with Kirkland Gardens will sell daylilies during the tour. The Wiregrass Daylily Society will also sell daylilies on the square.

There will be no judged daylilies this year.

“I enjoy people seeing all the hard work that we’ve done in the gardens,“ Money said. “I enjoy them realizing and seeing that there are more than orange and yellow daylilies, and they come in all different sizes and shapes.“

Ric-A-Tee Daylily Gardens ship daylilies all over the U.S. and Canada. Located just east of Headland on an acre of land, the gardens also feature other perennials, shrubbery, herbs and trees. But the daylilies are what have captured Money, a photographer who loves to use her daylilies as her subjects.

Daylilies, Money said, are actually inexpensive for a perennial. The tuberous plants require good drainage and should not be buried too deep — basically, spread out the roots and cover up to where just the roots are covered with dirt. When first planted, Money recommends gardeners cut the foliage back to allow the roots to establish quicker.

Give daylilies about an inch of water a week; more during warmer months and growing season.

“Every few years dig up and divide, and share them with your friends,“ Money said.

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If you go ...

What: 19th Daylily Festival

When: Saturday, May 30

Where: Headland town square, various gardens

Times: Opening ceremony, 8:30 a.m.; Flower show, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Plant sales on the square, 9 a.m. until sold out; Tour of local gardens, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Other: Stop by the Headland Chamber of Commerce booth at the square for garden tour maps.

Cost: No charge to attend and look.