Consider the Lilies of the Field

We made a brief stop in Huntsville for one purpose only, and while it was not it was not to attend church we did intend to follow the advice above from Matthew 6:8. Specifically, the main goal of our visit was to see the daylily (Hemerocallis) collection at the Huntsville Botanical Garden. We visited here in 2018, but since that happened during the first week of April we were a bit early to see the garden in full bloom. We did enjoy plenty of bulb flowers like tulips and daffodils, along with some early azaleas, but I was disappointed that we missed the blooms in the Van Valkenburgh Daylily Garden. It’s an official display garden of the American Hemerocallis Society featuring over 800 different cultivars of this cheerful, easy-to-grow species. After our emotional and challenging stop in Montgomery, we planned this stop as a way to lift our hearts by looking at pretty flowers. It worked!

Just Look at These Flowers

The daylily garden was a riot of colors ranging from white and pale yellow to orange, red, and purple, with flowers in many different shapes. Some varieties had thin ribbon-like petals, while others had thick rosettes of petals. Some featured frilly edges along the petals or interesting multi-colored flowers — or both! The initial frenzy of color and shapes resolved itself into some kind of order as we proceeded around the various beds and examined the individual plants.

 

 

As if those lilies weren’t enough, we were also able to see the water lily garden in bloom, which was also out of season during our prior visit.

 

 

And we enjoyed seeing a variety of other lovely blooms and critters as we ambled around the garden.

 

 

We did not visit the US Space and Rocket Center because of time constraints, but I would have been happy to make a return visit. I can always use more space and science in my life. Instead, we ran errands at conveniently located stores.

Where We Stayed

Like our last time in Huntsville, we stayed at the US Space & Rocket Center RV Park. This private park is a bit of an odd mixture. The sites are far larger and more spread out than at a typical private park, but the infrastructure is absolutely terrible. We hope the giant potholes in the campground loop road don’t swallow the Airstream on our way out.

A pleasantly private and wooded site

But the park is very affordable for a full-hookup private facility, and the location can’t be beat. It sits directly between the botanical garden and the rocket center, our two top destinations in the area, and within a 15-minute drive of REI, Trader Joe’s, Costco, Home Depot, numerous Publix stores, and more.

Fully provisioned, we now head to Nashville where we hope to avoid spontaneous combustion in the ongoing heat wave.

 

8 thoughts on “Consider the Lilies of the Field”

  1. Nothing like beautiful flowers to lift our spirits and soothe our minds. The hope involved in gardening is my favorite aspect of it. My favorite is the cream and burgundy lily — what a lovely combination that is. Please don’t combust! I’m counting on a summer filled with your educational and entertaining adventures!

    Reply
    • I think the hardest part of having so many cultivars is choosing a favorite. The garden does an annual sale of day lilies, selling plants propagated from the collection, and it would be so hard to choose just one or two for the yard! Luckily we operate under the principle of “if you can survive in our yard you are welcome” which simplifies things considerably.

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  2. Fine, Fine… no rockets, but pretty gardens instead. I’ll take it.

    Your photos are outstanding and really showcase the diversity of the flowers. I swear, I can “feel” the heat, though.

    Speaking of which, I love that sun sculpture!

    Reply
    • We were forced to limit our visit to the garden (boohoo) because on Sundays they don’t open until 11 and it was already blazing. So we focused on a few areas, but there’s much more to explore given more time. I can’t imagine how much they are irrigating to keep all the flowers blooming!

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    • It’s been performing like a champ, though we’d prefer not to use it at all. Counting the days until Wisconsin!

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  3. That is such a sweet garden! We enjoyed our visit there the day before you arrived, but I can assure you it was hot as hell even earlier than you were able to get in. We were scurrying around seeking shade and only venturing into the sun when absolutely necessary.

    We headed to the day lilies first (on your recommendation) and were astonished by the enormous variety. But I was too hot to take photos of them. Because day lilies, as you know, thrive in full, relentless sun. And I do not. So thanks for the excellent photo tour of the part of the garden that I was too hot and bothered to enjoy!

    Have a great time in Nashville! And whoa, you are amazing getting your blog posts done. You put me to shame. I’m working on Montgomery, but as I said previously, I’m referring people to your blog. 🙂

    Reply
    • This challenging weather is definitely making it harder to enjoy many of the things we like best about these destinations. I feel better knowing that an earlier start would not have changed our experience at the garden. But I am glad that you enjoyed the garden experience. For us, the reciprocal admission program makes our home garden membership card worth its weight in gold.

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