Old-fashioned daylilies

Gardening is a constant endeavor to find plants that are attractive, dependable and low-to-maintenance free. If ever a plant fit this description, it's the standard daylily (Hemerocallis) When we bought our now 100-plus-year-old house 28 years ago, it had a long line of established daylilies along the fence. They are the classic yellow-gold-dark brown varieties. They've been growing so long I think they have hybridized, since one of the gold blooms starting developing a brown throat.

While they don't bloom as long as new varieties, such as Stella De Oro, I am quite fond of these old lilies. The leaves look good year-round, and I look forward to the long scapes spiking toward the sky before bursting into bloom.

Daylilies are native to Asia, but American and British enthusiasts began hybridizing them in the 1930s. At that time, only three colors existed, yellow, orange, and fulvous red. Now, they come in numerous colors and combinations, single, double and ruffled. For more information, visit The American Hemerocallis Society at http://www.daylilies.org/

Even our 7-month-old Goldador, Barley, appears to approve.

You pick 'em, we dig 'em

Daylily lovers in the Lumberton area will no doubt be pleased to hear that Bubba and Judy Abate have opened a new business, Landscaping With Lilies. Monday was their first day to be open to the public. I dropped by last weekend to check out their place and found a peaceful setting to shop for lilies and other perennials.

The Abates have 3 1/2 acres, most of it landscaped and filled with flower beds, a garden shed and shade trees that make walking through looking for just the right daylilies a pleasure. They have 200 cultivars beginning at $5. A few specialty lilies run up to $40, but they are the exception. If you want to take home one whose pedigree has been lost, you can pick it up for $4. They also have a small selection of perennials - they're waiting to see if there is much demand for them, Judy said, before stocking up. They have salvia, society garlic, agapanthus and Stokesia daisies.

The cool thing about the Abates' place is you find the flowers you want, and they dig them up, putting them in a plastic bag for you to take home. I'd suggest picking out your spot in the yard or bed and preparing it before you go - but you can always stick it in a pot until you decide.

The retired couple, who said they "just needed something constructive to do with their expendable income," haven't hybridized any lilies yet, but plan to.

Go by and say, "Hey."