Upcoming Meeting Information:                                           

                                             

NATE BREMER, DAYLILY HYBRIDZER FROM SOLARIS FARMS

       On Thursday, March 5, at 7 pm, Nate Bremer of Solaris Farms, Wisconsin will present a program about his daylily hybridizing.  In 1999, Nate and Kim opened Solaris Farms, a century-old farmstead located near Reedsville, which serves as an Official American Hemerocallis Society (AHS) Display Garden and commercial Hemerocallis, Paeonia, and Lilium nursery.  Solaris Farms has been featured in numerous television and magazine profiles and is a frequent destination of master gardener groups, garden clubs, and specialist gardeners.  

       Before discovering daylilies in the late 1980s, Nate was a nationally awarded hybridizer of Phragmipedium orchids.  He boasts an active Herbacious and Tree Peony hybridizing program with thousands of plants in various stages of development.  He currently serves as vice-president of the American Peony Society as well as an AHS Garden Judge.  After 30 years of hybridizing Hemerocallis, 100+ registrations and a huge compost pile, daylilies still hold special place in the gardens. He grows more than 2,000 registered daylilies along with a test garden of 10,000+ seedlings and new cultivars under propagation.      

       Nate's hybridizing goals have changed through the years and are now centered on: 1)  Hardiness  2)  Plant habit  3)  Scapes (branching)  4)  Clear colors  5)  Overall plant performance.   His program is based on the premise that a small percentage of plants have the five attributes listed above and northern gardeners value these characteristics the most.  He is a passionate advocate of naturally field-grown northern hardy plants.  Some of Nate's introductions will be auctioned to meeting attendees.  Click here to see them.

       The meeting will be held at 7 pm in a downstairs classroom of Frederik Meijer Gardens.  Look for the signs.  The public is invited to attend the meeting at no charge.  Also, there is no admission fee to the Frederik Meijer Gardens' downstairs classrooms.

 2020 Calendar of Events

               February 6                                 Steve Reiger                  Bee Keeping   
 Frederik Meijer Gardens   7:00 pm      

March 5
                Nate Bremer                  Hybridizing at Solaris Farms, Wisconsin
Frederik Meijer Gardens   7:00 pm

April 2
             Dan Bachman              Hybridizing at Valley of the Daylilies, Ohio
Cascade Christian Church   7:00 pm 

May 14 
     Spring Daylily Auction      
           Cascade Christian Church               6:00 pm Drop-Off - 7:00 pm Bidding Begins   

                    May 25-27                               AHS National Convention           Savannah, Georgia

                  June 4                                    Jessie Schulte                 Kent Conservation District Office   6:30pm

                   July 10-12                             AHS Region 2 Summer Convention          Coshocton, Ohio

July 18
Annual Daylily Show
Frederik Meijer Gardens   10 am to 5 pm

 August 1 
                  Club Bus Trip                              to Along the Fence Daylilies                     and MSU Horticulture Gardens          

 September 10 
              Fall Daylily Auction                         Cascade Christian Church           6:00 pm Drop-Off - 7:00 pm Bidding Begins

September 12
Rockford Farmer's Market Daylily Sale
54 South Main, Rockford   8 am to 1 pm

October 1
                  Saundra Dunn                                 Late Blooming Daylilies              Frederik Meijer Gardens   7:00 pm

                November 5                          Member Panel Daylily Discussion         Frederik Meijer Gardens   7:00 pm

                   December 3                                Christmas Party Potluck                  Cascade Christian Church    6:30 pm   

Daylilies coming up

at the May 2020 Auction

       Free and Clear                    Joy on a Stick
    (Owen-P, 2017)                    (Owen-P, 2017)                  P. Owen photo                     P. Owen photo

      Satiate                               Open Fire
   (Townsend-J, 2013)              (Owen-P, 2018)                   AHS Photo                          P. Owen photo

       Malbec                                Prime Target
    (Owen-P, 2016)                    (Owen-P, 2018)                   P. Owen photo                     P. Owen photo



Past GVDS Gazette Newsletters

January - March 2020

April - June 2019

July - September 2019

October - December 2019