美国 Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens – 家族萱草育种苗圃与展示花园

Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens 是 Bill 与 Diana Waldrop 夫妇在乔治亚州 Marietta 创办的家族萱草苗圃与展示花园，1992 年起从 1/2 英亩菜园转为专攻萱草杂交育种，34 年间累积注册 117 个萱草品种，并以 ‘patterned’ 与 ‘teeth’ 两类花型为核心育种方向。

苗圃起源与 Waldrop 夫妇家族

苗圃最初是 Bill 在 1992 年开辟的家庭萱草爱好地，1/2 英亩的菜园被逐步替换为萱草苗床；随着访客增多与报纸报道，花园在 2001 年登上 HGTV「Gardener’s Diary」专题节目。Bill 后来在 2000 至 2005 年间出任美国萱草协会（AHS）总顾问一职，期间与 Diana 共同创立了 Cobb County Daylily Society，Bill 担任两届主席，Diana 担任两届秘书。夫妇两人 1969 年 5 月 17 日在南达科他州 Milbank 结婚，育有一女 Kelley Rae 以及孙女 Beautiful Lily Rae。

育种目标与代表品种

苗圃的杂交育种目标聚焦在 ‘patterned（花纹）’ 与 ‘teeth（齿瓣）’ 两类花型，并大量投入将二倍体萱草转为四倍体的工作，再与自有实生苗杂交以期在花径、色彩、株高与花蕾数量上获得新突破。代表品种包括 LYDIA’S REGAL ROBE、BLAZING CANNONS、HOTLANTA、OPA KLAUS、Kennesaw Mountain Lemon Sorbet、Diana’s Pink Gown、Diana’s Irish Dream、Irish Halo、Irish Royalty、Burnt Hickory、Marietta Heartbeat、Red Sapphire、Artillery Fire、Lily’s Christmas Slippers、Kennesaw Crossfire、Kennesaw Blue Sapphire、Kennesaw Orange Plush、Kennesaw Mountain Hayride、Illinois Majestic、Magical Morning、Master Sergeant Kenneth Lane、Pepperoni Pizza 等 117 个注册品种。Diana 本人亦有 LEMON CURLS 与 LILY’S GOLDEN CURLS 两支亲本选育发表。

获奖记录与 AHS 贡献

苗圃累计获得 23 项 ADS Honorable Mention 奖，其中 BLAZING CANNONS 在 2015 年赢得 AHS President’s Cup（年会被视为最优秀单株），同年 Kennesaw Mountain Lemon Sorbet 摘下 Eugene S. Foster 奖（最佳晚花品种奖），BLAZING CANNONS 还在 2019 年获 Extra-Large Diameter Award；LYDIA’S REGAL ROBE 在 2019 年 Stout Medal 计票中并列第三，BLAZING CANNONS 则在 2017 年获 Georgia Hybridizer’s Award 并于 2018、2019 连续两年入选 Region 5 Top 5 萱草品种。2023 年 Bill 与 Diana 共同获得 ADS Region 5 Regional Service Award。Bill 还曾以 ‘Converting H. Elfin Reflection’ 一文获 AHS Best Scientific Article 奖。

订购政策、配送与展示花园

苗圃通过 USPS Priority Mail 全美发货，统一运费 20 美元/单，超出 4 株后每株加收 0.25 美元，付款后一周内或按买家指定时间出苗；国际订单需邮件议价。年度开放日 Annual Daylily Sale 于每年 6 月在苗圃现场举办（2026 年为 6 月 13 日周六上午 9 点至下午 3 点），届时欢迎来访者现场选购。苗圃同时承载 AHS 展示花园职能，2025 年发表新品种 CAMILLA ARTHUR、CONCENTRIC RINGS、KENNESAW DAYBREAK、KENNESAW OPULENCE、TOUGH AS NAILS、UNDERTAKER 六款，2024 年发表 BLUE RADIANCE、BRITTANY KAPLON MITCHELL、GEORGIA BLUE、HEAVENLY CHORUS、THE JOY WE SHARE、WAVE OF MYSTERY 六款，2023 年发表 KENNESAW SPLENDOR、GOING OVERBOARD、KENNESAW GOLDEN NEEDLES、MOTHER’S DAY MORNING、RED CRUSH、SUNBERRY SPLATTER、VANILLA SUGAR 七款。

官网: https://www.kennesawmountaindaylilygardens.com/

Overview

Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Gardens is a family-run daylily nursery and display garden operated by Bill and Diana Waldrop in Marietta, Georgia. Founded in 1992 from a half-acre vegetable plot and now in its thirty-fourth year, the garden has released 117 registered daylily cultivars with a breeding emphasis on patterned and teeth flower forms.

Nursery Origins and the Waldrop Family

Bill began growing daylilies around 1992 and gradually replaced his entire half-acre vegetable garden with daylily beds. After friends and newspaper coverage followed, the garden was featured on HGTV’s Gardener’s Diary in 2001. Bill went on to serve as General Counsel for the American Hemerocallis Society (AHS) from 2000 to 2005, and together with Diana he founded the Cobb County Daylily Society; Bill has served two terms as President and Diana two terms as Secretary. The couple married on May 17, 1969, in Diana’s hometown of Milbank, South Dakota, and have one daughter, Kelley Rae, and one granddaughter, Beautiful Lily Rae.

Hybridizing Goals and Representative Cultivars

The Waldrops focus their hybridizing program on patterned and teeth flower forms, devoting substantial effort to converting diploid daylilies into tetraploids and then crossing the converted lines with their own seedlings in pursuit of new directions in size, color, height and bud count. The catalogue of 117 registered cultivars includes LYDIA’S REGAL ROBE, BLAZING CANNONS, HOTLANTA, OPA KLAUS, Kennesaw Mountain Lemon Sorbet, Diana’s Pink Gown, Diana’s Irish Dream, Irish Halo, Irish Royalty, Burnt Hickory, Marietta Heartbeat, Red Sapphire, Artillery Fire, Lily’s Christmas Slippers, Kennesaw Crossfire, Kennesaw Blue Sapphire, Kennesaw Orange Plush, Kennesaw Mountain Hayride, Illinois Majestic, Magical Morning, Master Sergeant Kenneth Lane and Pepperoni Pizza. Diana has also introduced LEMON CURLS and LILY’S GOLDEN CURLS in her own breeding line.

Awards and AHS Contributions

The garden has collected 23 ADS Honorable Mention awards, with BLAZING CANNONS winning the AHS President’s Cup in 2015 and Kennesaw Mountain Lemon Sorbet taking the Eugene S. Foster Award the same year for the best late-blooming cultivar. BLAZING CANNONS also received the Extra-Large Diameter Award in 2019; LYDIA’S REGAL ROBE finished tied for third in the 2019 Stout Medal balloting, and BLAZING CANNONS earned the Georgia Hybridizer’s Award in 2017 with consecutive Region 5 Top 5 listings in 2018 and 2019. In 2023 Bill and Diana jointly received the ADS Region 5 Regional Service Award. Bill additionally authored ‘Converting H. Elfin Reflection’, which received the AHS Best Scientific Article recognition.

Ordering, Shipping and the Display Garden

Domestic orders are shipped via USPS Priority Mail at a flat fee of twenty dollars per order plus twenty-five cents for each plant beyond the first four, with orders dispatched within one week of payment or at the buyer’s preferred date; international shipping is quoted by email. The on-site Annual Daylily Sale is held each June (June 13, 2026, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.), and visitors are welcome to attend in person. The garden serves as an AHS Display Garden and rolls out new introductions every year, including CAMILLA ARTHUR, CONCENTRIC RINGS, KENNESAW DAYBREAK, KENNESAW OPULENCE, TOUGH AS NAILS and UNDERTAKER in 2025, BLUE RADIANCE, BRITTANY KAPLON MITCHELL, GEORGIA BLUE, HEAVENLY CHORUS, THE JOY WE SHARE and WAVE OF MYSTERY in 2024, and KENNESAW SPLENDOR, GOING OVERBOARD, KENNESAW GOLDEN NEEDLES, MOTHER’S DAY MORNING, RED CRUSH, SUNBERRY SPLATTER and VANILLA SUGAR in 2023.

Official Site: https://www.kennesawmountaindaylilygardens.com/