Left: click image for a larger picture of the fields of dayliliesWe paid a visit to a place on Samaria Road known simply as "The Farm," which in summertime serves as a tremendous retail repository of daylilies. Though we have previously visited owner Bill Cook in winters past to purchase Christmas trees, we were alerted to his hundreds of varieties of daylilies by a simple roadside sign: "Daylilies, $4.00 and up."
Walking through the tens of thousands of flowers was like a surreal, trippy dream; I encountered hues and color combinations I never imagined, and we returned home with dozens of plants.
Some of the varieties were pricier, fetching as much as $18 for an intriguing early season lily known as "Blueberry Sundae." Yet most of the plants were quite affordable, especially when you consider the fact that commercial nurseries charge double or more for the same plants.
Cook started the business in 1994 after retiring from his previous career as a teacher at Whitmer High School in Toledo. He spends part of the off-season traveling around the country looking for new varieties to cultivate, and you can find dozens of varieties that he created.
Cook's place is located at 4165 Samaria Road in Lambertville, MI, just west of Secor Road. He opens at 10 am, and he said not to come early because "I am usually eating my breakfast around 9:30 or so."
