A blooming tradition: Gordo farm offers 30th annual daylily sale
Gary Cosby Jr.
Sarah Wood clutched a clipboard and notepad as she and her daughter, Anna, and mother-in-law Joan walked through Rene Holliman's daylily farm in Gordo, choosing the new varieties with which to populate her own garden.
"We come every year. This has been our thing since 2015. Rene laughs at me because I have a list of all my purchases, but it's a big deal for us. We come every year," Sarah Wood said.
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Holliman is preparing to host her 30th annual daylily sale, which will run Friday through June 11. The sale, except for the final two days, is by appointment only. Reservations can be made by calling Holliman at 205-331-9480. The sale will begin each day at 7 a.m. and run until 2 p.m.
The last two days of the sale will be open to the public and can be attended without an appointment, but Holliman urges patrons to shop by appointment because the last two days will be crowded.
"Fair warning, if you wait to the last two days, you are going to have a very long wait. Bring your drinks, bring your snacks and your patience because it is going to be two very long days," Holliman said.
Holliman, who began her own daylily obsession with a gift of six daylilies from her father-in-law in 1987, said she has noticed the passion for gardening has been on the rise over the last few years.
The Wood family is among those who have fallen for the beauty of the daylily. Sarah Wood keeps extensive records of all her purchases and came with a list of varieties she wished to add to her garden.
"We just love it. I told my mother-in-law on the way down here, this is one of my favorite things I do all year long. We love coming out, we enjoy the family. It's a wonderful time," Sarah Wood said.
She now has two beds of daylilies and will be opening a third bed soon at her home in McCalla.
"The more I learned the more I liked. Her neighbor had daylilies and I wanted to get more into it. I've learned a lot from Renee and a lot from my mother-in-law. I'm still learning. I have lots of notes," Sarah Wood said.