Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Daylilies

Driving out to Wes Kirby's Daylily Acres, I was thinking about what people had said to me about his eccentricities, and was a little concerned about I would be greeted. I forgot the time that I had scheduled the interview, but had such difficulty in getting him on the telephone that I decided to try for 1:00 p.m. The sun was shining brightly in an azure blue sky with random wispy clouds. It was beautiful and warm for early March.

Someone told me that he lived at the "end of the earth" and I began to believe it as I drove down the meandering road of Texas Valley. When I spied a large plot of daylilies neatly aligned in the front of his house, I knew that I had found the place.

My first view of him was of a tall man with a shock of white hair striding vigorously down the road. It was then that I knew I had arrived at the wrong time. I parked my truck and got out, hoping he would take pity on me and come back. He did turn around. He was so kind about me arriving at the wrong time that I immediately felt at home.

We went into his home and I could see that here was a man that read extensively. There were books everywhere. Here indeed was a kindred spirit! My own home is stocked with books of all genres. When I asked him about his education, he said that he went to Knoxville Business College while he worked at Standard Knitting Mills as the Claims Manager for about nine years. He worked at various other jobs through the years. He said that he had been married twice. He was married to Glenda for twenty-two years. This union produced a son, David. He said David made a brief venture into hybridizing daylilies. He keeps a clump of DAVID'S GOLD, which David hybridized. Wes assumed that his son just got tired of Daylilies as the topic of conversation and focus since he no longer does hybridizing.

How It All Began

He said he has always grown some kind of plants including perennials and annuals. He was looking for the perfect magic plant to include with perennials. He found his first Daylilies at Sears on Central Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee. He grew the first plants in a sunny window because Tennessee had the worst weather where temperatures were below zero. He says that he just couldn't wait to get them in the ground in the spring. What were these magic plants? They included Hyperion, Pink Charm and Kindly Light. When they started to bloom, he was overwhelmed and a permanent love affair began! He thinks that Daylilies should be the national flower!