Tim Mueller tends to the daylilies at his Green Township home. (Thomas Witte photo) | ZOOM |

        Every summer, Martha Adams, Lona Eaton Miller and Janice Brown make an appearance at Tim Mueller's Green Township home. Mr. Mueller is happy to welcome these colorful characters to his back yard — they are three of the 500 daylilies that bloom in his garden from mid-June through August.

        “When the kids were small, I couldn't do much (gardening),” Mr. Mueller says. “But when they got older, I started making bigger beds. Now I've reached the point where I need more land.”

        Garden beds encircle Mr. Mueller's back yard. Every year he widens his beds by about 2 inches. Space is at such a premium that he started another garden in his daughter's yard.

        Mr. Mueller, a computer software consultant, appreciated plants as a child. But his interest in gardening remained dormant until about a decade ago when he started collecting miniature roses.

        “I grew those for a long time, and then I got interested in other things, like daylilies,” he says.

GETTING STARTED

• Select daylilies that have won awards and proved successful over time.     Some of Tim Mueller's favorites are Wilson Spider, a multicolor cream and purple flower; Siloam Double Classic, pink; Scatterbrain, a peach double, and Sebastian, purple.     • Plant daylilies in a sunny spot. Mr. Mueller uses organic fertilizers, such as Milorganite.     • Mr. Mueller learned more about daylilies by joining the American Hemerocallis Society (www.daylilies.org), which put him in touch with the Greater Cincinnati Daylily and Hosta Society. For more information on the local group, contact president Jack Brueggemann, (859) 331-3907.

DAYLILY SHOW

The Greater Cincinnati Daylily and Hosta Society's annual daylily show will be 1-8 p.m. July 6 in the center court at Forest Fair Mall. Information: (859) 331-3907.

ABOUT THIS FEATURE

Know a gardener daffy over daffodils? Partial to petunias? Perhaps she loves shade plants, or he likes lots of yard art.     For a biweekly feature, we're looking for Tristate gardeners who display their love for a special plant or a special way of decorating their gardens.     Nominations to: Wild About, Tempo, The Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330; e-mail mfuqua@enquirer.com.

        Mr. Mueller hasn't given up on roses. Dozens of bushes bloom in his yard along with Asiatic and Oriental lilies, several varieties of clematis and other perennials.

        “I also try to stick a few annuals in to add color late in the season,” he says.

        But in Mr. Mueller's garden, daylilies rule. He likes their variety of the plants that get their name because each bloom lasts only one day.

        “They come in a lot of different colors, and they have a lot of different forms, like spider and double,” he says. “They are easy to grow and easy to hybridize.”

        Every year Mr. Mueller tries to hybridize new daylilies by crossing two plants. He dries and plants the seed, then waits about two years to see if he's created a keeper.

        So far, he's kept two hybrid attempts and discarded about 100. But that doesn't stop him from trying again.

        In the spring, summer and fall, Mr. Mueller spends most of his free time in his garden. In the winter, he makes plans. By late January, he starts seeds indoors under lights in the laundry room and garage.

        “I've already been off (gardening) a couple of months (by then), and I can't stand it,” he says.

        He scours seed catalogs for interesting plants. And whenever Mr. Mueller travels, he brings home seeds.

        “Some people buy charms,” he says. “I look for seeds.”
       

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