This week we travel to Sycamore, Georgia with the hybridizing program of Tim Bell.
Tim Bell was born in Tifton, Georgia, and has lived in Sycamore, Georgia all his life. He was raised on his family’s farm where they grew peanuts and raised cattle. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a degree in horticulture, Tim began hybridizing daylilies as a hobby in the early 1980’s. In 1986 he purchased land and started Bell’s Daylily Garden. Here he designed a large formal garden which includes a variety of trees, shrubs, perennials and daylilies covering approximately 3 ½ acres with views to a 6 ½ acre pond. His wife Linda and three children, Jessica, Rachel and Jared, share his passion for gardening and daylilies.
From the beginning Tim focused on hybridizing daylilies not only known for being exceptional in the garden, but also proved themselves in exhibitions. Tim’s first introductions registered in 1995 were Lottie Moon and Tribute to Praise. Mercy Drops registered in 1996 was awarded an AHS Achievement Medal, the first of many to be awarded to a Bell seedling in daylily exhibitions. The second Achievement Medal won in 1999 was for a seedling Tim named in memory of his father, Samuel Bell. In 2001 Tim received the Georgia Hybridizer of the Year Award for Samuel Bell (1999).
Since 1999 AHS Achievement Medals have been awarded to at least one of Tim’s seedlings each year for a total of 24 medals from 1999 to 2011. In 2012 seven Bell seedlings were each awarded the Achievement Medal, a record making achievement. These seven have been registered as Ice Carving (2012), Morning Snowfall (2012), O Glorious Day (2012), Debbie Nichole Cox (2012), Water of Life (2012), Prince of Persia (2012) and Never Ending Grace (2012). Tim received the Ophelia Taylor Horticulture Award in 2005 for displaying an entry of five different registered cultivars with each scoring the required 95 points or above from three Senior Exhibition Judges.
Awards from garden judges have been equally favorable for his cultivars acknowledging their beauty and performance in the garden. Samuel Bell (1999), with a 2002 Honorable Mention, was the first of Tim’s introductions to be awarded for garden performance by judges. Known for its beautiful blooms and performance in many regions, Symphony of Praise (2003) was awarded an HM in 2006 and went on to a 2010 Award of Merit. In 2012 Indian Feathers (2008), Loafin in Lahina (2008) and Rain Frog (2008) each received an Honorable Mention Award bringing the total to 33 HM’s for cultivars hybridized by Tim Bell.
To find out more about the daylilies hybridized by Tim Bell visit his website
http://www.bellsdaylilygarden....
A few images from the ATP database.....
Depths of My Heart (Bell 2008)
Healing Rain (Bell 2008)
Pharaoh’s Daughter (Bell 2008)
