YEARS ago ( 1980s probably) my parents lived in Brentwood, TN, a suburb of Nashville. Mom was a docent ( volunteer from her garden club )at Cheekwood , and we went there every time I visited. The Nashville club had established a daylily bed there and they featured many of Dr. Pecks daylilies. That was the first time I'd seen botanical markers used with daylilies. I was just beginning with daylilies then and didn't get serious until the late 90s but I wanted botanical markers and use them here to this day. Dr. Peck was a mathematics professor at MTSU (Middle Tenn. State) about 45 minutes south of Nashville. She must have named some of her later daylilies with the prefix "Cheekwood" although I didnt recall seeing any in that garden. The garden was renamed "The Virginia Peck Memorial Garden" after she died. I'm not sure if that garden still exists today.
FYI, Dr, Peck and her good friend Van Sellers along with a few others like Steve Moldovan, were early pioneers developing tetraploid daylilies back when nobody much liked them and ridiculed them in fact. I remember Grace Stamile telling me how, when she and Pat( who were both still teaching on LI back then and just getting started in daylilies) packed up their car the day after school was out and headed south to TN and NC with the aim of meeting Dr. Peck and Van Sellers and seeking their advice. Grace mentioned that people were afraid of Dr. Peck, as she could be very stern and refuse to talk to people. They were worried but Dr. P eck fell in love with their then 5 year old daughter, Christine, and allowed them in and answered all their questions! More than you wanted to know. Some of the Middle Tn. Daylily club members would be most likely to grow them or know about them. Kate Patrick was President of that group last time I checked.
