Although my husband and I were born and brought up in Switzerland, my gardening life started in the US.

Not knowing anything about plants or how to care for them, the first garden was a challenge. We lived on a wooded property full of native trees. We had moved in March with the trees bare. One day our 5 year old came running in all excited, saying: "Mommy, our tulip tree is blooming!" Annoyed I said: "There is no such thing as a tulip tree"! Insisting I come and see, I went outside. The crown of the tallest tree on the property was covered with yellow tulips! Totally embarrassed I apologized, making up my mind then and there, that I would check out every tree on the property and learn the names and try and find out as much as I could about each species. I did and to this day I can't resist growing trees from seed.

When my husband was transferred to Chicago, our 2 boys and I were heartbroken, to have to leave this beautiful place.

With quite a bit of luck we found another home on a wooded lot, just west of Chicago. My favorite perennials were in the trunk of our car and I had permission to plant these before the house was officially ours. We had seen the lot in January. Disappointed by far fewer species of trees and not a single one the same as in the previous garden, the owner told us that we would have nice wild flowers in the spring. That was an understatement! In the spring the forest floor was covered with a carpet of beautiful wild flowers. With the season lasting for 2 months there were about 50 different species.

The Morton Arboretum offered many courses on Natural History. It did not take very long to become addicted to the native plants of the Midwest. Joining an organic gardening group, I met Jan, a dedicated naturalist, passionate about the Midwest Prairie. Jan introduced me to forbs and grasses of the prairie and we exchanged our favorite plants.

During my Master Gardener's training an additional course in landscaping was required. The course was boring, too much talk about lawn and foundation plantings, in fact a total waste of time. Discussing it with Jan, we decided to take the course given by the landscape architect of the Morton Arboretum. What a difference, here was a concept we both could admire. Using native trees and shrubs along with native perennials and grasses.

In early fall 1983 Jan suggested we go to a daylily sale. "Daylilies, no way, I hate them!" I said, pointing to the weedy patch of 'ditch lilies' the previous owner had planted and I had not managed to get rid of them for 10 years. Jan patiently explained that these daylilies were hybrids, available in many colors, shapes and sizes. Reluctantly I went along, insisting I would not buy any. I was not prepared for what I saw. As the doors opened, people rushed in, running from table to table, grabbing roots, filling their boxes. Standing next to a table, I watched how the pile closest to me seemed to diminish fast. Quickly I grabbed the second to last one then heard a women say: "Here is Parade Queen, it's only ten dollars!" Well, I had to get that one too and then several more because by that time the tables were almost empty. I had bought my first 10 daylilies and received 2 seedlings as a bonus, not realizing, life would never be the same. The daylilies were planted and forgotten. No flowers the following year. In 1985 they all bloomed and I was hooked. In 1987 I joined AHS and became a member of the local chapter. My first crosses were made in 1988.

After gardening for 5 years in Rockland County, NY, 17 years in DuPage County, Illinois, I was faced with another move. In the fall of 1989 my husband took early retirement and we moved back to Switzerland. My husband had found a chalet in the mountains. At least there was space for a garden, but I was not going to leave without my daylilies. 120 daylilies, a few seedlings along with a few hostas and iris were cleaned, trimmed and washed. An inspector came to the house to check the plants before handing me the phyto.

It has been 22 years since my original daylilies were planted, some did not make it. It came as a rude awakening, that our zone 6/7 (temperature wise) applies to winter only. Summers are cool and the season too short. We can have 5-6 months of snow cover. At an altitude of 1300 m, gardening is a challenge. The first summer I was not able to harvest a single seed pod. Bob Bearce was my mentor and AHS foreign secretary at the time (now called International Membership Chair). He was kind enough to send me some seeds. 1991 was an excellent year and I managed to plant out close to a 1000 seedlings the following year. Two poor seasons followed. 1994 was another good season. In the meantime I had imported Siberian iris, peonies and lots of hostas. These plants made up for the poor years.

Until 2000 it was easy to import daylilies, but when the first reports of rust appeared, I was afraid of bringing rust to my garden and stopped. Since 2003 I have been able to get seeds through the AHS seed exchange and also bought some from hybridizers. Some of the seedlings have been used for breeding. The biggest challenge is to get seed pods to mature. Only the early crosses can be harvested normally because it takes 12 weeks or more for pods to mature. For the later ones, the scapes have to be cut and placed in jars filled with water and taken inside for warmth.

Our land is on the side of a mountain with several steep banks. There is very little flat ground. The property is facing south and sloping south and to a lesser degree west. The seedling beds had to be terraced 2 ways, which does work out well enough. All trees and most shrubs were grown from seed. Although this garden has been the biggest challenge, it also has been the most delightful and comes with a magnificent view of the mountains.

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