I often have great expectations whenever I visit gardens. A day trip to Great Expectations Daylilies was certainly full of expectation and it was so worth the trip. They are located in Geauga County, Northeast Ohio. They are open for visitations by appointment only. This is their residential garden and they have been at this location for 27 years. It was very easy to make an appointment by visiting their website. They responded quickly and I had the visit marked in my calendar, with great expectation.
Great Expectations is the daylily gardens of Rae and Delmar Dickens. As a couple they have registered 15 daylilies and their seedling beds are full of lots of expectant daylilies. Several caught my eye for sure. Delmar took time to show us every bed full of daylilies and other perennials.
Rae had injured her leg, but that didn’t slow her down. She was very helpful, and took time to point out special things that were around every corner in their impressive garden. She scooted about in the golf cart and even took us in the golf cart if we had missed something.
It was so evident that they both are so knowledgeable and that they have a passion for gardening.
You right away noticed all the details in the garden beds. It is hard to imagine the amount of time and love that must be devoted to keeping up every one of the beautiful flower beds. There were beds of coneflower and a bed of peonies that I am sure was stunning earlier in the season.
So many peaceful spots that you just could feel the serenity of the plantings.
Some daylilies were planted right up to a tree line and were thriving with lots of bloom and healthy plants. Their gardens also contained a sizable collection of Hosta, which I really enjoyed.
They have a website where you can view pictures of the daylilies that they grow. We ordered from the website ahead of our visit, and the selected daylilies were already dug and ready to go. They would also dig for us during our visit when we found ones that we just had to have. The Dickens were also very generous by giving us a great bonus daylily. That was not expected, but it certainly was great. Just the tour of the gardens was a bonus for sure. I came home with Sky Captain, Blue Beetle and Cosmic Kaleidoscope. I was given a bonus of Coit Tower, which I had considered but didn’t order.!
My only regret is that I didn’t take enough pictures. There was so much to see. The seedling beds were impressive and there were several. They also had numerous beds with registered daylilies that were clearly labeled. Several of the beds were raised beds.
The web site is http://www.greatexpectationsdaylilies.com. I will try to link this website to my side column, although that may take me awhile. It is so worth looking at their website and you will understand the name of their garden. I had great expectations and I was not disappointed.
Happy Gardening. Always take the path not knowing where it will lead you.
Obsessivecompulsivegardening's Blog 
Sounds like a great place!
It was a great place for sure. Worth the trip.
What beautiful gardens. I will have to think about going there. How long did it take you to get there? I also have Cosmic Kalidascope, its a pretty one and tends to make proliferations each year that I can pass on to family and friends. Have a blessed weekend
Thanks for the comment. I had an error in my post, which I just corrected. They are located in Geauga County, not Trumbull County. At any rate it took me about one hour 10 minutes to get there, and it was an easy drive. So worth the trip, but the garden visits are by appointment only, but that was also easily done.