“It was a perfectly simple matter of fact; the garden was to be a learning experience. She had a schoolteacher’s love of accuracy. She would look up everything so there would be no mistakes made and no foolishness.”

-Eudora Welty, remembering Elizabeth Lawrence

For the past ten years, I have been sussing out the identities of the 28 daylilies here in the garden that are original to Elizabeth Lawrence. Even after all that time, 12 remain a mystery. That may not sound like many to figure out, but there are records for 30 daylilies that could fit those 12 plants. There must be a method through this madness!

Well, there is. It’s a work in progress, but it’s a method nonetheless. Actually, it is several methods.

There is more that goes into this than I’m telling you. Part of Elizabeth’s records lie in her writings, so those must be studied as well. Scanning her books for any mention of daylilies is easy. Searching through 523 articles she wrote for the Charlotte Observer between 1957 and 1971 that have not yet been republished is another matter. Thanks to a subscription to newspapers.com, I can find and read them at any time of the day or night! (Elizabeth Lawrence wrote a total of 795 articles for the paper, of which 272 have been republished in the books Through the Garden Gate and Beautiful At All Seasons.)

Like Elizabeth, I have a love of accuracy, so there will be no mistakes made (ha!) and no foolishness.

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Next up, we’ll take a behind-the-scenes look at Elizabeth Lawrence’s studio, the place where she wrote, researched, read and designed.