Daylily Nut -- Hemerocallis 'Lights of Valinor'
Fall 2004 registration, spring 2005 introduction
Left to right: Clump view, detail of branching, color comparison with JOAN SENIOR.
(Click on any of the images for larger sized pictures.)
WETZEL (2004) EMRe dor., dip., near white self above yellow green throat, 44", 5", 7 branches, 30 buds, (H. 'Wendy Glawson' x H. 'Charleston Snow'), seedling #98-07-27. Easily fertile both ways.
Named for Telperion, the white tree of Valinor, from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkein. H. 'Lights of Valinor' has a thick, sturdy, 44 inch scape with seven-way, tree-like branching and 30 buds. It holds its recurved, ruffled, light ivory to near-white bagel-formed flowers aloft as if suspended in the sky like silvery moons. I have to confess that in some of my more looney moments, I considered calling this plant "BAGEL ON A STICK" -- kinda fits, dontcha think?
H. 'Lights of Valinor' can be a focal point of the garden. Planted in the center or back of a bed containing flowers of many colors, it's height and shimmering white color serves well to anchor any planting.
The foliage is bold and vigorous, well over an inch wide, and keeps its clean appearance well throughout the season. The plant is vigorous and healthy, increases well, and is very fertile both ways. It has been only slightly susceptible to spring sickness in my Maryland garden. H. 'Lights of Valinor' reblooms modestly in about MLa season. In some years, it has not rebloomed here in Maryland.
The actual flower color is just slightly more ivory than H. 'Joan Senior'. The color comparison shown above was taken in shade. But H. 'Lights of Valinor' clearly qualifies as a near white by daylily standards. It is considerably whiter than its pod parent, H. 'Wendy Glawson', which is registered as cream white. Its Pollen parent is H. 'Charleston Snow', a H. 'Gentle Shepherd' child from Kennedy-Allgood. CS is quite vigorous for me and very close in whiteness to GS. Below is a picture of H. 'Charleston Snow' in my yard:
Below is a little more background behind the naming of this flower.
J.R.R. Tolkein's life work was to create a mythology for the British Isles, since its native mythology was lost due to the various invasions that have overturned or disrupted the population of the islands in the last 2000 years. His most famous work, "Lord of the Rings", which took place in the "Third Age" of Middle Earth (a land that presumably evolved into the British Isles in later times), features the White Tree of Minas Tirith. This tree was the symbol of the people of Gondor, and appeared on their flag and various standards.
However in the wider scope of Tolkein's writings, it is revealed that the White Tree which grew in the courtyard of the Kings and Stewards of Gondor at Minas Tirith was descended from an ancient original tree which was involved in the creation of all things.
In Tolkein's creation myth, as the world emerged from the mists of timelessness, before the start of the First Age, and indeed before the Sun and the Moon existed, the Creator being Yavanna, daughter of Iluvatar, used song to bring into existance two trees.
These trees took root on the mound of Ezellohar in the land of origin, Valinor. This island was to become the home of the Elves; and in one of the final scenes from "The Lord of the Rings" we see Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel sail into the sunset along the "straight path" to Valinor. This path was later lost; and Valinor became irretrievably separated from our world.
But I digress. The first of the two trees of original creation was Telperion. It illuminated the land with a silver light made from the silver dew which rained from its blossoms. Eventually, Telperion was destroyed, but its final blossom was rescued and borne aloft to become the moon. Also saved during this dreadful time of "The Darkening of Valinor", the final blossom of Telperion's golden companion Laurelin, the other original tree, became the sun.
Tolkein was a true lover of nature, particularly trees, so it is little wonder that he chose the white tree to play such a fundamental role in his creation myth. Paralleling this in some small way, I've deliberately chosen the name of H. 'Lights of Valinor' to represent the emerging light, and perhaps the brightest star thus far, as my hybridizing efforts begin to come to fruition.
(At the time depicted in Peter Jackson's movie, "The Lord of the Rings, Return of the King", the white tree of Minas Tirith had apparently died. It is shown as a mere twisted skeleton of a trunk with a few wizened branches still hanging to it. It is sad that the movie version did not have time to show the planting of the new white tree seedling in the courtyard. In the book, the seedling was found growing wild on a mountain side above Minas Tirith soon after Aragorn was crowned King.)
The DaylilyNut Farm has never had rust. It is state inspected, and is located about 25 miles west of Baltimore, MD. In 2006 the garden was moved to a cold-pocket valley, on the boundary between USDA climate zones 5 and 6 (coldest winter night is about -10F).
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Eldersburg, MD 21784
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