Above: one of the lilies out of Roger's collection at Hummingbird Lane Daylilies
Consider the Lilies 2026
Background and Introduction
I am taking a moment to give the reader some background and introduce this topic on my blog. I have been blessed to have my readership grow. I am grateful. It does mean that after doing this fifteen years there are going to be readers who have no idea who I am or the history of this blog.
Many years ago I looked for a bloom report for my area. Tom Harrington was the only person undertaking that task. I gratefully utilized what I was able to find, but it wasn't really what I was looking. I am often a do-it-yourselfer, and the bloom report was another such case.
I began getting out and hiking and posting Botanical Bliss: The Bloom Report.
It was a hit and went on for three or four years. I began to feel burdened down by it as I was still working full time and trying to maintain a home. I let it go, but during this period of my life I blogged the Bloom Report from March to September . It led me to expand my interests. I visited a botanical garden in Townsend that sees few visitors. I was also directed by my future son in law to go visit The Lily Barn in Townsend. Janice Fillmore and her husband own and operate it as a wedding venue and greenhouse. She was lovely and told me I should feel free to come take walks there anytime there wasn't a wedding. I thanked her and took her up on it. I fell in love with the floral display gardens, greenhouse and daylily beds there. I began branching out and visiting other lily farms. Thus was born "Consider the Lilies"
I am a Christian, but a mighty imperfect one. I love the scripture where Jesus tells the listener to "Consider the lilies". The focus being seek God's face and His Divine Will and righteousness and all the rest God will take care of.
"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. " Matthew 6: 28-33
It is worth mentioning that there have been years where I did not produce a specific article about Consider the Lilies, but I still made visits to lily gardens each year. They were just included in the write up for that camping trip instead of a stand alone article.
Gardens of Sunshine Hollow
I decided this season to visit a number of places. I also felt the Holy Spirit leading me in a given direction. I am a burden bearer... an intercessor. I knew this year had to be different. I had to let the Lord lead me where HE wanted me to go for His purpose. I surrendered my will and heeded that call.
Gardens at Sunshine Hollow would be first. I got to meet Dave Rhyne the owner and operator. He and his wife Vickie have run this place for many years. I had kept thinking I wanted to go, but did not make the time until now. Dave claims to be 83 years old, but he looks and acts younger than his stated age. Kenny went with me and meeting him and seeing this placed I gained a new friend. I also learned that I was in the presence of a man whose deeds had led to a great many blessings in my own life unbeknown to me until today.
Below: Dave and Kenny on the golf cart. He is pointing out some features about the pawpaw trees to us here. I learned that pawpaw trees send out roots and new trees spring up from those, but they are a network all linked together! In order to successfully pollinate and thrive they need a little help with diversity.
Below: Dave points out his pawpaw saplings. They are healthy!
above and below: Pawpaw tree grafts. You start out with your sapling from your parent tree. Cut the top off and use its roots. Then you graft the new variety to the top and seal it. Dave said this was a mixture of latex paint, elmers glue and water if memory serves. It helps the graft take.
Dave was in the US Army. Upon leaving the army he entered forestry school and upon graduating went to work for Bowater Paper Company. I have seen Bowater in action and WestVaCo in Virginia.
If every organization followed their best practices we'd have a better world. Bowater in particular had a policy that if they weren't actively logging or planting in an area there was no reason people couldn't visit their lands and recreate there. Hiking, exploring, were all encouraged. Dave was personally responsible for designing and implementing the Pocket Wilderness Program. I've lost count of how many of those I have enjoyed. Lands that were part of industrial concerns are now state parks and we have all benefitted from his efforts. Scotts Gulf, Virgin Falls, Laurel-Snow to name but a few.
Sunshine Hollow is still a wedding venue and nursery for daylilies and other plants. Their age and the years are catching up like we all experience. They are slowing down. Fewer weddings. No more great fields of lilies, but a few display gardens and enclosures.
One of the things he has gotten into is the pawpaw craze that is really hot right now.
People want pawpaws, but they are a native fruit and hard to come by. They spoil within forty-eight hours of picking so they must be picked and consumed almost at once. Many new varieties are out there to graft and hybridize. Dave has numerous pawpaw trees already. He buys the grafts and makes more trees for the commercial market. They will sell for around $75 per tree!
We enjoyed our visit to Sunshine Hollow so much. I learned a bunch. The place is a botanical paradise and an oddity! The geology of it is such that the bottleneck formed by the rock and the entrance to the hollow has trapped native azaleas in there. They've been hybridizing in isolation for around a thousand years! The area has numerous springs as the strata is turned up on its edge and allows water to easily surface. Dave pointed out an area in a stream bed where you can see the sandstone on edge.
Below: Stream bed sandstone on edge if you look across the middle of the image
Above: one of Dave's daylily display gardens. He has utilized azaleas and native things whenever possible.
above: Dave rid this place of lots of kudzu after he bought it. He also terraced it and planted zoysia grass to look natural, be easy care, and control erosion! Kenny was so impressed I hope we can plant some in our lawn. We have one spot that is shrinking, but he has worked for two decades to try to rid us of the MacDonald grass lawn. Creeping bent grass they call it. It is like wire grass to me. We hated it and set to work getting rid of it. We also got rid of all our non native invasive shrubs and trees. We destroyed our bradford and cleveland pear trees, ornamental cherry tree, burning bush, privet, barberry shrubs, monkey grass. I am still pulling up baby cherry trees. In time we will have all native shrubbery. I have picked out ninebark and mountain camellias to replace aging dogwoods and evergreen shrubs.
I plan to go back when he tells me to come in Spring to botanize the place with him.
Lord willing. I also plan to botanize the native azaleas which bloom in Spring. I am in astonishment at all this place holds. What is even better is knowing that this fantastic man and his wife have a plan in place. Dave has a proposal to turn Sunshine Hollow into a new state park if the state will take him up on it. Right now it doesn't look too promising, but we prayed on that and who knows what will happen? It would be a shame to let it go and not be utilized as such. It already has water features, botanical diversity, lots of wildlife, trees that are huge and ancient as the place hasn't been logged since before WW2. The event venue features here already lend themselves to a visitor center or event center the state could use as a money making venture. If you think this is a good idea read up on his proposal at the link above. You can then write your state government to express support for the plan!
Not many people would sell their land as a state park and give a matching endowment to help keep it going.
Regardless of how this turns out I know that from what I am seeing, Dave has already made a substantial contribution to the betterment of this world and our state. We have benefited from his wisdom and skill set. This guy is what I like to call a Hoss Among Men! He is indeed, but he is very modest. He was real proud of the fact he robbed the cradle having Vicki for a MUCH younger wife at only 70. I had to kid him about that, but I saw the gleam in those eyes.
I came here expecting to focus on display gardens and daylilies, but Dave is not a hybridizer. He is a gardener and forester. I knew the difference, but I guess this visit really brought it home to me. I got to thinking back over places I have visited and whether they were hybridizers of hemerocallis or were they just display gardeners?
We wrapped up our visit with Dave by him treating us to lunch at a new to us establishment. We followed him over to Decatur and had lunch at Angie's Decatur Diner. It was really good! Catfish, crabcakes, shrimp, open faced roast beef sandwiches and home cooking! Dave sent us home with six free daylilies. He asked and I wasn't about to turn him down!
above: The house and part of the lily beds from the golf cart.
Below: one of Dave's lilies. I don't have a name for this one. 
Below: more daylilies in the bed area out in the main grounds.
Below: more lilies
Below: My favorite shot of the day... Dave's white gladiolus and red lilies
Hummingbird Lane Daylilies
I was fortunate enough to find a fellow Facebook user named Roger Flatford on the platform. He had so many beautiful lily photos. I reached out to him and found he is a licensed daylily nursery. He has ten thousand lilies! He is a hybridizer as well as gardener. He has spent many years as an educator and principal in our public school system. He has been involved and interested in lilies for many years as well. I made plans to drive out to Sharp's Chapel to meet him and see his lilies.
He said I'd not be disappointed and that was clear the moment I arrived. He had ladies waiting on him to open when I parked my Jeep. I got out and introduced myself to the ladies and set about taking photos , and enjoying the scenery. We had all beaten Roger to the gardens today. He looks after parents who are elderly and need assistance. Today Dad's TV not working concerns delayed a few minutes, but he has the patience of Job far as I am concerned. He will tell you he doesn't. I disagree. He is hard on himself. He has a great memory. He knows and is known by pretty much everyone within several counties. He gives a lily for free to each child that comes to visit. He sent one home to my grandson Gabriel despite him not being able to ride along today. Gabe had a stomach bug that has been making the rounds.
Below: some of Roger's daylily species
A visit to Hummingbird Lane Daylilies will take you on a pretty drive through the country. My one regret was not leaving via the route Roger suggested. He suggested I turn right on Hwy 170 and head over toward Norris Lake and then back out on Interstate 75 South to Knoxville. I have difficulty with all the interchanges along this route north of Knoxville. Had I listened I could have avoided most of that. I will change up and use that route in and out for any future trips.
Ok
I learned today something I had never considered. There really is a fine line between good environmental stewardship and working yourself to death. Daylily gardening on this scale is a monumental task. You wouldn't want insect pests or deer eating up your work. You wouldn't want some power line company destroying your garden via industrial scale pesticide spraying in an indiscriminate fashion. This was narrowly avoided by Roger this year! He caught a power line company employee about to spray herbicide right above his lilies! He managed to get the guy stopped despite much protest that he NEEDED to spray! I think the horror of this is just now settling over me.
I had spoken with Linda Hassler who shared with me that she had been battling phlox bugs in her lilies this year. I mentioned it to Roger who said "Tell her get some Macho and go to spraying! It works!"
Below: this looks like Pandora'x Box but I may be incorrect.
Above: bold swatches of color! 
Once Roger's regular customers were gone I had a chance to talk with him. He is a fellow Christian and shared a little of his faith with me. It isn't my story to tell, but I will say this.
I spoke with him and realized that he is an instrument in God's hands to help children who have had struggles due to many adverse circumstances, but many are substance abuse struggles of parents. I asked God long ago for not only my own son back from drug abuse, but ALL alcoholics and substance abusers back. ALL families healed. I believe in praying big to a BIG and Loving God. He is mighty to save! Roger has been out there in the trenches making a difference. It was very moving and significant to me. What a heart full of love and a head full of wisdom and caring.
Go see him THIS season as the lilies will be pretty through July. He will be there 10 am to 1 pm or later if he has plenty of reason to stay. Take CA$H with you to buy some of his very fairly priced lilies which are beautiful, easy to plant and care for, and a good bargain! He is far enough out in the country he doesn't have a way to run debit or credit cards, but cash works! I hope next season to plan a camping trip and pontoon boat trips to the area. I could easily spend a four day weekend out there among his lilies, the lake, and antique shops in the vicinity. I was so tired on my way back through Maynardville that I did not even have the gumption to stop at Farmhouse Decor & More as bad as I've been wanting to go there. Don't deprive yourself of this experience. I wish I'd found it sooner!
Directions: Easiest way to reach Hummingbird Lane Daylilies is like so:
Turn RIGHT off I -75 North onto Rt 170 Hickory Valley Road and drive 9 miles to the intersection of Rt 33 and turn LEFT onto it. Drive 3.5 miles on Rt 33 and turn LEFT onto Sharp's Chapel Road just after crossing the bridge over Norris Lake. Stay on Sharp's Chapel road for 1.30 miles where you will encounter a tight LEFT turn that will be tricky. Look carefully at the road signs to remain on Sharps Chapel Road another 4.2 miles to a LEFT turn onto Old Valley Road. Drive 0.75 miles to another LEFT turn onto Tanglewood Road. Drive 1/4 mile on Tanglewood to a final LEFT turn into Hummingbird Lane. Follow it to its dead end at the lily beds and pull over to park in the shade of the trees.
No public restrooms available here so take a pit stop at one of the service stations back in Sharps Chapel. Below is a map of the location
Places to See Native Lilies
Clingman's Dome-- Photo below
Connely's Creek Rd -- michigan lilies, carolina lilies and a few turks cap
Below: Carolina lily with butterfly at Alarka upper portion along Connely's Creek
Below is a photo of Stratton Bald at peak bloom in July. This was taken around 2012 on my very first ever visit.
Photo below of turks cap lilies along the Skyway
Photo below of a Canada lily at Honey Creek. They look like red bells!
Other Locations to Visit for Cultivated Lily Gardens
Hassler's Crossville
UT Discovery Garden Crossville
Below: photo of one of many lovely daylilies at Plateau Discovery Gardens. This was my first visit ever.
Directions to the Gardens HERE
Blue Ridge Daylilies Alexander NC
Oakes Daylilies Corryton TN
Bullington Gardens Hendersonville NC
Below: photos of some of the daylilies from my first ever visit to Bullington Gardens. It is donation based and you will love it! Bullington Gardens operates on a donation base.
Click this link to see more photos of Bullington Gardens
My New Daylily Beds
I have made some big improvements in my back yard. Kenny & I redid some garden beds that were in rough shape. I have an herb garden, but it is in a raised bed in another spot. I moved ALL my bird feeders away from my flowers and plants because I am tired of pulling weeds.
I should have done this years ago! I've been working my fool self to death.
Now I have daylilies and only a few Japanese painted ferns in one bed. I have only lilies in one. I may add some companion plants in time, but for now this is enough.
Below: Dolly the cat inspecting our work. My back deck is outside our bedroom doors. I love being able to wake up and see critters, birds and my pretty flowers.
Below: I have some malva Zebrina hollyhocks growing at long last. I tried unsuccessfully last season to grow these. They will go in the heirloom bed.
Below: Border Crossing daylily from Dave
Last of all I leave you with a video of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performing Aaron Copeland's "Consider the Lilies". It is one of my all time favorite pieces of music and has a message as timeless and beautiful and reassuring as the daylilies themselves.
I pray God's blessings on you the reader for His watch care and provision over your life.
Things I learned this season about Cumberland Gal Blog:
- I do better work in photography and videography when I am on my own and not exhausted by surgical fatigue and heat.
- I am starting to treat this blog as a job and that is dangerous territory. I'll fire myself before you can bat an eye!
- I like names with lilies because I am interested in the story behind their creation when possible.
- There is a difference between gardeners and hybridizers. I like and appreciate both.
- Oakes Daylilies, Blue Ridge Daylilies, and Hummingbird Lane Daylilies have hybridizers.
- Blue Ridge Daylilies has the best most organized system of keeping up with the process I have ever seen.
- The first place I ever witness plein air painting in real life was at Blue Ridge Daylilies. I have noticed other display gardens are starting to incorporate this practice!
