Tribute to Don Lovell: Road Trip to Timber Creek Gardens

by
Mary Baker 

I first met Don Lovell in the early 1990s and have toured Don and Mary Ann Lovell’s beautiful Timber Creek Gardens in Marshalltown, Iowa on multiple occasions.

In the late 1990s, the late Lynn Stoll persuaded Don and I to become American Daylily Society (ADS) Garden Judges during a visit to her eastern Iowa garden. At that time Lynn was one of the only Garden Judge Instructors in our region. We became Garden Judges in 2000 and later became Garden Judge Instructors, me in 2004 and Don around that same time. Don and fellow Central Iowa Daylily Society (CIDS) member Kathy Larson have chaired many regional daylily meetings and Pollen Dabbers events over the years. Don received the ADS Region One Service Award in 2004. 

Don Lovell (pic courtesy of Mary Baker)

Don is well-known for his striped daylilies, among them the diploids PEPPERMINT ICE (2004) and LOVELY MARGIE (2005), and more recently CYCLONE ALL AMERICAN (2016) and many more. Don’s introductions beginning with the word “Cyclone” are diploids while those beginning with the word “Hawkeye” are tetraploids.

I made a beeline to Don’s seedling field. Excited-kid-in-a-candy-store emotions mixed with kid-eagerly-anticipating-Christmas feelings wash over me each and every time I see Don’s seedlings—his hybridizing program is so creative—and this visit during the 2022 ADS Region One Meeting was no exception. Our friends Joan and John Zettel were in Don’s garden with my husband Rich and me during our visit, adding to the fun. 

We admired many of Don’s seedlings—including to-die-for purples—and then I stumbled over a gorgeous dark purple seedling with a toothy gold edge. Joan ratted me out, telling everyone I was jumping up and down (in her defense, she told the truth). We motioned Don over, he drove up in his golf cart, and told us Melanie Mason’s EQUAL JUSTICE (2005) is the pollen parent of that seedling. Then Don said the three magic words every hybridizer longs to hear: “You want it?” I enthusiastically replied “Yes!” Don told us where the shovel was. I tried to dig up the seedling but was unable to do so. Fortunately John took over and dug it up for me (thank you, John!). A small piece broke off, and Joan took it home with her, so we can both have fun experimenting with it. 

Next Joan and I visited the other beds in Don’s garden. We spotted a showy clump of Don’s exquisite HAWKEYE FIRE (2016), which is out of a seedling X Oscie Whatley’s unique FIRE BURST (1998). HAWKEYE FIRE features four-way branching with a bud count of 22, and is taller than FIRE BURST.

'Hawkeye Fire' (pic courtesy of Mary Baker)

Next we spotted a breathtakingly beautiful daylily clump and asked Don to identify it. He told us it is one of his tetraploid seedlings, and it will be a future registration. Wow! 

Don Lovell tet seedling and future registration/introduction (pic courtesy of Mary Baker)

Thank you, Don, for opening and sharing your beautiful garden with us, for registering and sharing so many gorgeous daylilies, and for your outstanding service to ADS Region One and to the Central Iowa Daylily Society!