On
visiting Rufford Old Hall Some time ago I became aware
of a "Day Lily"
planted in the grounds. The Hemerocallis [Day Lily]
Lady Hesketh, must relate to the more modern history
of the Old Hall, an area given less attention but worthy
of note.
The
Hemerocallis Lady Hesketh received a RHS Award of Merit
in July 1924 and this was reported in Vol. 50 (1925)
of the Journal of the RHS.
The
breeder appears to have been Mr Amos Perry of Enfield
and the plant
resulted as a "cross between H.Thunbergii and H.
citrina" The flowers are described as "good
clear yellow". [Perry bred many plants at this
timeframe including notable water iris "Perry's
Blue"]
The
plant is referred to in A.B. Stout's book Daylilies
: the wild species and garden clones, both old and new,
of the genus Hemerocallis (Macmillan, 1934) where it
is also referred to as Lady Fermoy Hesketh. It is also
described in Journal of the RHS Vol. 57, p. 112.
It
seems possible the "Fermoy" is a misprint
for "Fermor", however I have
double checked the source, so it remains at Fermoy at
present. [There is of course also a "Fermoy"
Family, related to the late Princess of Wales]
By
Arthur Wright © 2003
