“We were worried we couldn’t get enough milkweed,” Tolar said, referring to stage where thick, juicy caterpillars were munching on everything in the garden but the daylilies. He pointed to a row of empty chrysalis blowing under his garage roof line, and the occasional red/orange butterfly that flew gracefully around his spread.

Years ago the Tolars attended the daylily show and got some “pretty” flowers, then started getting serious enough to where Doretha thought, “It might be good for us to get in the daylily club.”

While neighbors admire the colorful spread in his front and side yard, Tolar says he’s got to be honest about the family hobby.

“The be truthful, it’s a lot of trouble,” he confessed.

But he’s way more dedicated than most of the guests the Society hopes to draw to the show. Tolar says plenty of people can buy and grow a couple of plants and not become addicted. There’s a good payoff, too.

“It is quite a satisfaction to see what it is,” he said of the “mystery” plants grown from experimentation. “We get a lot of fun out of giving daylilies to people.”

Contact this reporter at ddoiron@panews.com.