Beethoven’s Daylily, and Other Plants

I found my plant purely by accident while searching for “Beethoven” on eBay many years ago, and it remains a favorite. Unfortunately, because it is indeed subtle and because there are hundreds of less subtle yellow-plus-salmon daylilies on the market, it does not appear to be in commercial cultivation. I could easily imagine a more dramatic daylily flower for the composer of Fidelio, the Fifth, and the Ninth, but I appreciate the quiet beauties of this one nonetheless. In the summer of 2023 I crossed the ‘Beethoven’ daylily with another yellow daylily that has much greater stamina and reblooming characteristics (but whose name I do not know). Only two of the seeds have sprouted, alas, but perhaps next summer we will see how those two crosses look.

Mr. Millikan was an interesting and generous character, as can be read in a short biography on the old Shields Garden website:

“Bryant Millikan lived here in Indianapolis, Indiana, and he was reared in this area. Bryant was a teacher at Shortridge High School. He was a math teacher, but he could have been an English teacher, as he was a stickler for the proper use of the English language. As a young man, Bryant raised and ‘hybridized’ horses. The best horse he ever raised was named ‘Denmark Adonis’; his second favorite horse was named ‘Sampson.’ Before Bryant grew daylilies, his yard was covered with hundreds of roses. He tells the story of showing up at a rose show a few minutes late and how disappointed (read angry) that they would not let him show his roses. He from that day on he refused to attend or enter flower shows and true to form, we never saw him at the local daylily shows. … Bryant was a ‘character’ and I wish I had the time to repeat many of his stories, opinions and sayings. … Bryant was an endless supplier of named plants and seedlings to a local daylily club. Tens of thousands of dollars have found their way to the local club coffers due to Bryant’s generosity. … There is a large daylily bed on the fabulous garden/grounds at the Indianapolis Museum of Art named the ‘Bryant Millikan Memorial Daylily Garden.’ This bed was planted by a handful of local daylily enthusuiasts (including the two of us) with plants donated by both local daylily growers and large clumps donated by Don[ald] Kercheval [1929-2003, a history teacher]. Bryant shared his home and garden with Don Kercheval. After Bryant’s death, Don introduced the selected seedlings that Bryant had planned to place on the market that year.”

(http://www.shieldsgardens.com/DLPlace/MillikanPoll2000-Marifran-Hiltz.html)