From Garden to Gift | How Every Souls ’n Bloom Lily Is Created


Understanding the Care, Time, and Intention Behind Every Bloom

 

 

1. Where the Process Begins: Choosing Parent Varieties With Purpose

Every Souls ’n Bloom daylily begins with a decision rooted in intention. Before a single seed exists, Nance carefully selects parent varieties from some of the most respected hybridizers in the country. These parent plants are chosen not just for beauty, but for strength, reblooming potential, color expression, form, and emotional presence.

This first step matters because hybridized daylilies inherit traits from both parents. Choosing the right pair sets the foundation for what a future bloom could become. It is a process guided by experience, instinct, and years of observation—never by chance.

At this stage, the goal isn’t volume. It’s possibility.

Each pairing is imagined as a future story:
What might this bloom express?
Who could it represent?
What feeling could it hold?

 

Dayliliy growth process in red solo cups at the farm in north Carolina

2. Hand Pollination: Where Craft Meets Patience

Once parent flowers are selected, pollination is done entirely by hand. This is not a mechanical or automated process. It requires presence, timing, and precision.

Pollen is carefully transferred from one bloom to another, ensuring complete control over lineage. This allows Souls ’n Bloom to know exactly where each seed comes from and preserves the integrity of the hybridization process.

After pollination:

  • Seed pods take two to three months to mature

  • Each pod is monitored for health and viability

  • Only viable seeds are collected

  • Nothing is rushed or forced

This stage is where patience begins to shape the final outcome. Many pollinations never result in viable seeds, and that’s expected. Hybridization is a process of commitment, not certainty.

 

 

3. Seed Care, Storage, and Preparation

Once seeds are collected, they are not planted immediately. Instead, they are carefully refrigerated for up to three months. This mimics natural dormancy cycles and prepares the seeds for healthy germination.

This step is critical to long-term plant strength. Rushing seeds into soil often leads to weak growth or poor performance later. At Souls ’n Bloom, seed viability and long-term health always take priority over speed.

When seeds are ready:

  • They are planted individually in cups

  • Each seed is tracked and monitored

  • Growth is observed over six months to a year

  • Only healthy, promising seedlings continue

At this stage, hundreds—sometimes thousands—of seedlings are growing. Most will never become sale-worthy plants. And that is by design.

 

Panoramic view of a dayylilygarden with rows of plants and a pathway.

4. Growing in Beds: Years of Evaluation and Care

After their first year, select seedlings are planted into raised beds. This marks the beginning of the longest and most important phase of the process.

Over the next two or more growing seasons, each lily is documented and evaluated on:

  • Bloom quality and consistency

  • Color clarity and expression

  • Form, ruffling, structure, dormancy and more

  • Reblooming behavior

  • Plant strength and reliability

  • Bloom fragrance

Deadheading is done daily to maintain control over pollination and ensure the plant’s energy goes into growth and expression. The handpicked blooms become food for the farm goats supplementing their daily food intake. They in return provide Souls ’n Bloom with rich fertilizer. Detailed records are kept, including parent lineage, bed location, and seasonal performance.

Many lilies bloom for the first time and are never selected. Others show promise but are given additional seasons to mature. Only a small percentage—often less than a few percent—are ever chosen to represent Souls ’n Bloom.

This stage is where restraint matters most. Just because a bloom is beautiful doesn’t mean it meets the standards of Souls ’n Bloom. Quality is important to the process because because this gift is important.

 

5. Why Most Lilies Are Never Sold

One of the most important things to understand about Souls ’n Bloom is that selection is intentional and selective. Not every hybridized lily becomes part of the collection—and that’s what makes the final offering special.

Lilies may be excluded if they:

  • Lack consistency across seasons

  • Show weak reblooming behavior

  • Fail to thrive naturally

  • Don’t meet Souls ‘n Bloom’s strict standards

This level of discernment ensures that when someone chooses a Souls ’n Bloom lily—whether for a memorial, celebration, or gift—they’re receiving a plant worthy of carrying meaning.

The result is not abundance, but integrity.

 

 

6. Preparing for Delivery: Freshly Dug and Ready to Thrive

Unlike mass-market plants that sit dormant in storage, Souls ’n Bloom lilies are freshly dug before shipping. This preserves vitality and ensures a stronger planting experience for the recipient.

Before shipment:

  • Each lily is carefully lifted from the ground

  • Roots are inspected and prepared

  • Foliage is trimmed appropriately

  • The plant is packaged bare-root

  • Care instructions are included

Shipping bare-root allows the plant to be inspected thoroughly assuring no pests or disease is part of the shipment. Souls ‘n Bloom has the necessary certificates from the NC Agriculture Department for shipments across state lines and within NC. This insures proper inspections have taken place. Bare Root also enables shipping costs are kept to a minimum.

This approach ensures that the moment someone receives their lily, they are receiving a fresh plant ready to be placed in the garden.

7. Turning a Lily Into a Meaningful Gift

For many families, the lily is paired with a custom engraved plaque—transforming a beautiful plant into a deeply personal tribute or celebration.

Plaques often include:

  • Names

  • Dates

  • Short messages or sentiments

  • Memorial or celebratory language

  • Memorable quotes

This combination allows the gift to tell a story. The bloom carries emotion. The plaque provides context. Together, they create a place in the garden where memory, meaning, and care meet.

Whether the lily is planted to honor a loved one, celebrate a milestone, or mark a new beginning, the process behind it ensures that the final gift feels personal—not incidental.

 

 

8. Why the Process Matters

In a world built around convenience, Souls ’n Bloom chooses patience and intimacy.

Every step—from selecting parents to hand pollination, from years of evaluation to fresh digging—exists to ensure that the final lily is worthy of representing something meaningful in someone’s life.

This process matters because:

  • Memorial gifts deserve respect

  • Celebrations deserve permanence

  • Living tributes deserve longevity

  • People deserve honesty and care

When someone plants a Souls ’n Bloom lily, they’re planting years of thought, labor, and intention—made visible through a bloom that returns again and again.