5 Acre Farm Daylillies LLC | Join us to explore our new agriculture outreach initiatives and see how we're supporting the daylily community and promoting environmental conservation programs in 2027!
Future Garden Projects at 5 Acre Farm
Employee Gardens
Our Employee Gardens, established in 2026, plays a crucial role in our daylily farming efforts. This initiative will eventually enable us to line out daylilies for orders, providing better insight into our inventory and allowing us to process orders more efficiently. With our upcoming garden expansions, we will create additional beds for plant cultivation, which will help us develop new clumps for retail. This means a broader stock of popular cultivars, reducing the likelihood of being sold out. The Employee Gardens serve as a space for overstock and allow us to evaluate seedlings in a dedicated area. While this garden is already operational, we won't be able to utilize the beds to their full potential for at least another year or two. Currently, we are in the process of moving daylilies between Retail Gardens 1, Retail Gardens 2, and the new Retail Gardens 3. Until we finalize this transition, the Employee Gardens cannot be fully utilized as they are being used to hold inventory temporarily, which is part of our planned strategy to enhance flow for our many in-person customers.
Field Bed Revival
In the past, 5 Acre Farm had over 30 field beds plus several show beds. We revived about 10 of these lost beds, enhancing our daylily farming efforts and giving us more rows of daylilies to explore. We have so many great daylilies to bring into retail, and while some of these beds might have bare spots in 2026, please know that over the next few years, we will be plugging in new cultivars as part of our garden expansions and expanding our inventory. Within the next 5 years, we estimate having between 1,000 and 1,500 daylilies as opposed to the 850 plus varieties we have now, reflecting our commitment to plant cultivation.
Reorganizing
5 Acre has over 20 retail beds currently and several show beds. We are digging nearly all of our daylilies on the property to be moved to different locations as part of our garden expansions. There are several reasons for this, but among them is the desire to better organize the field beds for effective daylily farming.
While I'm not providing a full breakdown, here's the gist. We will have retail gardens filled exclusively with daylilies that are 5 Acre Cultivars, representing new species we have created in the past. Additionally, we will have a retail garden for charity plants, a garden for historic daylilies, and eventually one for various plants that do not fit into these other categories. Make sure to check us out in 2026 to see these changes. Here’s an overview of what is happening to our first 8 field beds.
The first 8 field beds are fenced in with an electric fence and a gate. This gated area, known as Retail Gardens 1, includes the following beds:
The first 5 beds are designated as "Choice Beds," showcasing the daylilies that hold the most significance for 5 Acre Farms members from our extensive plant cultivation. Here’s the breakdown:
5 Acre Farm Cultivars are daylilies that we either hybridized ourselves, introduced on behalf of a partner [meaning they created it, and we had rights to introduce it and register it under our names as part of our overall stock], or are cultivars absorbed from other nurseries that we acquired, allowing them to be categorized under our business even if they aren't registered with our name.
At 5 Acres, this includes those we introduced under a legal contract for Wes Whiteside of Whiteside Farms, our own creations, as well as any cultivars developed by Valente before we purchased Valente Farms in Maine.
Valente, Whiteside, Kroemer, Wuersch, and Slayton are all names associated with daylily hybridizers and together comprise 5 Acre Daylily Hybridizers.
Retail Gardens 1 will include the following:
Field Bed 1: Rod's Choice
[featuring a new daylily hybridized by Rod that has never been sold before] Many of the daylilies he cherished were hybridized by Ron Valente and reflect Maine themes, which is dear to Rod.
Field Bed 2: Jim's Selection
This bed contains many daylilies that Jim meticulously worked on and are among his favorites from our cultivars.
Field Bed 3: Aaron's Pick
This bed will see the most changes. I currently don’t have any cultivars in it yet that I hybridized, as I've just begun my hybridizing program. This bed will likely remain empty for a while as I prefer to have room to grow rather than filling it with plants lacking potential.
Field Bed 4: Ron's Dedication
This bed will showcase many daylilies that were meaningful to Ron Valente, named in honor of cherished people and memories. There will also be a memorial plaque here.
Field Bed 5: Wes' Introductions
This bed will feature all 13 cultivars that Whiteside hybridized and that we introduced on his behalf as per the contract made with our farm.
FB6-8 will consist of a mix of 5 Acre cultivars. With over 120 cultivars and counting, we're excited about the future of our daylily farming!
Discount Retail Bed(s)
We are adding 2 Discount Beds to our daylily farming operation. This addition allows us to create designated spaces for daylilies that are part of our seasonal sales, whether for this business year or to have an allocation ready for future promotions. These garden expansions enhance our ability to efficiently manage plant cultivation, making it easier and more localized to launch sales for our customers.
Business Additions - Coming Soon
5 Acre Giftshop
Our gift shop will carry a variety of products. We are creating contracts with a soap vendor, artists, and others to expand our offerings, including items related to daylily farming and garden expansions. We will also feature a selection of metaphysical items along with products for children and adults to engage in activities like gardening, bird watching, and studying insects, all essential for plant cultivation.
Petal Pals
In Tennessee, I successfully ran a business focused on breeding and farming beneficial insects. I will be establishing colonies here in Central Illinois and will continue with daylily farming as well as other plant cultivation efforts. This initiative will be treated as a brand under 5 Acre Farms, but it will function in many ways as a division or section of the business to support garden expansions.
Friendship Gardens
Friendship Gardens
This garden was established years ago but was not open to the public. We are currently working on garden expansions and aim to open it to the public as soon as we can, possibly even in 2026. The gardens comprise several smaller areas with an Eastern Spirituality theme and include writing that highlights the importance of friendship. Eve's Garden and the Bird Garden are integral parts of the Friendship Garden. Additionally, there are tributes to pets we have lost on the farm over the years, with many of our daylilies named after these beloved companions. These daylily cultivations are featured in the Friendship Gardens, and we will ensure that business hours for the gardens are posted. The garden is located behind the house and features both a sun gate and a moon gate for entry. It includes a meditation path and will have a devotional area dedicated to the goddess Kwan Yin, who in life was a Buddhist and sacrificed herself for her people. She is revered as the goddess of mercy and compassion and holds a prominent place in many world religions.
Moonlight Garden
Friendship Gardens
The image above will provide a glimpse into my vision for this garden, which will thrive on daylily farming principles. These gardens will feature a timer that lights up the pathways at night, showcasing a stunning array of nocturnal flowers and plants. We will host moth releases to bolster native populations, making this garden a hub for moonlight events. The walk paths in this garden will be designed as pollinator paths, offering stone pathways with no grass, interspersed with short night-blooming flowers that attract pollinators. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to explore the moonlight gardens at night during designated public hours, which will be outlined on our site. You can arrive for the moonlight releases and enjoy the garden's beauty while we focus on garden expansions and ongoing plant cultivation to enhance this enchanting space.
Shade Gardens
This garden has existed on the property for decades but has not been open to the public. We are excited to announce that it will soon be available for visitors. It's essentially a fairy garden in the shade, making it a lovely spot to relax and hang out. As part of our garden expansions, we also focus on daylily farming and plant cultivation, enhancing the beauty and variety of this serene space.
Daylight Gardens
This concept is similar to the moonlight gardens, but it will focus specifically on daytime pollinators. While there will be various locations featuring pollinator plants, the daylight gardens will serve as a dedicated public space for daytime pollinators, much like the moonlight gardens. As part of garden expansions, we will also incorporate daylily farming to enhance our plant cultivation efforts. Additionally, releases of monarch butterflies and other diurnal insect species will take place from this garden.