North Dakota State University is home to the largest collection of daylily cultivars of any public institution in the country. The garden contains almost 2000 daylily cultivars, varieties and species. The sheer number and diversity of colors and flower forms make this a museum to the history of daylily breeding. The daylily beds are on the west end of the garden.
This is an official display garden of the American Daylily Society and was the first official public historic display garden in the country. Daylily cultivars are considered historic if they were registered 30 or more years ago. The oldest daylilies in the collection date to the 1830s. Contemporary daylilies (registered less than 30 years ago) are also present in the collection and show modern trends in daylily breeding.
A special subset of daylilies is collected in the Lenington All-American Bed. The Lenington award is given annually to the top performing daylily cultivar. The award, given since 1970, honors daylilies that perform well across a wide geographic area.
Some cultivars bloom as early as May and others as late as September. However, the peak time to view these beds is in mid-July through early August.
The garden is dedicated to the memory of Bryce Farnsworth, its founder. Bryce secured the initial plants and continued to increase the collection over the years.
