CreativEdge Perennial Gardens is the living expression of my lifelong love of plants, my appreciation for beauty, and the quiet joy that comes from nurturing a space in harmony with nature. I began gardening in 2003, when I landscaped our Kernersville home and quickly discovered that digging in the dirt was the best therapy for a chaotic world. That simple project became the beginning of a journey that has shaped my life in ways I never expected.

My passion for daylilies started in 2009 during a serendipitous trip to a daylily farm in Florida. The visit was originally for my husband to speak to an orchid society — but the moment I saw the modern daylilies, I was in awe. They just took my breath away. That spark grew into what has certainly become my daylily addiction.

Over the years, that passion led me into a small hybridizing program focused on round, full-formed tetraploid daylilies with crisp, clean color and fancy edges — the inspiration behind the name CreativEdge. By 2020 I was growing more than 1,000 cultivars and had begun landscaping the 2-acre property where our future home would be built.

Today, CreativEdge Perennial Gardens spans nearly three acres on the edge of Kernersville and Oak Ridge. We are a certified wildlife habitat garden, a certified Monarch Waystation, and a National American Daylily Society Display Garden.

The gardens include:

• Over 75 peonies in a wide range of forms and colors
• A large and diverse iris collection — bearded, Siberian, Louisiana, and a signature Japanese Iris garden
• More than 1,500 daylily cultivars
• A native wildflower and butterfly garden
• Perennial borders, natural stone pathways, a pavilion and patios with seating, fountains, sculpture, and curated garden art

My design goal has always been to create diverse garden "rooms" — layers of texture and color, and an overall sense of peace and natural beauty. I love it when people can set aside their troubles, take a deep breath, and simply enjoy the moment. It's a special place.

In recent years, CreativEdge Perennial Gardens has become a recognized destination for garden lovers across the region. In 2025, we welcomed more than 100 visitors when the gardens were selected as a featured tour stop for the American Daylily Society's summer regional meeting. I'm honored to share this space with anyone who loves plants.

Garden clubs are welcome to visit and hold meetings under our pavilion or our large patio.

For the curious or adventurous, I'm also always happy to teach others how to hybridize daylilies. It's exciting and surprisingly easy to create your own crosses and grow daylilies that are completely unique to you.

If you would like a wonderful keepsake, for a small fee, you can make up to 5 crosses during your visit and I will ship the seed to you in the fall so you can plant your own one-of-a-kind daylilies!

While I stepped back from hybridizing following my husband's passing in 2022, the garden continues to grow and evolve. 2026 has brought a new love — dahlias. I've added almost 1,000 unique dahlia cultivars that will line our 350-foot fence line, and I'm building a large cutting garden to test a variety of cut flowers for bouquets. A flower stand is coming soon.

I have over 60 stunning varieties of heirloom mums that will be added to the cutting garden in the fall and we are in process of creating a new shade garden featuring over 40 new varieties of hellebores.

As I look ahead to retirement from my day job, I hope to work in the garden full-time, resume hybridizing, and pursue my Master Gardener designation.