Along the Fence Daylilies a blooming business 

Lilting Belle daylilies Photo credit: Joan Tucker

Article by Joan Tucker, photos by Saundra Dunn

Along the Fence Daylilies on Parman Road between Dansville and Stockbridge offered a unique colorful experience on a beautiful summer day.

Pulling up to the multiple gardens of daylilies brought me nothing but joy. The intense and vibrant color of the daylilies stood out against a backdrop of green pastures, a barn, and a few horses.

Several teenagers were working as Saundra Dunn greeted me with a warm smile and dirt on her hands. She made me feel welcome as she explained the elements of her business.

Saundra and Mary Ann Cleary started their family-run daylily farm in 2008. For the past nine seasons, they have employed about 30 high school and college students as well as many adults. Family members come from Maine and West Virginia to “vacation” which—in Saundra’s words—means they work with different scenery. It took a village to grow this small farm.

Saundra, a retired special education teacher and a school psychologist for over 30 years, embraced the opportunity to work with local students. She empowered them as part of her team to make decisions to improve her business and efficiency. They came up with the idea of “Along the Fence” staff T-shirts to identify themselves to customers. The lengthy conversations these teens had about how to open safely during the pandemic last year proved to be very successful to the business, providing joy to customers. Learning gardening skills and interacting with customers provided these students with a positive experience, and the love of daylilies will be a part of these young adults forever.

While the number of visitors to the farm has steadily grown over the years, the summers of 2020 and 2021 saw record numbers of guests, which Saundra and Mary Ann assume was due largely to the pandemic. Visitors shared that they were happy to get out of the house and engage in an outdoor activity that felt safe to them.

During the pandemic, people were inspired to take up gardening or enlarge their existing gardens. Many guests returned every two weeks or so to wander the rows of daylilies, generally making selections to purchase but sometimes just enjoying the colors and taking photographs. The biggest change in clientele that Saundra has noticed over the past two years is a trend toward younger guests and families with children. The horses, dogs, and cats at the farm enjoy interacting with young visitors while parents and grandparents wander the daylily field.

Layers of Gold daylilies Photo credit: Joan Tucker

Peak daylily bloom time is mid- to late July. But Along the Fence carries many varieties that are blooming even in August. Daylilies range in size from 14 inches in height to over 5 feet, with blooms from 2 to 12 inches, so they have great versatility in the garden.

Though their regular Thursday through Saturday hours have ended for the season, it is not too late to plan for next season. The farm will be the site of its annual Labor Day sale. Customers can preorder plants, which the staff will dig on Sept. 4. They will be packaged and available for pickup on Sept. 5-7, or they can be mailed to customers not within driving distance. Most of the plants in this sale will be finished blooming for this season, but they will settle in nicely to provide color in gardens next summer. You can request an order form by emailing alongthefencedaylilies@gmail.com.

“This is like living in a painting” according to one of Saundra’s customers as she strolled the rows and rows of daylilies. You can make this a local summer experience whether you are a gardener or not. The beauty will astound you!

Along the Fence Fun Facts:

• They grow over 2,400 different cultivars on the farm, selling about 1,600 of them at any point.
• They have over 100 late to very late blooming cultivars and about 200 mid-lates so the field is still very colorful in August.
• They have a complete Stout Medal collection displayed in chronological order (this is the “daylily of the year”).
• They carry many vintage plants from the 40s, 50s and 60s, as well as recently hybridized plants as current as this year’s introductions.
• The Michigan-focused bed features plants from 28 Michigan hybridizers.
• Contact info: alongthefencedaylilies@gmail.com, Along the Fence Daylilies on Facebook, or call 517-449-7368.

Mary Ann Cleary stands in a field at her farm. Photo credit Joan Tucker

“Bubbles” (Barbara Stout, Saundra’s niece), left, and Saundra Cleary promote the farm while wearing T-shirts inspired by teen workers. Photo credit Joan Tucker