The heat hasn’t harmed the daylilies in Pam Erikson’s gardens.

If anything, they’ve grown too much. 

Like the fruit and berry crops across Langley, the unseasonably warm spring sent Erikson’s daylilies into bloom weeks earlier than usual.

Fortunately, she still has plenty of flowers in bloom for this weekend’s big event, the annual open house at Erikson’s Daylily Garden.

“No matter what the weather, there’s always something blooming,” Erikson said.

It’s the 25th anniversary for Erikson’s Daylily Garden, and visitors to the by-donation event will get to see quite a few different flowers thanks to the seasonal shift.

The Last Man Standing variety, which usually blooms in August, is already out now, Erikson said.

They may be early, but they’re not wilting.

“They’ve got big water nodules on their roots, so they hold on to the moisture,” said Erikson. “They’re smart plants.”

The daylily and hosta collections at the gardens are continually growing, with Erikson adding more and more varieties each year.

The current count is more than 3,200 kinds of daylilies and 520 varieties of hosta. Increased Asiatica, Oriental, and trumpet lilies are also in the garden.

The gardens are closed to visitors for most of the year, so the annual open house is the only chance most people will have to see the flowers, hedges, and winding paths.

There will also be a harpist, and a raffle with prizes from local merchants such as JD Farms, Krause Berry Farms, Chaberton Estate Winery, Well Seasoned, and VanDusen Botanical Garden.

The even will also feature exhibitors and a harpist playing for the crowd as they wander amid the thousands of daylilies.

For the 25th anniversary, Erikson and her husband will be setting up “then and now” photos at several locations, showing what the garden looked like when they moved in a quarter century ago, and what it looks like today. The differences are striking.

The open house runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. Money donated for admission goes to the B.C. Children’s Hospital.

The garden is located at 24642 51st Ave.

Langley Advance