About Jim
Jim Murphy retired as a Landscape Supervisor at The University of Virginia. He also loves to breed daylilies and work on the 3 acre home garden. In addition, he is working on some other projects around the property such as making fences, growing an organic vegetable garden, and keeping up with a large property. In his spare time, he loves to play with Millie the Border Collie, watch Basketball, play with the tractor and other farm equipment, chat with his son Matt, and especially, love Margo!
Jim helped to start the Charlottesville Daylily Club, and served for 9 years as president. He is co-chair of the 2026 Region 3 Convention, as well as co-hosting an open garden. He is an AHS Garden Judge and Instructor, and Senior Exhibition Judge, and is a member of several daylily clubs, and on email robins. He also is an active member of Cove Garden Ruritan, where he coordinates contracts with UVA Athletics to provide parking management and staffing for football and basketball games. That money is then donated to charities in the local area.
Jim loves breeding daylilies, and has been most successful with diploid narrow forms, polys, patterns and tall ones. He grows about 3,000 seedlings at a time, and selects for introduction about 12 per year. He started hybridizing daylilies in 1988, and his first introduction was in 2001.
Goals for hybridizing are many, but the most important are: Breeding for the total plant: for northern hardiness, high bud count, multiple branching, complete sunfastness, and vigorous growth in average garden conditions.
