Walnut Hill Gardens, Lynn & Barry Stoll, 999 310th Street, Atalissa

Walnut Hill Gardens will be open on Thursday through Monday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Lynn & Barry Stoll

Thirty-four years ago, Lynn and Barry Stoll bought ten acres of the most wooded, hilly land they could find in Eastern Iowa.  Over the years, they have gradually transformed the site into a series of gardens for both sun- and shade-loving perennials.  As their “little hobby” got completely out of hand and took on a life of its own, it grew into a small perennial nursery called Walnut Hill Gardens.  Walnut Hill Gardens is an official display garden for the American Hemerocallis Society, and has been a featured tour garden on the 1993 national American Hosta Society convention, the 2000 National Convention of the Society for Siberian Irises, and three Region One daylily tours.  Lynn and Barry are both garden judges for the American Hemerocallis Society; Lynn is also a garden judges’ training instructor for the AHS and has served as Regional Vice President and a member of the AHS Board Directors.

Garden visitors can enjoy the sunny perennial gardens which feature over 2600 different named daylily cultivars, including Lynn’s introductions and many seedlings.  Special features include nearly 200 different spiders and unusual forms, many miniatures, and hundreds of recent dormant tetraploid introductions from a variety of Northern hybridizers including Steve Moldovan, Curt Hanson, John Benz, Gary Schaben, Melanie Mason, Jamie Gossard, Oscie Whatley, and Bryant Millikan.  In the cool shade of the timber behind the house, large mature clumps of over 600 different hostas and other shade-loving perennials and wildflowers can be seen along the paths that wind past the gazebo and through the woods.  The gardens are accented by a collection of outdoor sculptures ranging from the whimsical to three large commissioned metal sculptures by the late Iowa City artist Eric Shaw.  A three-quarter acre pond provides a nesting site to wild waterfowl.

A selection of over 300 different daylilies and 200 different hostas and heucheras are available in pots for immediate purchase by garden visitors.  Many other varieties may be ordered for later delivery.

From Cedar Rapids, take I-380 south to I-80.  Drive east on I-80for 26 miles to Exit 265 (Atalissa).  Turn right and head south 1/4 mile on Atalissa Road (gravel) to 310th St. (gravel).  Turn right (west) on 310th St. and go exactly 1.0 mile until you reach Johnson Road (on the left).  Do not turn right at Kelly Road, where you will see a "Dead End" sign -- continue straight another 1/2 mile at this point.  At Johnson Rd., turn right into our private lane; you will see a large mailbox and a blue street number sign ("999").  You won't be able to see the house from the county road.  We can accommodate no more than 4 cars at the house; other visitors can park on the county road or in the field near the road. 

GPS Directions:  Most GPS systems programmed for "999 310th St." will leave you at the corner of a large cornfield about 1/2 mile away.  We have found that if we program our GPS for "963 310th St.", it will take us to the entrance to our private lane.