The History of Lenington Gardens
George and Lucille Lenington opened the doors in 1952; nine years after George discovered his love for the Hemerocallis, meaning "beautiful for a day" flower. At the time, this served as the perfect distraction from the fact that their only son was away in the Navy during WWII. Robert, or Bob as his friends and family called him, returned from the war, and decided to go to college on the GI Bill. In 1950, he graduated with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Missouri. George started with a small 50 x 50 lot near the Kansas City Life Insurance Building, but his hobby soon grew out of control. So much that they needed more land; and thus, they purchased five acres on 7007 Manchester Ave. and published their first catalog in 1952. Alice Lenington has also been there since day one and along with Bob, officially took over in the early nineties. Together they have run the oldest commercial daylily garden in Kansas City. To this day, Alice is still running the gardens with the help of her son, Dale. Bob passed away in December 2013. As you walk through the rows of flowers, you'll notice there are thousands of different varieties. Many discovered and named by the Lenington's themselves. George considered this nursery the closest thing to heaven on Earth.
