Jim Murphy seems to be more active than most other people! He works a full time job as a horticulturist and buildings and grounds manager for a large country estate and a horse farm. 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 building a small barn, building a waterfall for the new garden pond, building a patio, and renovating the exterior of the house. In his spare time, he loves to play with Davey the Border Collie, watch Basketball, play with a sports car, play with the tractor and other farm equipment, chat with and send money to his son at JMU, and especially, love Margo!

Jim helped to start the Charlottesville Daylily Club, and served for 3 years as its first president. He also chaired the 2006 Region 3 Convention, as well as co-hosting a tour garden. He is an AHS Garden Judge and Senior Exhibition Judge, and is a member of several daylily clubs, a paper Robin, and 4 email robins. He also is long term member of a local horticulture group, and a new member of the Ruritans.

Jim loves breeding daylilies, and has been most successful with diploid narrow forms, and tall ones. He grows about 7,000 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.