About Us
Who We Are
Cynthia and John Schoustra have owned and operated Greenwood Daylily Gardens since 1989. John has always been immersed in the world of plants, selling Burpee seeds door-to-door as a 9 year old, and designing/building landscapes as a teenager before graduating with a Landscape Architecture degree from U.C. Berkeley. He was honored as 2018 SCHS Horticulturalist of the Year for his contributions to the field.
Cynthia loves floral illustration and design. Watch for her work here in the future. After retiring from a teaching career she’s taken over the office manager position and enjoys helping select, describe, and name our new plant introductions.
Greenwood was founded to address a problem that continues to this day. John would order new and interesting perennials from catalogs and almost always be disappointed.
Pink daylilies bloomed beige, ruffled blooms didn’t open, irises wouldn’t bloom, and heucheras just died. Our long growing season, cool summer nights, and lack of freezing winters don’t suit plants developed for the Midwest, East Coast, or Europe.
We tested thousands of existing varieties for California performance, then started breeding our own new varieties. We’ve worked on and learned from a fascinating range of planting projects, from all over California to Las Vegas casinos, North Carolina highways, and a Saudi palace. These experiences help us to help you succeed with our plants.
