Pyewacket Day Lily

One of my favorite movies to watch during the holidays is Bell, Book, and Candle (1958) starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, with wonderful supporting parts by Jack Lemon, Elsa Lanchester, and Hermione Gingold.

Based on the stage play by John Van Druten, this is an unusual Christmas movie, but one I have come to love.

Novak is a modern-day witch, in love with a publisher, played by Stewart. She casts a spell and they fall in love. Except, witches can’t fall in love, so that messes things up, and then he finds out about the spell.

I adore both Novak and Stewart, and it’s fun to watch him in a movie where he is a bit more worldly-wise than the roles he often played when he was younger (although I love those too!).

At any rate, Novak’s character, Gillian Holroyd, uses a familiar, a cat named Pyewacket, to do her bidding and make her magic happen. So, I was excited to find a day lily named “Pyewacket.”

Note: A great many of the day lilies in my classic movie garden came from the Amador Flower Farm.