In spring 2019 this dainty, 12" tall fringed tulip arrived unannounced in my garden. The odd thing is that I have absolutely no idea where it came from. However it got here, I love it and it's staying! Note the neat white eyes in the first photo. This is also my latest tulip that bloomed through May 12.

Also known as Crispa Tulips, fringed tulips have lacy petals and crystalline-like fringes. Some have fringes in the same color as the petals, but others have contrasting fringes. They come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Like regular tulips, it’s easy to grow fringed tulips. Plant the bulbs in autumn, in well-draining soil that gets full sunlight and add a bit of bulb booster. That's it!

You can read more about fringed tulips at Gardening Know How:
www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/tulips/fringed-tulip-information-and-care.htm

Lucky me! I had some help getting my gardens in order this spring. Our nephew, Neil, had some time available during Wisconsin's shelter-at-home days. He took care of our mulching, weeding, and annual planting, for which we were very grateful. He's very detail-oriented and did a most awesome job. Plus it's always nice to see him!  :)

(When we regularly resume spraying deer deterrent, the protective tomato cages will be removed.)

Here are some of my experiences that make up the ever-present irony of daily life. Do any sound familiar?

1. Good news....free samples of pizza at the grocery store
   Bad news...it's 'breakfast' pizza - no wonder they give it away
   
2. Good news...the grocery store offers an insanely cheap price on an item
   Bad news...you have to buy 10 of them to get the cheap price
3. Good news...you are given a *free* car wash token
   Bad news...while going through the car wash,  your rear windshield wiper gets ripped off, never to be seen again
   
4. Good news...while shopping you finally locate a public restroom
   Bad news...there's not a shred of toilet paper to be found anywhere
   
5. Good news...it's Saturday
   Bad news...your alarm clock woke you up at 5 am because you, while on auto-pilot, activated it the night before
6. Good news...you are having friends over for dinner
   Bad news...you forgot to press start on the dishwasher full of dirty dishes
7. Good news...a dog-walker dutifully carries their plastic bag
   Bad news...when his dog did the deed, the dog-walker did a 360 to see if anyone noticed; he assumed no one did and continued on his way. The plastic bag must have been a fashion accessory.
   
8. Good news...you spent $150 at the grocery and replenished every item you wanted
   Bad news...except for the one item you desperately needed to make your evening meal
9. Good news...you bought ten beautiful perennials you couldn't resist
   Bad news...not one empty space was available in your garden
10. Good news...gasoline prices are at an all-time low
    Bad news...you're 'sheltering at home' and your travels are limited

In 2018 I purchased a daylily at a plant sale named 'Delta Force' which is purple with a dark purple eye. I planted the two fans in my front garden and waited.  Fast forward to 2019 -- this is what bloomed last summer, and it was most definitely not Delta Force!  After doing a little detective work comparing descriptions from the 2018 sale spreadsheet, what I really have is 'Heavenly Blue Butterfly.' My photo matched the hybridzer's photo perfectly along with the bloom size and bloom time.  I LOVE this daylily and I don't grow anything remotely like it. I actually wondered why I didn't purchase this daylily in the first place?

Hybridized by Jamie Gossard (2013), Heavenly Blue Butterfly is a dormant diploid that grows 32" tall and has large 9" blooms. It's an early midseason  unusual form - cascade. From the first year blooms, it appears vibrant in color and sunfast. It will look gorgeous in the future as a huge clump. Call me happy!

Daylily ruffles come in all different sizes, shapes and colors. Some ruffles are very subtle and others are over the top. But there's one thing for sure, there is specific type of ruffle to please every daylily lover.

Definitions from the American Daylily Society:

• Ruffled - Term used to describe the tissue on a segment's edges (petals/sepals), resulting in a wavy appearance. Ruffling may be very loose and deep or tightly compressed.
• Angel Wings - A type of ruffling on the edge of petals that causes a portion of the petal to fold forward showing the back of the petal.
• Owl Ears - Observed when a ruffled daylily is so strongly recurved that when viewed from the front the edges of the daylily protrude like ears on a Great Horned Owl.
• Owl Wings - A type of ruffling on the edge of petals that causes a portion of the petal edges to fold backward.
• Pie Crust - A descriptor used for ruffles, usually indicating that the ruffles are very evenly spaced and evenly alternate between raised and lowered petal edges, like a decorative pie crust.

Daylilies pictured: 'Shores of Time,' 'Bluegrass Music,' 'Butter Pecan,' 'Border Blessed,' 'Profound Mystery,' 'Lies and Lipstick,' 'Ring the Bells of Heaven,' 'Final Destination,' 'Raspberry Goosebumps,' 'J.T. Davis,' 'Sis Boom Bah,' 'Boundless Beauty,' and 'Wild Child'

It's hard to take a bad photo of 'Forestlake Ragamuffin' because this daylily always looks perfect. Not only is it a strikingly beautiful plant, but it's really famous! This guy is the granddaddy of teeth edges in daylilies. To date, Forestlake Ragamuffin has 241 children on the records! It's been heavily hybridized to pass on its genetics. Many of its offspring are noteworthy daylilies with teeth edges, as well. They include 'Bass Gibson,' 'Buzz Saw,' 'Heavenly Pink Fang,' 'Heman,' 'I Wanna Piranha,' 'Malcolm David Brooker, Senior,' 'Puffer Fish,' 'Swimming with Sharks,' and 'Venus Flytrap' just to name a few.

Hybridized in 1993 by Fran Harding, Forestlake Ragamuffin is a dormant tetraploid that grows wonderfully in Wisconsin. It always looks great in any type of weather and holds up well on those humid 90+ degree days . Ragamuffin grows 28 inches tall in my garden with 5.5 to 6-inch blooms. Last summer it bloomed from July 13 through August 17.  In my opinion, you can't go wrong with this daylily in a northern climate.

American Daylily Society Awards:
Award of Merit: 2009
Honorable Mention: 2005

Each daylily in my garden is special to me, but I had a 'what if' moment. What if I could only have ten of them? Which ones would I choose?

Note: This is my *today* opinion, which can invariably change depending on what's blooming :)

• Coleman Hawkins - OMG. And that about covers it! I'm always drawn to big oranges.
• Coral Majority - Profuse, late bloom; one of the most unique, tropical colors ever!
• Heavenly Angel Ice - Large near white ethereal blooms that dance in the breeze. They twist and curl and bloom like crazy.
• Jerry Hyatt - This large, striking purple has a different look every day, depending on the weather, and it occasionally exhibits animal print spots!
• Omomuki - Love the early, waxy thick flowers. It's a gorgeous fluorescent yellow that a photo can't adequately capture the beauty of...and believe me, I've repeatedly tried!
• Panic in Detroit - Who knew I'd love a red this much? I can't get enough of this one.
• Ruby Spider - Another red! I'm a complete convert! This daylily is amazing; 9" blooms!
• Schnickel Fritz - Pristine. Prolific. Always. My absolute favorite double.
• Suzy Cream Cheese - Suzy is the latest bloomer in my garden, often into October, which makes this a very valuable plant. She looks so spidery and delicate, but holds up in a rainstorm wonderfully.
• Waxed Legs - This lovely evergreen is huge and waxy. Love the color! Whenever I'm in the garden I can't resist taking pictures of it. Consequently I have about a zillion photos of this one.

All of these beautiful daylilies are sunfast and consistent with little or no special care. They are pictured in the order listed.

Veining is a unique color pattern some daylilies exhibit. The natural veins in the flower show up as very darkened and they contrast with the lighter background or vice-versa. "Nowhere to Hide" (shown above) is a perfect example of this characteristic.

The American Daylily Society definition: "A color pattern on the floral segments in which the base color and the veins within these tepals are of a contrasting color."

Daylilies show varied amounts of veining contrast with this color pattern. If you look carefully, some veining is quite subtle. I added some examples to clarify the many ways in which veining can appear.

Pictured below: Profound Mystery, Bordeaux Beauty, Mr. Lucky, Solar Eclipse, Pork Barrel Spending, and Waxed Legs.

I never tire of taking photos of 'Firestorm.' Whenever I'm in the garden it continually beckons me over with its large 8.25-inch vibrant, brick red blooms. I originally grew it from a division that my friend Sally gave me way back when. In my yard it grows approximately 31-32" tall and last summer it bloomed from July 16 through August 18. Hybridized in 1979 (Krekler), Firestorm is registered as an Early Morning Opener (EMO) and an Unusual Form Crispate. Firestorm is also known as a 'Bud Builder.'

Bud- Builder: Scientifically called “indeterminate inflorescence,” it means “continuing to grow at the apex” or end of the scape. A pattern of growth on scapes in which buds continue to form as lower buds open. A scape showing this characteristic will get taller through the bloom season. It is a somewhat unreliable trait, dependent upon weather and growing conditions. Later bloom tends to be sparse. -- Definition from the American Daylily Society website

Over the course of (at least) the last twenty years, this award-winning dormant diploid has never once disappointed me. Firestorm always looks fantastic with no special fuss or care.

AHS Awards: Honorable Mention: 2009

Now that we've had that first 60 degree day, spring is on the horizon. Before spring officially arrives there are some outside jobs you can take care of in the meantime.

• It's never too soon to get a head start on weeding. The early spring ground is usually moist and weeds come out easily.
• You'll be tempted, but leave the dried up foliage by your perennials alone, at least for the time being. I like to wait until early May to remove foliage, just to be safe.
  
• Get your garden shed or cabinet in order and replenish any supplies you are missing.
  
• Trim ornamental grasses back before new growth appears, leaving about 4-6" of height.
  
• Check on each plant so you can stomp down any mole holes, add dirt where rabbits made burrows, and fill in areas where the deer have left sunken-in footprints.

I've been on the lookout for the return of the robins (no luck yet), but I will hopefully see them any day now.

Pictured: Pansies that will often bloom in the snow

Stratford-upon-Avon is a quaint medieval town in England's West Midlands. Stratford-upon-Avon was founded by the Saxons when they invaded what is now Warwickshire in the 7th century AD. In the late 12th century it was transformed into a town.

While in Stratford-upon-Avon, I visited the 16th century home of Shakespeare managed by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.  Although the garden re-creations were not done to current standards of historical accuracy, I still enjoyed them. I found the huge holly bushes particularly beautiful. They clearly thrived in the English climate.

I also enjoyed spending a leisurely afternoon exploring the unique shops in town, seeing all the Tudor houses, and watching the boats lazily float down the River Avon.

Here is one of my big guys, "Legislating Life." A 2012 dormant tetraploid, this daylily was hybridized in Wisconsin by Nate Bremer. It thrives in our northern climate of extremes. The 7.5 to 8" blooms are consistent and always look good (bud count: 21-25). I love the different shades of lavender and the subtle watermark on the petals. Legislating Life grows 38" tall in my garden and bloomed from July 14 through August 14 in 2019. This beautiful daylily is a child of Curt Hanson's well-known, award-winning "Swallow Tail Kite."

The iconic Stonehenge either speaks to you or it doesn't. I thought it was awesome -- very eerie and mystical. I enjoyed walking around the perimeter and seeing Stonehenge from all the different vantage points. It has a history dating back 4,500 years! You can't help but wonder what stories these stones could tell over all those years.

Read more about Stonehenge: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/

What better time than February to reminisce about last summer. Looking outside today, these photos hardly seem real! So far this winter we haven't had all that much snow in western Wisconsin (not complaining--just stating a fact). In 2019 our bloom season was a bit shorter than usual because of the excessively cold spring weather and the sudden 85 degree temperatures that followed. Nonetheless, the daylilies did quite well with the abundant rain we had.

Last year's photos will keep me going for the next couple of months as I dream about the upcoming 2020 daylily bloom season.

Daylilies pictured: 'New Series,' 'Firestorm,' 'Heavenly Curls,' ' Patty in Pinstripes,' 'Lotus Position,' 'Shores of Time,' 'Sharky's Revenge,' 'Frances Joiner'

'Heavenly Flight of Angels' is a bit of an oddity in my garden. A good oddity of course! It's always fun to discover the unusual blooms this spider puts out. Every seven-inch flower looks just a little different. Hybridized in 2003 by Jamie Gossard (Ohio), this semi-evergreen diploid grows 39" tall and has a crisp vibrant yellow and lime-green color with white edging. It really stands out in the landscape.

This beautiful daylily is a 2007 award winner (American Daylily Society Honorable Mention). Bloom time in my Wisconsin garden in 2019 was from July 11 thorough August 16. If you want unique, this daylily is a perfect choice.

I'm often glad I live out in the country, because I'd be the first to admit that I can get very distracted while outside gardening. I sometimes find myself just sitting still with my eyes closed so I can hear the birds, feel the wind in my hair, or enjoy the warm sun on my face. If I had close neighbors they'd probably wonder what I was doing.

Weeding, after all, is not the most rewarding garden activity. I can easily be distracted from weeding -- fill that bunny hole, stomp down that mole tunnel, remove the Japanese beetles from my plants, or run to get my camera or phone to capture that perfect photo I can visualize. Some days (or should I say most days) weeding can take way longer than expected.

But I don't think that's a bad thing; it's all part of what we enjoy about the garden experience. And on a positive note...it's great for your well-being.

Pictured: Daylily 'Grey Witch'