This sounds like a crazy topic when we're talking about daylilies. Over the years, 99% of my daylilies thrived and grew wonderfully with no pampering whatsoever. In fact, I have given away some beautiful daylilies for the simple fact that they grew *too* fast and it was annoying having to divide them year after year. But let's talk about that one percent of daylilies that no matter what you do will not grow. And I'm talking about daylilies that should successfully grow in your zone.

I visited an online forum and was relieved to see I was not the only person that had experienced  this problem. Some folks said they had bought the same plant three times because they knew people in their zone that grew it successfully. Others moved their plant around numerous times until it was happy. Some folks bought the same plant twice, but the second time they bought it from a different source and the second time the plant did wonderfully.

An issue of concern could be whether the plant is a division or has been tissue cultured. It is always better to purchase from a reliable source that you know are divisions. Tissue culture plants may grow well, but more than likely may not. Blog on tissue culture

Bottom line, with more than 95,000 daylily varieties available I wouldn’t put up with these problems for too long because it is easy enough to find another daylily that is more than willing to grow happily in your garden.

​Pictured: Mississippi Red Dragon, a dormant daylily that was very temperamental for me. I knew other gardeners that grew this plant in my zone with no problem whatsoever. My plant was definitely a division. Go figure?

Look at the thoughtful Christmas gift I received from my grands, Jade and Blake! I was so surprised. What makes it so special is that Jade took all the photos to make this beautiful blanket. The blanket is very large, soft and cuddly... I love it! Who knew daylilies could keep you warm?

FYI –if you are interested, the blanket was ordered from Shutterfly.

'Cradle of Bethlehem' had been growing in my front garden for a few years. It was such a beautiful show-off that last fall we moved it up by the house so we could appreciate it more. With its vibrant yellow-green eye and dark purple edges, this daylily glowed in the sun. In a clump it is quite striking.

Hybridized by Elizabeth Shooter and introduced in 2007, this dainty diploid dormant is hardy in Wisconsin. Cradle of Bethlehem grows 26 inches tall with flowers that are 5.5 inches in size. It is a midseason-late bloomer. Last summer, in my garden, it bloomed from July 20 until mid-August when the deer ate all of the remaining flowers and scapes during a weeklong rain.

AHS Awards: Honorable Mention 2010 

Dusty Miller is one of my favorite annual companion plants. I love the fuzzy silvery-gray foliage that complements any color of annual or perennial it is planted next to. Occasionally it has reappeared in the same location it grew the year before, but only if our winter was very mild. Dusty Miller grows best where afternoon shade is available during the hottest months of summer. I plant mine in an eastern exposure and it does well. Dusty Miller care is minimal when the plant is established. It is adaptable to many soil types, from acidic clay to sandy loam. Dusty may need a midsummer trim if the plant becomes leggy. Best of all, the lacy leaves are resistant to deer, and rabbits dislike the fuzzy leaves as well, which is an added bonus!

In 2021 I learned patience and acceptance beyond any level I ever thought I would deal with. That being said, life is still about the little things.

• I had my Ancestry DNA done. I was glad I had visited the UK since a good bit of my DNA is from there.
• On the topic of the UK, I watched all the available seasons of ‘The Great British Baking Show.’ I learned a lot and really appreciated the feel-good vibe of the show.
• Does anyone else out there own an unruly Alexa? Ours talks whenever she wants to, doesn’t follow directions, says bizarre things, and shuts off randomly. I shudder at the thought of allowing her to control anything randomly important.
• Since I haven’t been able to garden, I mentioned that I really missed having my hands in the dirt. My seven-year-old grandson overheard and shortly thereafter brought me a bucket filled with dirt and said, ‘Here Grandma Carole, now you can put your hands in the dirt.’ How sweet is that?
• My 11-year-old granddaughter is taller than me. I suspect it won’t be long before she passes up her Mom as well.
• I often use voice-to-text on my laptop. If you use this feature on your computer, you know that it doesn’t always type exactly what you say. One day I was using voice-to-text and I had to stop and sneeze… my computer typed ‘bitch.’ Yikes!
• 2021 brought a multitude of kind and caring individuals who worked hard in my garden, made food for us, brought treats and gifts, helped with paperwork, and kept me in good spirits with frequent texts, emails, phone calls, and visits. I am so very grateful and humbled.

Pictured: A restaurant in Kensington, London

Since we no longer have a cat at home, I enjoy the ones that live in the barn across the road from us. Every year there’s a new litter of kitties to meet and greet. Pictured is my most recent favorite, a cute little calico girl who often comes over to visit.

Gardening is much more than just having your hard work reward you with beautiful flowers. It's also an intimate experience with nature that calms your mind and being. 

Here is what I enjoy about gardening and being outside:

• Breathing in the clean, fresh country air
• Having a cool breeze refresh you
• Feeling the warm sun on your back
• Pausing to hear birds singing
• Watching big, gentle bumblebees buzz around, tending to their business
• Smelling the dirt and getting your hands in it
• Looking  at the clouds, just like when you were little
• ​Getting dirty and grimy...really, really dirty and grimy
• Taking a break and appreciating a cool beverage on a hot day
• And finally, having your mind be nowhere else except in the here and now

Daylily pictured: 'My Friend Charlie'

Each season 'Chance Encounter' is one of my reliable and prolific bloomers. This lovely raspberry-rose blend really holds its own and earns every bit of its garden space. Chance Encounter was given to me by my friend Carol almost 20 years ago. Over the years I have shared divisions of this beautiful daylily with my friends as well. 

Hybridized by Patrick Stamile in 1994, this dormant tetraploid grows wonderfully in Wisconsin. Although registered at 25 inches tall, my plant grows between 27 and 28 inches. Flowers are 6 inches in size. Last summer, even though the season was shortened due to weather, my daylily bloomed from July 5 to August 6.

This popular daylily has 121 children on record in the daylily database!

American Daylily Society Awards:
Award of Merit: 2001
Honorable Mention: 1998
L. Earnest Plouf Award: 2000

Believe it or not, as of today there are 95,107 daylilies registered in the American Daylily Society database. This is the official registry site of daylilies. I use this database if I need information about a specific plant or hybridizer, all the details are right at my fingertips. Advanced search capabilities are available to save you time. Before I put plants on my wish list, I always verify the details here to make sure they are what I want. Plus I love seeing all the creative daylily names the hybridizers come up with! Check out the American Daylily Society database:  https://daylilies.org/DaylilyDB/

The second database I use is The National Gardening Association. There are 174,193 images of daylilies in this database.

What I like about this database:

• The wide variety of photos posted on each daylily's profile, taken by people in many different locations. Before I buy any daylilies, I make sure I check out the photos that home gardeners take instead of relying on one photo from a sales site. Believe me, a difference can exist! You can also get a sense of the plant's consistency.
• Comments from gardeners who already grow the daylily
• Links to view the registered parent daylily cultivars
• Links to view all the registered child daylily cultivars
• The ability to also search for a variety of perennials including daylilies, irises, roses, sempervivum, lilies, hostas, dahlias, peonies, and daffodils.

Check out the National Gardening Association database: https://garden.org/plants/group/daylilies/

The daylily season in western Wisconsin was uncharacteristic this year. After weeks of very cold spring weather, bloom started about two weeks late in early July. At that point temperatures instantly turned tropical with 90+ degrees just about every day thereafter. Most of my daylilies bloomed in a heated rush lasting, on average, a little more than three weeks each - four weeks tops.

In a typical Wisconsin season most of my daylilies bloom for at least four to six weeks, many going even longer through August and early September as they are all sizable clumps. My local gardening friends had the same experience as me, which was so disappointing! We waited all year for bloom season and it was over before we knew it. I hope this is an isolated year and bloom returns to a more usual pattern in the future. 

My season came to a fitting end on August 13, after four days and nights of constant rain. Being unable to spray deer deterrent in between the pockets of rain, I woke up one morning to find that all the remaining daylily blooms and scapes had been eaten by deer.

How was your 2021 daylily experience?

Daylily pictured: 'Spanish Glow' with two companions

One of my favorite parts of gardening has always been working with landscape rock. I find such satisfaction putting together the puzzle of a plant border. I have these borders around most of my flower beds.

Every rock in our yard has a story, as we have recycled them all from old, razed barns. When Ange and I would drive around in the country and see a barn being torn down, we immediately found out who the owner was so we could get permission to remove rock. In many cases we got there just in the nick of time to remove rocks that were being bulldozed and buried. I can clearly remember the two of us running around the bulldozers frantically grabbing what we considered  just the perfect rocks. It felt so gratifying to rescue these beautiful limestone rocks to live a second life.

We always keep an extra stash of these rocks in a pile in our field. They come in handy when an occasional rock cracks and need replacing over the course of time.  

Dani (L) and Middie (R) were two unlucky cats that ultimately lived very lucky lives. Both cats were rescues from two different shelters in Illinois. They shared a similar history being female, three-legged, special needs kitties. From what their respective shelters knew, Dani lost her hind leg after being hit by a car, and Middie lost her hind leg after being attacked by a coyote. Upon adoption, the two of them lived 'the princess life,' spending their days on soft pillows and warm blankets. They got lots of good food and love from Jade and Blake, our grands, along with their Mom and Dad. Dani lived 12 years, and Middie lived 17 years.

After Middie's passing earlier this year, Jade and Blake were finally ready to bury both cats' ashes so they could be together. They decided our house would be a perfect place, so we had a kitty burial for them. We put them in a safe, protected place so the urns with their ashes would never be disturbed. The kiddos painted a special memorial rock and placed it on top of the dirt as a remembrance of their two pets. Now when they come to visit they can always take a moment to remember Dani and Middie.

'Profound Mystery' is one of my transforming daylilies. It starts the day as rosy cranberry with a cranberry-lavender watermark. In the afternoon the petal color fades and the sepals stay the same color as in the morning, becoming a reverse bitone. You can see from the photographs how it changes faces throughout the day. Blooms on this daylily are consistent and look great in all types of weather.

Hybridized in Minnesota by Karol Emmerich and introduced in 2009, this dormant tetraploid grows 28 inches tall with 5 inch blooms. I have my plant growing at the front of a border because the unique blooms are so showy and attractive. Profound Mystery is a no-fuss, hardy grower in Wisconsin. Last summer, in my garden, it bloomed from July 7 through August 13.

As much as I love gardening, there are just a few things I wish didn't happen when I'm outside:

1. Getting a gnat in your eye. Activities come to a grinding halt. 
2. Getting a buzzing insect stuck inside your ear. Activities come to a grinding halt.
3. Finding a deer tick on your arm and wondering where else they might be.
4. Starting a project when it's bright and sunny outside, then moments later clouds roll in with an unexpected burst of heavy rain that completely soaks you.
   
5. Planting a large daylily and discovering that it's six inches off where you really wanted it and you have to re-do it. This is especially annoying if you've already watered the plant.
6. Wearing a bicycle helmet while weeding where the neighbor's walnut tree overhangs one of your gardens. Falling walnuts really do hurt.
7. Getting a hole in your garden glove and not immediately taking the time to replace the glove. Having instant regret after getting a big thorn in the part of your finger that sticks out of the hole.
8. Having a snake unexpectedly slither over your foot.
9. Finding a dead, rotting 'something' in between your daylilies while weeding.
10. Being dog-tired at the end of a gardening day and realizing you still have to clean up your mess and all your tools.

What's your gardening downer?

'She's Got Legs' is a great late-season northern daylily. This year she was my very last bloomer, starting the first week in August. I am always happy to see her cheerful face, but sad at the same time because it means daylily season is almost over.

This gorgeous peach blend was hybridized by Reckamp-Klehm and introduced in 2003. She grows between 37 to 40 inches tall and the flowers are 6.5 inches in size. The blooms have thick substance and look great, rain or shine. Every flower is close to perfection. She's Got Legs is a dormant tetraploid that grows reliably and consistently in Wisconsin.

I have to add that the one other thing I love about this daylily is its name. Who doesn't love the blues, rock and boogie of ZZ Top?

Here are a few photos of the fluorescent marigolds growing by our home. They literally glow in the sun. People don't believe us when we tell them that every single marigold they see has re-seeded itself from last year's flowers. I know it doesn't appear so, but we really did try to thin them out. They have been re-seeding like this for years. I originally bought three or four 6-packs of 'Bonanza Gold' 8-10" marigolds maybe five years ago. They are super hardy and pop up all over, so we relocated a few of the seedlings where we wanted them. We even rescued some seedlings from cracks in the sidewalk. These are some crazy, happy plants!

Tip: We planted marigolds in front of our daylilies so when Fall arrives all the daylily foliage is covered up completely.

Photos by Ange and Jade Anderson

We have always seen Sandhill Cranes in our area marshlands as we live close to the Mississippi and Black Rivers. However, 2021 marks the first year that we have experienced a pair of cranes up close and personal all summer long. The cranes have been parading up and down our road and doing flybys just about every day. They have an impressive wingspan of over five feet. Soon they will be migrating south for the winter and I will miss hearing their daily calls. Sandhill Crane calls are seriously LOUD, in fact they woke me on up on more than one occasion as they flew past my bedroom window at daybreak.

Sandhill Cranes nest in small, isolated wetlands -- marshes, bogs, or swales, though occasionally on dry land—within about 300 yards of the edges of larger ones. They prefer areas with vegetation growing in standing water, but some nest on dry ground. Their food includes berries, small mammals, insects, snails, reptiles, and amphibians. Sandhill Cranes mate for life, choosing their partners based on dancing displays. Displaying birds stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air. Predators include foxes, raccoons, coyotes, wolves, bobcats, crows, ravens, eagles, and owls.

Listen to this YouTube clip to hear what they sound like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbn8yIq7_LM

Crane information from Cornell University:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sandhill_Crane/overview#