'Wow Factor' is a perfect name for this striking daylily. I was definitely 'wowed' when the huge 8.5" - 9" blooms first appeared in my garden (bud count: 16-20). You've also got to love the cream/white shark teeth that appear on both the petals and sepals of this flower.

Nan Wilkerson hybridized this showy, dormant tetraploid in 2010. It is categorized as a UFO crispate (an unusual form cultivar with petals that give a pinched or folded effect). Wow Factor is registered as being 34" tall, but it must be exceptionally happy in my flower bed because it grew 42" tall for me. Wow Factor bloomed last summer from July 13 through August 9.  The bloom time should increase as my plant matures. At peak bloom, you can't miss this tall, beautiful daylily in the landscape.

Wow Factor was a serendipitous 'pretty photo pick' for me from the Wisconsin Daylily Society Sale in Madison, a few years back. I am 100% happy with my impulsive choice.  It's a keeper!

'Willow Dean Smith' had been on my wish list for a long time before she arrived in my garden a few years ago. This Kentucky girl has a feminine vibe with lovely pink-edged ruffles. The ruffles fade to a lighter pink in the afternoon. Both versions are equally beautiful.

Hybridized by John Rice in 2007, Willow Dean Smith is a dormant tetraploid that grows from 36-38" tall. As delicate as this daylily appears, it is winter-hardy in Wisconsin. The pristine blooms measure between 6-6.5" in size and are very consistent, waxy, and sturdy in all types of weather. A late-season flower, Willow Dean Smith bloomed in my garden last summer from July 17 through August 23.   

Willow Dean Smith does not  have the most rapid increase, but that doesn't bother me in the least...I'm willing to wait. I love this daylily! It's a tall, dazzling stand-out in any garden.

American Daylily Society Award: Honorable Mention 2011

One evening I noticed a faintly unpleasant odor in our living room. I ignored it and went on about my business. By the next day, however, the odor had grown from faintly unpleasant to funky-yuck-horrible. And now the odor had an unmistakable identity...SKUNK!

Problem #1: Where was this skunk? After investigating, Ange and I deduced that the smell was coming from underneath the concrete steps outside of our front door. It seemed that a wayward skunk must have squeezed through the small crevice between the house and the hollow concrete steps and taken up residence.

Problem #2: What should we do? Knowing that skunks are primarily nocturnal, Ange and I had time to Google a solution before the skunk emerged. We learned that skunks hate water and don't like nesting anywhere around water. Ange cleverly rigged up a hose with a sprinkler-type nozzle on it. He positioned it on the top of the stairs so that it pointed away from the house and sprayed inside the steps. He turned the water on just enough to have a fine spray coming out.

Ange watched from the outside, while I watched from the inside window closest to the front steps. The important part was that we needed to actually see a skunk come out. Finally, about ten minutes later, out came a wet, dazed, big, fat skunk. It waddled away and disappeared into the woods. To make sure there were no other skunks under the steps, we kept the water spray going for five more minutes. Ange then turned the water off and immediately blocked the crevice by the steps with a big iron pipe so the skunk (or any other varmint) couldn't get back in.

It took a day or two, along with some Febreze, but the smell finally vanished. I'm happy to say that our front steps have been skunk-free ever since. When you live in the country, you always have to expect the unexpected!

Photo courtesy of NDomer73 from www.flickr.com
(There's no way I'd get anywhere near a skunk to take a photo!)

'Bloom Where You're Planted' is a perfect metaphor for all of us as we begin the new year.

This hardy daylily does exactly that! 'Bloom Where You're Planted' was hybridized in Minnesota by Karol Emmerich in 2013. I think this dormant tetraploid is just about perfect in every way possible. The showy 5.5" blooms are consistent and have good substance (bud count: 21-25). On cooler days the colors remain just a bit darker. The fragrant flowers are early morning openers, even when the temperatures are in the 50's and 60's, and the plant is a reliable re-bloomer, even in Wisconsin.

Last summer, Bloom Where You're Planted grew 32" tall in my garden and bloomed from July 13 through August 21.  This peach and red beauty was planted in our front roadside garden for the last couple of years. It was so stunning that last fall we decided to move it up by the back door of our house so we could appreciate it up-close.