Here's a daylily that will make anyone say "Ooooooh and Aaaaaahhh." Boundless Beauty's blooms are at least seven and one-half inches of ruffled confection. This plant has a bud count of 31-35 and in peak bloom it is quite an eyeful! Hybridized by Patrick Stamile in 2005, this semi-evergreen pastel white blend is a multiple award winner that grows about 28" tall. Although registered as a mid-season bloomer, in 2017 Boundless Beauty bloomed from July 15 through September 4 in my yard.

Boundless Beauty has a couple of negatives, but let me quickly follow that up by saying I can work with both of them, because I LOVE this daylily!

First, it didn't tolerate 100% sun the best. By afternoon on very hot, humid days the flowers were a bit wilted. So I solved that problem by giving this stunner one of my rare part-shade spots. With morning sun and afternoon shade, it was so much happier. Boundless Beauty is a hardy grower in Wisconsin and didn't miss a beat when I transplanted it.

Second, the flowers have so many super large ruffles (or 'chicken-fat' as it's sometimes referred to) that occasionally a bloom can 'hang up.' In daylily talk that means as the flower tries to open in the morning, it gets tangled up in itself and may only partially bloom; or it can tear as it tries to open. But even if there happens to be one bloom that hangs up, you can rest assured there will be several others that look absolutely perfect. Despite these two hiccups, Boundless Beauty is still a keeper - that's how spectacular it is!

Here are some arborvitaes in our yard that we refer to as 'Poodle Trees.' Note that all the lower branches are missing. The deer stand up on their hind legs and eat the branches as as high as they can reach. Over the years, we have come to embrace this look. Deer topiaries? There are deer-resistant arborvitaes available, but we didn't know that at the time these were planted.

I tried to get a photo of the deer eating the arborvitaes, with no luck. So instead, I added a photo Ange took many years ago of an apple tree that used to be in our yard. It's of very poor quality because he took it through a window from inside the house. During apple season, the deer would visit the tree every day. Some days there could be up to three or four deer at one time dancing around the tree -- so comical to watch!

With limited space in my gardens, I only keep plants that I am totally in love with. I've had numerous  daylilies over the years that arrived and eventually departed my Zone 4a Wisconsin garden.  Some of them were even multiple award winners. They just didn't work out for me for one reason or another. Maybe they would do well in someone else's yard, another growing zone, different soil, a shadier location -- who knows? So these opinions are all mine and relate only to my situation. I do keep all of my daylilies for at least three years to give them a chance to show me their stuff before they go anywhere.

As disappointing as it is buying plants and realizing they won't work in my circumstances, it's just a part of gardening that I accept. It makes me all the more appreciative when I hit upon a daylily that is absolute perfection. The fun is always in the journey.

Here are a few of the plants I parted company with and the reasons why:

• A little Fire, Scarecrow - An award winner that just didn't suit me and sometimes needed staking.
• Always Afternoon - The blooms on this Stout Medal winner melted in the sun. I didn't have enough shade to keep the plant happy.
• Baby Blues - I know this will sound completely crazy, but Baby Blues bloomed too much! It rivaled 'Stella de Oro' in bloom power. This departure was all about me, not the plant -- my back was very unhappy deadheading 30+ blooms a day on such a diminutive plant. For those of you who love miniatures, it's a wonderful, robust, super bloomer!
• Caribbean Whipped Cream - Some blooms were breathtaking; some were not. This doesn't bother some gardeners. I'm not in that group.
• Court Magician - A pretty color combination, but the petals regularly 'canoed' (curled over).
• Etched Eyes - Beautiful and unusual, but it never thrived for me. I found it a new home and it seems to be doing better in a friend's garden.
• Highland Lord - A double that doubled about half the time. It was either gorgeous or just plain red. Which is no doubt perfectly fine for someone else who is not picky-me.
• Lady Neva - Droopy scapes. The large 9" blooms were too heavy for the scapes. I disliked deadheading blooms that were usually on or near the ground, especially after it rained.
• Moussaka - Another plant with melting blooms. By 1:00 pm it was done for; not a good fit for my sunny yard.
  
• Night Beacon - A striking bloom with a great color combination, but some scapes grew really tall and others never made it past the foliage. The clump always looked odd with scapes and flowers poking out all over the place. I hung onto this plant for about six years hoping the growth habits would improve. They didn't.
• Nowhere to Hide - This is one of the most unique daylilies I have ever grown, but it had inconsistent blooms and ratty foliage. I wish it would have been happier, but I don't think it liked Wisconsin.
• Tholian Web - These blooms melted in the sun. I liked the plant so well that I moved it from full sun to a coveted eastern location with afternoon sun and high hopes. It melted anyway. Frown face.

Pictured above: 'Nowhere to Hide"
Pictured below L-R: 'A Little Fire, Scarecrow;' 'Always Afternoon'

Go ahead and laugh but notice, if you will, that there are no deer tracks in my precious flower bed. All my daylilies are protected not only by the snow cover, but by this crazy maze of wire. This seems to do the trick until spring when I can resume regularly spraying deer deterrent. Come spring, all the tomato cages will be collected and stored in the rafters of our garage. Aesthetically not so great, but check in with me next summer; beautiful is guaranteed!