Creating a garden is much like decorating a home -- we all have our own unique style and preferences. Everyone has a different blueprint that they work with. Some have city gardens, some country gardens. Some have challenging hills and slopes, others are flat. One thing for sure, there are never two gardens that are alike.

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to visit my friends' gardens. Last week I was able to spend some time in Sally's garden. As always, it was perfectly manicured. Sally has such an eye for detail that is evident everywhere you look. There are little pieces of whimsy and humor popping out where you least expect it. The plants are all lush and beautiful. In addition to being a master gardener, Sally is also a daylily aficionado. And just for the record, the last photo shows the type of "wabbit" that she likes the best -- a cement one.

Here are some photos so you can enjoy it too!

"Deadheading" in my world is when I snap off old daylily blooms to make room for new daylily blooms -- which is something entirely different than being a Grateful Dead follower :) If you have lots of daylilies, the practice of deadheading brings on the phenomenon of "Purple Hand Syndrome." During the month of July I have a constant purple-ish cast on my hands and fingernails. I wash, I scrub..there it is. But I still keep truckin' (sorry...just had to throw that out there).

Why do I deadhead the daylilies?

1. Each flower lives for only a day, so removing the old ones keeps them looking tidier
2. The new blooms aren't obstructed by the slimy, sticky, old blooms
3. The plant can put more effort into producing flowers instead of seed pods
4. And finally, deadheading stops any errant seeds or pods from falling and implanting in the middle of an established clump. You can deduce that a stray seed dropped if you find a plain yellow daylily blooming in the midst of a clump of pink daylilies.

I could wear latex gloves, but I cause far less damage to my plants by using just my hands. In July I can usually get about 4 buckets-full of dead blooms on an average day. And yes, even the bucket turns purple!

The Rx for Purple Hand Syndrome? Lemon juice. Thanks for the tip Carol and Roger!

The Japanese Beetles are back. They chew up my daylily blooms and skeletonize the leaves of my other plants. Japanese beetles only live for about 30-50 days, but they can sure wreak havoc in that short time. Native to Japan, they were first documented in the U.S. in 1919, and have since spread across the country.

Unfortunately, the most effective way of getting rid of Japanese beetles is to hand pick them. It's time consuming, but it works, especially if you are diligent.

Last week Janaya and Keauna visited. They devised a clever method of ridding my garden of these beetles -- and they were very diligent. Within a short amount of time the girls had a plastic water bottle filled with these nasty pests. Janaya had a knack for finding the beetles - she was the "spotter;" Keauna was the "finisher." Keauna held her water bottle up close to the beetle/s and with the cap, just slid them into the water bottle. Done. I told the girls they could have full-time work here for the next month!

Their help was very much appreciated. Luv ya both!

Look what bloomed in my garden on the 4th of July. At 5 am I raced outside to check it out. (Some angry, fighting raccoons woke me up.) "Man of Sorrows" is one of the daylilies that I purchased last August at the Wisconsin Daylily Society Sale in Madison. I couldn't be more happy. The blooms pictured here measured 7.5." Very showy! This daylily is planted in a garden that gets 100% sun and even at 5 pm, it still looked great. Man of Sorrows was hybridized in Minnesota by Karol Emmerich, so I can be assured that any of her introductions will do great at my house in Wisconsin.