I have set a limit on how many daylilies I can grow and successfully maintain, which is between 150-160. Space isn't the issue, but my time definitely is; there is that job that I have after all! So the daylilies in my gardens must earn their space by adhering to specific criteria:

1. The blooms must last *at least* four weeks.
2. Flowers must not "melt" or "slick out" in the heat -- this is when the bloom substance degrades in the sun.
   
3. The flowers also need to show consistency in form.
4. And finally, the scapes cannot flop over...huge pet peeve of mine!

Every one of my daylilies performed well this season with the abundant rain, but I had a group of super achievers that went over and above what I expected. "Green Mystique" is one of the elite group that bloomed between 7-8 weeks AND met all of the above criteria. Blooms started on June 21st and continued through August 19th.

I purchased this daylily in 2013. I wasn't sure if I even liked it the first two years, but this year it exuberantly showed off and cleared all my doubt away. For this reason I always give my new plants a three-year window to decide their fate. I have never forgotten what my friend Carrol told me about perennials, "The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap." This is SO true!

Green Mystique is an award-winning  Stamile daylily, registered in 2002. It  grows about 24-26" tall in my yard with a 5-6" fragrant bloom (a perfect front-of-the-border plant). It has a green wash and green throat over a creamy yellow color. As the day progresses, it mellows to a cream color with yellow piecrust edges . This photo was taken in mid-morning, so it is still showing some green. Space earned!

Now here's what you don't expect to see blooming in September...an iris! I took this photo of "Immortality" yesterday afternoon blooming alongside "Pat's Mum" in my backyard. Immortality is a fragrant, reblooming, tall bearded iris that has multiple blooms in both spring and in fall. It thrives in Wisconsin's Zone 4 weather. The cooler late summer nights seem to prompt rebloom.

As you probably know, some iris can be extremely robust, needing to be thinned out quite often. Immortality is a moderate grower that does not need frequent division. In my opinion, that's a really good trait! This pure white iris grows approximately 36" tall and I have yet to see it flop over. It is a multiple award winner and very popular. I don't grow a lot of iris, but Immortality is one of my favorites.

Rebloomers do like more water and fertilizer since they need an extra boost to flower again. You can fertilize them in early spring and again just after 4th of July. Iris like fertilizer with a low nitrogen content so as not to promote bacterial rot. Be sure not to put the fertilizer directly on the plant but sprinkle it on the ground around root zone area. You will be rewarded!

My white "Sweet Autumn Clematis" died more than five years ago. I have grown this type of clematis before and it seemed to be short-lived. It would grow full tilt for about 3 years and then just mysteriously die--probably a Wisconsin thing. So when my third one died I really didn't think much about it, other than I knew I had to replace it with a different variety that wouldn't die after a few years. So I planted the pink "Comtesse du Bouchaud" in its place. Comtesse has been happily blooming for the last five years. Loved it! Problem solved.

But weirdly enough, a year or two ago, I noticed some different color vines mixed in with Comtesse. Then, come fall, they bloomed. It was the very same Sweet Autumn Clematis that had died years ago! So now my arbor is on overload. It is filled with massive clematis vines that bloom from spring to fall. I also have a purple "Jackmanii" clematis in the mix. The pink and purple clematis bloom during the summer and the white one begins blooming in September. The pictures show the different faces of my arbor over the summer. Gotta love mother nature!

These two photos can't even begin to replicate how beautiful "Carnival in Mexico" is in real life. This daylily is a WOW. The 7" blooms have good substance are very consistent. The first photo was taken early in the morning when the flower is more pink. The second photo was taken in late afternoon when the color has mellowed slightly to a pinky-apricot. Carnival in Mexico grows about 36" tall in my yard, although it is registered at 30". This summer, the first bloom appeared July 7th and it continued to bloom for seven weeks.  What's amazing is that it is only the third year I've grown this daylily. I'm trying to imagine how awesome it will be in another three years!

Carnival in Mexico is a multiple award winner hybridized by Victor Santa Lucia of Iron Gate Gardens. In 2012 it won the Stout Silver Medal which is the highest award a daylily can get. Just one daylily is given this honor each year. It also won an Award of Merit in 2010, an Honorable Mention in 2005, a Don C. Stevens Award in 2011 for the most outstanding eyed or banded daylily, and finally the XLD (Extra Large Diameter) Award in 2010. This is a dormant daylily you can't go wrong with!