Pictured is a portion of one of my backyard flower beds. All of my daylilies are tucked in, ready for their journey through winter. Each individual plant has had their annual "medical check-up," which includes gently pulling out the old scapes, removing any weeds, making sure no moles have tunneled around or under them, and no bunnies have made homes in them. The foliage has been cut so I can more easily see what is going on with each plant and to discourage any pests/insects to take up residence. I protect the newer plants with tomato cages so the deer don't try to eat or pull on any newly planted roots. I also use the tomato cages as reminders of where I have other things planted.

Fall is a great time to get rid of weeds. Consider this: Weeds that are spread by seed produce thousands of seeds. Lambsquarter can bear up to 72,500 seeds per plant, curly dock can bear up to 30,000, purslane 52,000, and redroot pigweed 117,000.  If even 50% of the pigweed seedlings germinated next spring, you'd have 58,000 pigweed plants to pull or otherwise get rid of. Better to get rid of them now! Here's a comprehensive list of Wisconsin weeds with photos.  I was glad to see Morning Glories appear on this list - I have been trying to get rid of them in a place I no longer wanted them for years.

Hopefully, you have all of your fall garden work done; winter is on the way.

Weed facts from the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension

Daylilies are, by far, my favorite perennial. Here's why:

1. They rarely die - and some of our Wisconsin winters have temperatures of -60 degrees!
2. Daylilies are low maintenance. They are drought tolerant, grow in just about any soil type, and if you forget to fertilize...no big deal. All you have to provide is at least 6 hours of sun.
   
3. Even though each daylily bloom only lasts for one day, many mature plants grow 200-300 blooms. If there is a bad wind or rainstorm that batters the blooms -- not to worry, the next day, everything will look brand new again.
4. Bloom times can range from late May to the end of September depending on what cultivars you grow. If you plan carefully you can have constant bloom throughout the summer.
   
5. Daylilies are remarkably pest-resistant.
6. Plants come in all sizes, shapes, and colors to fit varied landscape needs.
7. To date, there are almost 80,000 different registered cultivars to choose from, so there truly is something for everyone.
8. It's relatively inexpensive to own daylilies. The older cultivars can be purchased for under $10.00 each.
9. Each year, hybridizers come up with new, more innovative blooms and plants with stronger growing habits.
   
10. Finally (and most obvious)...they are ALL absolutely gorgeous!

Pictured is "Webster's Pink Wonder." This amazing plant is a real show-stopper with 13" blooms. It won the 2014 Stout Silver Medal which is the highest award a daylily can get.

Our neighbor down the road was ready to clear out his vegetable gardens before the first frost and invited Ange and I to come over and pick whatever we wanted that was remaining. His wife said she could not can one more jar of salsa -- she was DONE! This was great news for us since we no longer grow a vegetable garden. (The daylilies have taken it over....oops!) We picked red and green tomatoes and even some green beans that were planted mid-season. We will continue to enjoy these fresh tomatoes for a couple more weeks yet.

Using these fresh tomatoes, I just finished my annual ratatouille-making marathon. I made a few batches so there is enough in the freezer to last until next summer. Ever since Ange and I first had this delicious soup/side dish at my good friend Sharon's home, I have been regularly making it every fall. I use many of Sharon's recipes - she's a great cook!

Here's the recipe:

Ratatouille
This recipe can be served either hot or cold and freezes very well.
 
¼ c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 onions, thinly sliced
3 green or red peppers, cut in strips
1 eggplant, diced
4 zucchini squash, cubed
4-5 large tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. oregano
½ tsp. dill
½ tsp. Herbes de Provence
½ tsp. sweet basil
¼ c. lemon juice
 
Heat oil until a haze forms, Sauté onions and garlic until golden brown, then add green pepper strips, eggplant and squash; continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
 
Put in tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, dill, Herbes de Provence, sweet basil and lemon juice. Cover and cook over a low flame for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes to allow excess liquid to evaporate.
 
Yield: 2 quarts
½ cup = Approx. 150 calories

"Virginia B. Hanson" was one of my garden favorites this season. I can't carry on enough about this daylily! It grows over 40" tall, and although the description says 6" blooms, my plant regularly grew 7" plus blooms. Each bloom was perfect and the lovely ivory blush color complements surrounding plants. In addition, it's an award-winner. I've only had this plant for a few years, but it bloomed like crazy from June 22nd until August 13! I can only imagine how stunning it will look in a few more years when the clump grows even larger!

Virginia B Hanson was hybridized in Ohio by Curt Hanson, and registered in 2001. I grow five other Hanson daylilies (Bela Lugosi, Integrated Logistics, Lounge Lizard, Primal Scream, and Tupac Amaru) and have had very good results with them as well. They are all quite hardy and do very well in Wisconsin.

I miss summer already!

Today, these tiny flowers are still blooming relatively close to the house. The photos were taken in early October, so they aren't this lush right now, but are still hanging on, despite the cold nights. I'm not sure what they are, but they have been reliably coming up year-after-year with no help from me. They are quite dainty -- the flowers are only about 1" in size. They bloom in varying shades of pink and purple, and I have seen them in white, too. Quite a few years ago, I got these from my "sissy" Sandra's neighbor, who assured me that they never, ever die. When my daylilies are done, these cute blooms blanket my flower beds with color until a very hard frost comes.

Could they be annual Calibrachoas (Million Bells) that continue to re-seed themselves? I know Million Bells are perennials in zones 9-11, but  zone 4? Any ideas?