I take countless photos of 'Bill Tonn,' but try as I might, my photos never capture the real-life beauty of this plant. Bill started blooming on July 6th and is still blooming, with about five blooms remaining. I must add that 2017 was far from our typical summer weather, with extreme temperature fluctuations from day-to-day. Consequently, bloom season didn't last as long as it usually does. Last year Bill Tonn bloomed longer -- from July 2 through September 24, at which time the deer ate the two remaining scapes.

Bill is a dormant tetraploid that grows about 30" tall in my yard. The large 7" blooms are very showy, in addition to being thick and waxy in texture. I love the delicate gold edging on the ruffled petals. It's a large, robust plant that was hybridized in Minnesota by Karol Emmerich and introduced in 2007. If you want a consistent, reliable, late-season performer in Wisconsin, Bill Tonn fills the bill!

Jerry Hyatt is one of the most interesting daylilies that I grow. His look varies depending on the weather and temperature, and he may (or may not) change throughout the day. I'm sharing a few of his different faces so you can see for yourself. I love the animal-print spots in the first photo!
 
Hybridized by Curt Hanson and introduced in 2004, Jerry Hyatt is a semi-evergreen tetraploid that grows about 27-28" tall and has a 6" bloom. He's an award winner that received an Honorable Mention Award in 2007 and an Award of Merit in 2012. Jerry is a new plant to my garden and thankfully he appears to be happy here.

Jerry Hyatt is a child of the tetraploid Trahlyta, which is where the grey/violet tones come from. I grow the diploid version of Trahlyta, which I have had for many years (and would never part with).

What a perfect name for this daylily! 'Time Stopper' was one of my awesome daylily purchases last year at the Wisconsin Daylily Society Sale in Madison. And yes, time did stand still for me when I first saw it bloom two weeks ago! Although the flowers are registered as seven inches, I measured a bloom yesterday and it was fully eight and one-half inches in size! It is certainly an attention-grabber. The photo I took is very true in color to what it looks like in my garden. Love, love, love the green and burgundy combination. I have it planted in 100% sun and it holds up quite well. Being a dormant diploid, it is also hardy in the north. Hybridized by Jamie Gossard and introduced in 2006, Time Stopper grows about 33" tall in my garden. This daylily will be even more amazing as the clump grows larger!

'August Wedding' came to my garden in a very  unusual way. In May of 2016 I went to the Minnesota Daylily Society Sale in Minneapolis. I bought daylilies for myself and three of my friends. Upon purchase, all of the daylilies were placed into one large plastic bag. The cultivar fans for each individual plant were held together by a vinyl name tag. Here's where the dilemma happened -- when I got home, after I removed all the plants from the plastic bag, I noticed there was one tiny fan remaining at the bottom of the bag that was not attached to a vinyl name tag. Uh-oh...I had no idea which daylily this fan belonged to. Was it my own or was it someone else's?

So I did what any daylily lover would do. I planted the small fan and waited. Sure enough, this year the small plant sent up a scape and it bloomed last week. It was, without a doubt, August Wedding. Thanks Becky! It was one of yours ;)

I have to say I am already in love with this plant! August Wedding opens fully, even when morning temps are in the high 50's. It has really thick substance as well.  August Wedding was hybridized in Suamico, WI (close to Green Bay) by the Korth's of Pinewood Gardens Daylilies. It is a dormant tetraploid that grows about 30" tall. The blooms are between 5-6" in size.  Plus, it is an award winner that has ruffles and glitter. What more could a girl want?

'Bluegrass Music' is a relatively recent arrival to my garden, but I've grown it long enough to know that it's staying! This daylily is a great performer and each bloom looks exactly like this photo.  I have it planted in a terraced rock area where it enjoys a southern exposure. In 2016 it started blooming on June 21st, but bloom will be considerably later this year due to the cool weather we've had this spring. (It was only 48 degrees this morning! Where's my winter coat?)

Bluegrass Music is a Grace-Smith daylily, introduced in 2005. It is a semi-evergreen tetraploid that  grows 28 inches tall. Bluegrass Music won an Honorable Mention award in 2010. This award acknowledges performance that goes beyond the local or regional level. Although the flowers are only four inches in size, the amount of blooms it produces (bud count=26-30) provides a beautiful display.

Last fall I transplanted this gorgeous daylily to my backyard so I could appreciate it up close. "Pursuit of Pleasure" will provide you with an 'oooh-ahhh' moment every time you see it. Orange has always been one of my favorite daylily colors (except roadside orange, that is).  Last summer Pursuit of Pleasure bloomed from July 10th through August 16th in my garden. It is sunfast, doubles close to 99% of the time, and consistently looks just like this photo. Can it get any better than this?

Pursuit of Pleasure was hybridized by David Kirchhoff, and registered in 2008. It grows about 28" tall and has showy 6" blooms. Registration statistics show a bud count of 31 to 35. Pursuit of Pleasure won the Georgia Doubles Appreciation Award in  2011.

Love, love, love this daylily! Not only do I love the curls, but the green throat is also striking. My photo shows just how prolific it is. In 2016 Heavenly Curls bloomed from June 29 to July 29, with dozens of blooms open every day.  It grows about 27" tall and never flops over, even with the large 7" blooms. I have it planted in a prominent spot in my front yard, and it never disappoints me. During peak season, this clump is breathtaking! Visitors never fail to notice it.

Hybridized by Jamie Gossard in Ohio, Heavenly Curls is categorized as an Unusual Form (UFO) Cascade/Crispate/and Spatulate. It is a dormant diploid, so it grows wonderfully in my Wisconsin garden. Heavenly Curls won an Honorable Mention Award in 2005. This award is a stamp of approval for good performance that goes beyond the regional level.  

In my world, this daylily is a wow!

If you don't grow 'Bela Lugosi,' you  need to! No drama whatsoever with this beauty! Just day after day of beautiful big 6" blooms. For a dark purple daylily, it is incredibly sunfast and mine grows in 100% sun. The fans multiplied quickly and in 2016 it bloomed steadily from July 4th through August 8th. The deep purple color of the flowers really pop with the complementary vibrant green foliage. In this photo you can see the velvety texture of the blooms.

Bela grows 33" tall and was introduced in 1995. Curt Hanson's no-fuss daylilies (that I have) grow wonderfully in my Wisconsin garden. Bela Lugosi is a multiple award winner and received an Award of Merit in 2001, an Honorable Mention in 1998, and the Lenington All American Award in 2007. The Lenington is awarded annually to one daylily voted the best performer over a wide geographic area.

Another plus -- Bela's been around for a while, so you can probably purchase this stunning plant for around $10.00 or less!  Caution: Sometimes big box garden/landscape center plants are tissue-cultured and you may be getting a lesser plant. Consider directly purchasing a division from a daylily vendor.

Blog on tissue-culture- 12/15/15

Year after year, this old-school daylily never quite makes it to my cull list. When I even think about it, 'Wild One' puts on such a show that any thoughts of removal completely vanish. In 2016 it was stellar, blooming from June 24-August 15; a solid eight weeks! The look is slightly different from day-to-day. Some days the red/orange edge is more prominent than others, depending on weather conditions. Wild One takes a few years to establish, so be patient with it. My plant performs best when planted in full sun (and I'm talking all day long sun - not just 6 hours).

This 34" dormant daylily was hybridized by Allen Wild (Gilbert Wild's son) and registered in 1978. The blooms are large (7.25") and diamond-dusted. Back in the day, it won two American Hemerocallis Awards: a Junior Citation in 1979 and an Honorable Mention in 1985. Doesn't every daylily enthusiast have at least one Wild daylily in their collection?

Here is another of my morphing daylilies -- this one is aptly named "Transformer." As you can see from the first photo, it starts the day out looking quite red and rapidly changes to the second photo's yellow-orange. The change is usually complete by about 10 am.

Transformer is a 2007 Gossard daylily, hybridized in Ohio. It's a dormant, midseason bloomer that grows 38" tall and has a 6" bloom. Transformer is categorized as a UFO Crispate daylily. This means it shows both unusual form, plus has at least three petals or sepals that are crispate (which means pinched, twisted, or quilled).  Check out the American Hemerocallis Society Dictionary for more detailed information on this categorization.

What a fun daylily! It's like you are getting two different flowers for the price of one!

I'm going through a new phase with my daylily purchases. The bigger and taller, the better! Here is one of my John Rice daylilies "Lotus Position." This award-winning bicolor grows approximately 40" tall in my yard and has large 6.5" blooms. It's a real head-turner when in full bloom. Love those edges too! This photo was taken early in the morning and the burgundy color is quite vibrant. It tends to fade a bit with the afternoon sun, but the afternoon look is equally pleasing, just more pastel-ish.

I bought this daylily in August of 2013 at the Wisconsin Daylily Society Sale. It was a last minute impulse buy that I definitely don't regret. Seems like I just can't leave the sale without at least one diversion from 'the list.'  Lotus Position, registered in 2007, was hybridized in Kentucky. It's an early mid-season bloomer that started on July 1st and ended on August 5th this year. It has multiplied well in the few years I have had it and seems to be quite happy in Wisconsin.

Pictured is "Lounge Lizard." Don't you just love this daylily's name? It never fails to makes me smile. This big, prolific, no-fuss plant grows about 45" tall in my garden. No bending down to deadhead this guy. I have it planted in all day sun with lots of space to stretch, and as you can see it's quite happy. Lounge Lizard is one of my eight Curt Hanson daylilies that thrive in Wisconsin. This lizard can lounge around my yard anytime!

A week or two ago I transplanted "Coleman Hawkins" to a more prominent location so I can appreciate it even more next summer. This daylily is a must-have, especially if you live in a northern climate like I do. No special care required;  just plant, keep the weeds away, and it blooms like crazy. The plant is super showy, large, and in-your-face beautiful. Registration data says that the flowers are 8 inches, but mine occasionally grow even larger -- bonus!

Coleman Hawkins is an award-winning Dan Bachman daylily, introduced in 2001 and hybridized in Ohio. Last summer my plant started blooming on July 9 and continued through August 16. Yes, really... I keep stats on all my daylilies. Knowing each plant's bloom time helps me decide where I place plants so I can achieve balanced bloom in my garden throughout the summer. It also makes decisions easier when it comes time to thin the herd. And just so you know, Coleman Hawkins is going nowhere. Gallop-on Coleman.

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!

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!

Just about all of my daylilies are winding down for the season, but not Final Destination. This plant is one of the latest blooming daylilies that I currently grow. It was in full bloom on August 18th when this photo was taken. It is salmon-pink in color, but depending on the weather some days it looks very salmon, and other days it leans toward pink. Either version is quite pretty.

Final Destination was hybridized by Karol Emmerich and registered in 2005. Her Springwood Gardens website explained that this daylily earned its name "since it's one of the last to start and stop blooming in my garden." Being hybridized in Minnesota, Final Destination thrives in my Wisconsin garden. It grows almost 30" inches tall and the blooms measure between 5.5"-6" in size.

It's so nice to see a daylily still blooming in mid-to-late August!

Really! These blooms are both from the same plant-- the daylily 'Substantial Evidence!" The first photo was taken early in the morning and the second photo was taken late in the afternoon. But you get the gist -- the flowers of this daylily transform; almost like a change of clothes! It is amazing to watch the flower morph from one form to another during the day.

Substantial Evidence is unlike any other daylily that I have. It grows 33" tall and has a flat 6" bloom. When you touch it, it hardly even feels like a flower! This unusual daylily was hybridized by Richard Norris from Ohio and introduced in 2005. So far there are 19 registered child plants from Substantial Evidence including "Pigment of Imagination," "Ida Mae Norris," and "Evidence of Aliens."

Because of the thick, waxy flower substance, it always looks perfect -- in either its AM or PM form. Substantial Evidence is oblivious to weather!

'Waxed Legs' is one of my new daylilies that is quickly becoming a favorite this season. Last Thursday sealed the deal. After the torrential rain/mini-hail we received, nearly all of my early-blooming daylilies looked really beat on and ripped apart by the heavy downpour. But not Waxed Legs! The flower has a waxy, thick substance that feels like 'pleather' -- a plastic fabric that imitates leather. And it glitters! (The daylily term for this is 'diamond-dusted.') A typical flower is 13" in diameter (dinner plate size) and it grows 42" tall. You can't possibly miss this lime green beacon when it's blooming in the garden.

Waxed Legs is a 'spider' daylily. According to the American Hemerocallis Society, the definition of a spider is a flower whose petal length is four times the petal's width or more. I can only imagine how stunning this daylily will be as it multiplies into a large clump over time.

Yep it's gorgeous, and the photo color is completely accurate, but "Spiny Sea Urchin" is probably *the* most temperamental daylily in my garden. I have put up with this diva for many more years than I should have. It has had three different locations and still hasn't thrived. Last spring I moved it up by our house in a protected, southwest location close to a cement sidewalk for warmth. Since being moved there it has finally started to grow. This photo was taken last summer after the move. One last chance. If it doesn't come around this summer, I've had enough! As pretty as it is, this daylily will be ousted, and the clock is ticking.

Spiny Sea Urchin is a California-bred daylily, registered in 2003. Blooms are 5.5" and it grows about 27" tall. The famous daylily "Ed Brown" is one of the parents of Spiny Sea Urchin. Ed Brown has been temperamental for me, too. It must be a Wisconsin thing...these plants are longing for California. With all the cold April rain and snow flurries we've had lately, I'd like a Cali vacation, too.

Trahlyta is one of those unique daylilies that can't be mistaken for any other. This Georgia daylily has been a consistent, reliable and hardy grower in my garden. The 6.5" fragrant blooms are a very unusual greyed violet with a dark purple eyezone and a green throat. In the daylily world, Trahlyta received an Award of Merit as well as the 2009 Lenington All American Award, which means it was voted as the best performer over a wide geographic area. Each year one daylily wins this distinction. This is a good list to refer to when purchasing daylilies. I have, or have had many of the daylilies on the list and they have all done well for me in Wisconsin. Here's the link: http://www.daylilies.org/leningtonawards.html

Genetics from Trahlyta have been used extensively and many of the offspring plants retain the distinctive characteristics. When I checked online Trahlyta had 116 registered children, some quite notable such as "Eggplant Escapade," "Grey Witch," "Jerry Hyatt," and "Lindy Twirl" just to name a few.

In Cherokee legend, "Trahlyta" is the name of a woman who is said to have lived in the North Georgia Mountains. She was told to walk along a path, drink from the spring and wish never to grow old. Trahlyta's "fountain of youth" is now known as Porter Springs, Georgia. And how do you pronounce Trahlyta? From what I can find, it's "Trah-lee-ta."