A reminder that love can be found in the most unexpected places. Happy Valentines Day!
Photo taken by Patty in Tucson Arizona Sometimes things strike me as funny/annoying and I just thought I'd share:
Happy 2023 to you - keep it simple! Have you ever thought about becoming a master gardener? Recently my friend Vonnie earned her certification as a Wisconsin Master Gardener. This is quite an achievement! As a master gardener, she is knowledgeable about all things related to plants and gardening.
If being a master gardener is something you may be interested in, here is some information and a website you can go to. It is a very rewarding certification to hold. How to Join the Master Gardener Program #1. Learn about plants and how to take care of them. Participate in an approved learning opportunity from the Wisconsin Extension Horticulture Program such as a county-based in-person course. #2. An Onboarding course will explain the scope of your role as a Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener. #3. As a Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener you apply your knowledge and skills educating others and gardening at local organizations. Volunteer service and continuing education are required to be completed and reported each year. #4. Your involvement will lead to an increase in knowledge and skill in yourself and those your reach. You will use your knowledge of plants to improve lives of others and the community you live in. This, ultimately, will lead to a bigger change in the world around us. mastergardener.extension.wisc.edu/get-started/ All photos are from Vonnie's home and garden. She grows a wide array of annuals and perennials. And Vonnie's beautiful cat is named Tipper. My experience with Dormant, Semi–Evergreen and Evergreen daylilies in Zone 4
Although I grow all three foliage types of daylilies, my western Wisconsin garden is predominantly filled with dormants. Over the years the dormants have thrived the best in our northern climate. Nothing seems to faze them…even a polar vortex. I grow many semi-evergreens that do very well, but I have had much more difficulty growing evergreens. Of the daylilies I would lose each winter, most would be evergreens. So obviously, I am much more cautious when it comes to growing evergreens. With a little extra TLC, like protection by the house or a location by a warm sidewalk or rock border, my six evergreens grow wonderfully and I have had them for many years –– they include J.T. Davis, Joan Senior, Lotus Position, Mister Lucky, Wings of Chance, and Waxed Legs. Foliage habit definitions from the American Daylily Society:
Pictured is the dormant daylily Dean Corey This sounds like a crazy topic when we're talking about daylilies. Over the years, 99% of my daylilies thrived and grew wonderfully with no pampering whatsoever. In fact, I have given away some beautiful daylilies for the simple fact that they grew *too* fast and it was annoying having to divide them year after year. But let's talk about that one percent of daylilies that no matter what you do will not grow. And I'm talking about daylilies that should successfully grow in your zone.
I visited an online forum and was relieved to see I was not the only person that had experienced this problem. Some folks said they had bought the same plant three times because they knew people in their zone that grew it successfully. Others moved their plant around numerous times until it was happy. Some folks bought the same plant twice, but the second time they bought it from a different source and the second time the plant did wonderfully. An issue of concern could be whether the plant is a division or has been tissue cultured. It is always better to purchase from a reliable source that you know are divisions. Tissue culture plants may grow well, but more than likely may not. Blog on tissue culture Bottom line, with more than 95,000 daylily varieties available I wouldn’t put up with these problems for too long because it is easy enough to find another daylily that is more than willing to grow happily in your garden. Pictured: Mississippi Red Dragon, a dormant daylily that was very temperamental for me. I knew other gardeners that grew this plant in my zone with no problem whatsoever. My plant was definitely a division. Go figure? In 2021 I learned patience and acceptance beyond any level I ever thought I would deal with. That being said, life is still about the little things.
Pictured: A restaurant in Kensington, London ![]() Gardening is much more than just having your hard work reward you with beautiful flowers. It's also an intimate experience with nature that calms your mind and being. Here is what I enjoy about gardening and being outside:
Daylily pictured: 'My Friend Charlie' The daylily season in western Wisconsin was uncharacteristic this year. After weeks of very cold spring weather, bloom started about two weeks late in early July. At that point temperatures instantly turned tropical with 90+ degrees just about every day thereafter. Most of my daylilies bloomed in a heated rush lasting, on average, a little more than three weeks each - four weeks tops.
In a typical Wisconsin season most of my daylilies bloom for at least four to six weeks, many going even longer through August and early September as they are all sizable clumps. My local gardening friends had the same experience as me, which was so disappointing! We waited all year for bloom season and it was over before we knew it. I hope this is an isolated year and bloom returns to a more usual pattern in the future. My season came to a fitting end on August 13, after four days and nights of constant rain. Being unable to spray deer deterrent in between the pockets of rain, I woke up one morning to find that all the remaining daylily blooms and scapes had been eaten by deer. How was your 2021 daylily experience? Daylily pictured: 'Spanish Glow' with two companions As much as I love gardening, there are just a few things I wish didn't happen when I'm outside:
Some plant nurseries and big box stores have been known to sell daylilies with 'garden' names or no names at all, with perhaps only their color printed on the sales tag. Does it matter if you buy unnamed or unregistered daylilies, or should you only buy those registered with the American Daylily Society?
There are three schools of thought on this topic:
As you can probably tell from my blogs, I fall into the #2 category. Where do you stand on this topic? Daylily pictured: Bill Tonn Mother Nature is holding out on us. I can't believe it's almost July in Wisconsin and only two or three of my daylilies are blooming. This has to be the latest bloom season ever. The anticipation is killing me! Let the whining commence.
A daylily is a flowering plant in the genus Hemerocallis. The name Hemerocallis comes from the Greek words "day" and "beautiful." The individual flowers only last one day, but plants typically open successive blooms over a period of four to five weeks, some even longer.
The old-fashioned orange daylilies that you see growing in roadside ditches are native to east Asia, where they had been cultivated for one thousand years. They have long been popular with the Chinese for their edible and medicinal properties. In the 16th century, European traders carried them home and daylilies became a common sight in many homestead gardens. These orange lilies eventually spread from the gardens and took over the countryside. Despite being around for years, daylilies weren’t cultivated much in America until the 20th century. Dr. Arlow Stout, a botanist in New York, became fascinated with the flowers. He spearheaded a breeding program and was responsible for hybridizing at least 100 new varieties. In 1934, he published Daylilies, the definitive book on the subject. He is known as the 'father of the modern daylily.' Daylilies have come a long way from their invasive ancestors. Today's hybridizers have catapulted daylilies to a new level of perfection, with over 94,000 different cultivars currently registered. Information from: https://blog.gardeningknowhow.com/tbt/learn-some-daylily-plant-history/ Daylily pictured: Jerry Hyatt Daylily obsession typically arrives in degrees. It slowly creeps up on you. When does the realization hit that you may have an addiction? Here are 20 common indicators:
How many of these indicators should you admit to before you are considered a daylily addict? Good question! I'll venture to say that at least five true statements indicate you've started walking down that path ;) And myself? I'm definitely in trouble for the simple reason that I am familiar with each and every indicator, but I'm not admitting that they're all mine... Daylily pictured: 'Something Angelic' 2020 was uncharted territory for me in more ways than I could have ever imagined.
I've learned:
Pictured: A quaint storefront I passed by in Bath, England. |
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