Fashionaire as a poly - One of the first ones that i purchased when I visited Mr. Bennett's garden and remains a favorite.

SHOWTIME MAGIC: The only consistent rebloomer for me in my zone 5 garden.

WIDE-EYED WALLY: Tends to be a later bloomer.

CARELESS DREAM - One of his last intros and he considered it one of his best. Gold edge on a diploid.

DRUM BOOGIE: This was its first year blooming.

BO KNOWS: A prolific bloomer. Usually has 4 + branching.

BLUES IN THE NIGHT: Sibling to Jazz Me Blues. It is the larger of the siblings.

FINDER'S DELIGHT: This is climbing the ranks to make it into my top 10. We will see how it performs next year. There is certainly something said to let a plant get established. I was pretty ho hum about it the previous three years. This year was awesome in spite of our drought.

SITTING COOL: One of my very favorites.

Continued in the comments

ONCE OVER LIGHTLY: Great in a clump

SWEET TART: Not the best photo as it was taken in the morning with the sun behind it.

BIG HEARTED LADY: Great color. Big bloom.

PASSING FANCY

TACTICAL CAT: Great small blooming plant.

BURTONSVILLE BLUSH: One of the first ones purchased when I visited his garden.

SALTY SKIPPER: Maybe I am succumbing to peer pressure, but Mantis sung its praises and I was "It is ok." I then moved it and I have been rewarded and I can now understand his praising of this plant. Now I have two clumps of it as I did not get all of it when I moved it.

EXTRA BOLD:

KISSING BRIDE: One of the parents of Extra Bold. This is its first year blooming.

Continued

JUBILEE BALL: Blooms seem to face out.

Torrid Dancer:

Lucky Debut: Flat Bloom

Bold Symphony: It isis usually more of a light pink. Early morning photos tend not to capture the true color.

IRON WARRIOR: Nice big flower

RUNAWAY ROMANCE:: One of my favorite pinks. But then again, I like most of his pinks.

I will close with another picture of FASHIONAIRE:

My goal next year if to get a picture of all the Bennetts I grow.

Thanks for looking.

David

I have been impressed with Jubilee Ball and Sitting Cool here. Both good bloomers and striking in the garden (unless you don't like a pastel, in the case of Sitting Cool). Jazz Me Blues has yet to do much here, but glad to hear that it blooms well. I will have to add Iron Warrior when you have enough, along with Fashionaire. I continue to like Salty Skipper, which has long been a well-known Bennett, along with the elephant not in the room, Wild Cherry Wine.

I always enjoy these so much. Of the ones I have Bold Symphony probably blooms best. Rapid increaser and great bloomer. Wild Cherry Wine is always pretty. Passing Fancy has been a slow increaser for me.

I do like the looks of Careless Dream, Sitting Cool and Finder’s Delight.

Sitting Cool

Jubilee Ball

Big Hearted Lady had some nice large blooms in its first year, blooming in a pot.

David, That patio work you did hurt my back just reading about it! Sounds like it must be nice. I'd like to see a picture of it.

I always enjoy seeing all these Bennetts. Very hard to narrow down to a few favorites. Here's what I chose: Big Hearted Lady, Extra Bold, Runaway Romance, & Iron Warrior.

Mantis, I like Salty Skipper and Wild Cherry Wine. To me a downside of Salty Skipper is always having to divide. I have a few like that. Then there is the opposite: daylilies that almost never multiply and never need dividing. Easy to care for but none to share nor do they give a big show.

Brad

They are all so pretty! The pinks tend to be my favorite. I especially like Beauty in Motion and Runway Romance.

It sounds like building your patio was a major project. I'd love to see a photo of it.

Debra

I always enjoy seeing the Bennetts, I don‘t have any in my garden and wish I did. No favorites for me, I love all of them, well maybe Salty Skipper. Thanks for sharing them with us!

Sherry

Quite a story on your patio project. Have never heard the terms "Crush and Run". What is that?.............I've grown Wild Cherry Wine for years. Not overly vigorous (acceptable growth rate for pot culture), I lost one pot of it in the arctic freeze of 20/21; but my second pot survived and bloomed it's heart out this year. I tried Kiwi Magic a few years back but it didn't survive our blast furnace summer............Can't pick a favorite of the ones you posted, just happy to see so many being grown by you..................Maryl

Maryl,

Crusher run is gravel and limstone mixed with a variety of sizes of stone usually 3 inches in size with stone dust and fines. Then you have to rent a gas tamper and pack it down every 2 to 3 inches to get a solid base. I have about an average of 7 inches of the stuff. Then I had to screed an inch of sand so the pavers could lay flat. Each paver weighed 25 to 30 pounds. My back certainly felt it. I decided to use concrete around the edges as a paver restraint. I had to purchase fiberglass fibers to mix with the concrete as that helps it reduce cracking. I thought about the plastic edgers, but over time they come to the surface in my freeze thaw area. The patio is 18x14. It took 180 pavers to complete and a demolition saw to cut all the edges. It is a dirty job. I don't think it looks too bad for a rookie. I told my wife, "Never Again." I think I have said that before.

Thanks for looking.

David

Impressive! The different sizes and hues remind me of stained glass construction.

That is indeed impressive! I can understand saying ”Never again’ to your wife but how about someone else’s wife?!! :)

I Learn new words every day. Thank you for the terminology explanation.............. In my younger years, I laid a very short brick walkway by myself. I used only sand as a base. It lasted a couple of decades before I had to relay some of the bricks (freeze thaw upheaval as you talk about). That lasted another decade or so and finally I aged out and had it professionally re-laid. In a very teeny tiny way I know how hard that stone work can be, BUT, look how beautiful yours turned out. Very artsy and you have different shapes to accommodate, not just oblong bricks. Your wife is a lucky woman to have such talent at hand.........Maryl

Lilykate: Never again to everyone. I will gladly assist, but will never take it on myself again. At least I can see the fruits of my labors which is generally more satisfying than my job as a social worker in charge of an inpatient children's unit. That is probably why I enjoy daylilies so much. They don't curse at me, threaten me (I might threaten them), and they don't demand report after report.

David

Looks great. And I can see why you need daylilies as a hobby! Two of my sons did social work but not inpatient and it was demanding and hard. Neither lasted more than a couple of years. The younger of the 2 said "I always wanted to be a postman like Poppop [my wife's dad]. And he is much happier! [not that it is easy with a very woke and terrible postal management].

Brad

All your hard work paid off. The patio is gorgeous! Your wife must be so pleased.

Debra

David, kudos to you for doing that job! I am one of those people who evaluates those kids for placement eligibility. And they often curse, threaten, pout, withdraw, etc etc. throughout the evaluation. But I write the report and move on-you are the staff who must deal with their problems and issues on a daily basis. Hobbies like our gardens are indeed great therapy.

Kate

I always so enjoy your posting of your beautiful Bennett intros. and your patio is really something. that is great work.

kay

Polar Fizz is a huge bloom.