The Scapes of Late August

August 22, 2016Leave a comment

Today, my granddaughter, Maia, turned 10. Today, my daughter started nurse practitioner school. Today, I interviewed for a job. And, today Ruby Stella started sending up a new scape. It is late August. Back to school time. And, I still have scapes. I might – just might – make it to freeze. In spring these things are thick as fur on an angora. Now, I savor each one. When I brought Ruby home, she had one bud left . . . that has been a month ago. A sign that the earth is still alive.

Ruby Stella scape from today – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Actual blooms today were Heirloom Heaven:

Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Dalilies – C. Hartt

Red Hot Returns:

Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

My last Orange Flurry in wth my big old Banana Yucca:

Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, both colors of Stella:

It is threatening to rain . . . it is suppose to be raining. At least it is cool. Not a drop on my desert daylilies yet, though. Come on, August showers bring September growth. Getting strong for the spring.

A Good Day . . . in the Daylilies

August 22, 2016Leave a comment

Today started with an email from one of my resilience websites. I have seen this before – but it is still as beautiful. I wish I had the patience for time-lapse of these blooms. If you want to feel a little positive emotion and wonder, give this a few minutes.

So, here are my weekend miracles. Frans Hals:

Frans Hals – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Orange Flurry:

Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Red Hot Returns:

Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Stella:

Golden Stella de Oro – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Not bad for late August. PS – I could have sworn that Heirloom Heaven bloomed yesterday but no photos – I must have missed it somehow.

Today brought a light application of Mir-Acid. (Miracle Grow for acid loving plants). My soil here is so basic that it won’t change. The base in the soil quickly neutralizes the acid. The iron is bound at that pH, so it can’t be absorbed. Anemic daylilies. Mulch, manure, peat moss, acidifiers can all help. They probably won’t change the pH for long (if at all), but they do boost the availability of nutrients. The joy of living in an ancient sea bed. It’s trial and error. I am grateful for the lessons of my garden. It makes me feel like a hands-on healer, again. A good day.

Tiptoe Through the 2016 Daylilies with Me!

August 21, 2016Leave a comment

I may be dating myself, but I will never forget Tiny Tim singing Tiptoe through the Tulips on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in. When I decided to make this compilation of all my 2016 cultivators (all have bloomed, although some still have scapes/buds), it was a little like tiptoeing through my garden. The song came to mind. I would like to redo this with the day of the first and last bloom (in blooming order) sometime this winter when it is minus something and I need a daylily fix. It serves a purpose of not just lifting the spirit, but providing a timeline for predicting future years. So, here is the movie.

PS – My blooms today were Red Hot Returns, Frans Hals, Heirloom Heaven, and Orange Flurry. Mostly, though, my work was fertilizing pots and moving one daylily to a sunnier spot. I was just reading up on it, and I do think I need to give these guys some nutrition twice a year. It is the desert, after all. I need this foliage to be a bit less anemic when the spring comes around, again. It is all a learning curve.

Live Life Like a Daylily, One Day at a Time

August 19, 2016August 19, 2016Leave a comment

One of the things that I like best about daylilies is that they are in the moment. And, when the moment is over, they move on. They don’t hold on to the past, like we humans do. So, today they are my mentors.

Today I had four bloomers. Perhaps this is a sign of optimism from my little friends. I had little Heirloom Heaven:

Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Frans Hals:

Frans Hals – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Orange Flurry:

Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Finally, Stella de Oro:

Stella de Oro – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

I love the late fall-colored blooms, but I have got to tell you that I find new roots almost equal in their awesomeness. I mean, you get some stuff in the mail that looks like wilted root veggies and you trim them back and plant them. And, within days, they start becoming daylilies. They are so optimistic about the future!

These are the Painted Petroglyph roots that I planted on Tuesday and they already have new green growth. I’ll try to take another photo next week for comparison. Next to the roots is a web photo of the cultivator in bloom. I cannot wait for spring.

It is Better than Therapy!

August 19, 2016August 19, 2016Leave a comment

Here I am, finishing up my doctorate and still waiting for the next door to open. My knuckles get raw from knocking. They said it would open doors, and I need to stay optimistic, positive.

The garden helps. And, the blog is to be my happy place, so I won’t dwell on bloody knuckles here. I will say that when I left my computer to go put compost and manure in my daylily pots (some needed to be replanted do to settling), my mood shifted. I was focused in the moment. Painting daylily tiles does the same thing. Flow. Loss of time, self. So, hey, what a blessing these guys are to grow. It is more than the blooms . . . it is the cycle of life.

Today was my last Pizza Crust for the year. It is a lot prettier later in the day to me. So, this was actually taken in the evening. Have to savor the last one.

Pizza Crust – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And. Stella. She seems to be taking a break before sending new scapes . . . and I have 3 of her. So, I shall be patient.

Golden Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

I still have Frans Hals, Heirloom Heaven, and Red Hot Returns. And, a few new plantings on the way . . . big, classy spiders. I just love them with the yucca. As Tom Hanks said in Castaway – Let’s see what the tide brings in tomorrow. A new bloom, an interview, a porta-potty? Here is to optimism!

Red Hot Returns

August 17, 2016August 17, 2016Leave a comment

This daylily name reminds me of a politician’s IRS filing. It was added to the front lawn daylily area because my others are all mid-only bloomers. I like the red and green combo. It has a brand new scape, which is cool because Stella dropped hers for now. (PS – I believe this is the last new cultivator to bloom this year unless someone surprises me.)

Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Speaking of Stella, she did show up today.

Stella de Oro – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

I haven’t talked about my daylily helpers. Meet my dogs, Maizzy and Kachina. Maizzy is named for my grandkids, Maia and Isaac. And, Kachina was named Tina in the shelter. I had just planted Kachina Firecracker and Kachina Dancer when I got her – so her name was changed to Kachina. Named for a doll and a daylily. She lives up to both names.

Daylily Dogs – Maizzy and Kachina (in that order)

So, it is back to the hunt, for me. And, this time it isn’t Ned Roberts daylilies. Well, not exclusively, anyway.

A Little Piece of Heaven in my Yard

August 17, 2016Leave a comment

Today, Heirloom Heaven bloomed for the first time. This little one was one of my first root plantings last year.

Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

It is a miniature, at least this first bloom cycle. Here it is with my petite finger:

Heirloom Heaven with my finger for proportion

Other blooms were my orange/yellow combos. Frans Hals:

Frans Hals – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Orange Flurry:

Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Oh, and Stella, of course:

Yella Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Today also brought the first of a couple fall plantings. I got one called Painted Petroglyph on fall sale at Shady Rest Gardens. It is not a Robert’s cultivator, but it still belongs in my Southwest garden. It is beautiful. Live long and prosper little one. I also replaced Navajo Rodeo – love the fall sales! I added a few more fans of Electric Lizard, as mine are still anemic.

I didn’t order much this fall, but the daylilies keep me going. I am getting two new Roberts blooms, too. Twirling Pinata and Glen Eyrie. My daughter lives in Colorado Springs, so I couldn’t resist the second one. (Many of the Roberts cultivators were hybridized right there!) I love fall plantings because, by spring they act like they have been here forever! I think I will hit 80 cultivators that bloomed this summer. That’s just over 50%. Keep on mulching!

Oh, and keep on painting. I finally finished Chief Four Fingers in the wee hours.

The Sun, and the Rain, and the Daylily Roots

August 16, 2016August 16, 2016Leave a comment

When it comes to places to live, I stay on the sunny side. This place west of the Divide and east of the desert is not the habitat of daylilies. They are go-getters, though. I have only lost one or two of all those that I put in last year. Some act pretty shocked for a bit. Like, hey, we aren’t in Georgia anymore, Toto. So, below is my city’s annual precipitation from city-data.com – we are a couple standard deviations below the mean.

And, below are the sunshine days. Here, we are close to a couple standard deviations above the mean. Desert daylilies.

The downside of this climate, along with the very base ph, clay soil, is that it is nothing like the natural daylily habitat. It is trial and error. And some stuff you don’t get to see the results from for a year. And, so, today I finished putting my mulch concoction on my main flower garden cultivators. We will see if this helps. Not that I did poorly this year, but Stephanie Returns didn’t return. In fact, she only had one scape. She is not the only one who is below her mean. So, let’s hope this mulching is more than just a load of BS.

A few blooms to go with the calluses, sunburn, and bug bites. Two of my last three Pizza Crust buds:

Pizza Crust – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, my Stellas. Yeez, I wish those gals could help with yard work.

Yella Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Golden Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

PS – Heirloom Heaven is close – and has another brand new scape. Hopefully, the mulching won’t hurt these little buds. I think Red Hot Returns is very close, too. Tomorrow ????

Prepping the Daylily Beds is a Bunch of BS!

August 15, 2016August 15, 2016Leave a comment

So, first there are the first fans of spring. Actually, other than my garlic and spring bulbs, one of the very first signs of spring in my yard. Then, there come the scapes followed by peak bloom season. And, then the lovely late bloomers signal time to start preparing for another cycle. I think of the Native Americans and their focus on the changing seasons.

I did have bloomers this weekend. So, I will show those first, followed by the tale of BS in my garden.

Tiger Kitten only produced two buds. This was a one fan root last summer. It’s making progress. Can’t wait for next year!

Tiger Kitten – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Stella, of course, was here with me all weekend, in both yellow and gold.

Yella Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Orange Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Orange Flurry lit up my smaller zeriscape garden in the rocks.

Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, here is my Ned Roberts Southwest spider garden that I put in this spring. The first two pictures are before. It is of note on the second photo that the earth no longer comes up to the top of the bricks. PS – I would have done a higher raised bed, but the yuccas won.

Ned Roberts Southwest spider patch (before) – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Note the level of the soil and mulch within the bricks.

Here is the after picture. Probably no different to most people. The difference is that the earth is now back up to the top of the brick. Because daylilies are funny about planting depth, this meant raising the grade of the garden by first loosening up each daylily, putting the growing medium underneath, and then surrounding each cultivator with the medium. It reminds me of the tale of raising Galveston Island several feet after the 1900 Great Storm. They did it one structure at a time, too. It took all afternoon yesterday.

Southwest lily patch (after) – a lot of work for something that looks pretty much the same. Just ask the daylilies, though, it has been a weekend of prep for a new season.

Today, I filled the gaps with the remaining medium because the daylilies were all in mounds after being raised. Sounds easy enough, except I was mixing up a concoction of steer manure, compost, peat moss, water crystals, soil acidifier, and time release fertilizer. Oh, and given that I tromp around pretty hard with my camera, I also added some little stepping stones so the soil could stay fluffy. I think my motivation is not only the anticipation of the blooms (a type of savoring), but also the number of little gardens that I see on my dog walks that have gone untended. I think how cool the initial intention was . . . . but it is long gone. This Colorado Plateau is a different ecosystem than the South.

I read yesterday that with plenty of water, amendments, and the right amount of fertilizer you can get 2-3 x as many blooms. Might as well give it a shot. For tomorrow, we will talk about grass weeds vs daylily sprouts. Maybe someone out there can help me with that issue!!!

My Last Ned Roberts Spider :-(

August 12, 2016August 12, 2016Leave a comment

Skinwalker adorned my yard with its last bloom for 2016. My Ned Roberts and Southwestern named daylily garden is off to a good start. I had 10 blooms out of that garden this year. There are 50 or so cultivators out there. More on that in a minute.

Other late bloomers were Apache Uprising. I think I have one more bud to go.

And, Yella Stella. She has a brand new scape, so I am still hopeful to make it to freeze. Plus, Red Hot Returns (sounds like a political statement to me) and Heirloom Heaven have still not bloomed. Heirloom Heaven is a ways off, too, from the scape size. September?

OK, so back to my Ned Roberts garden. I carefully built it over spring break, moving buckets of rocks and pebbles that had been there for decades. Then, I dug down deeper, a few inches down into the clay soil. And, I added the brick border. I then filled it with good soil and water crystals. Then, I planted the daylilies.

Now, the earth has settled and the roots are too close to the clay for best production, me thinks. Tomorrow, I gently lift each cultivator up, hopefully without totally dislodging roots, and I fill in with compost, manure, peat, and more good dirt. Back up to the top of the bricks. And, then re-mulch it. Optimistically, that boosts the year two bloom. I think garden spaces take a while to be fertile. It took my garlic patch a few seasons. Good dirt rocks!

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Month: August 2016

The Scapes of Late August

A Good Day . . . in the Daylilies

Tiptoe Through the 2016 Daylilies with Me!

Live Life Like a Daylily, One Day at a Time

It is Better than Therapy!

Red Hot Returns

A Little Piece of Heaven in my Yard

The Sun, and the Rain, and the Daylily Roots

Prepping the Daylily Beds is a Bunch of BS!

My Last Ned Roberts Spider :-(