Near Birth Experience

June 30, 2017June 30, 20174 Comments

Today, Bluegrass music sort of bloomed. Well, it started what looks like a two-day process. It will be the first bloom. And as soon as it does, I will share its story.

This is what is should look like (hopefully):

No new blooms today. I did go out and take photos of my garden at intermittent moments. The sun may be an issue. I would give it a C. I don’t know if it is 5 hours – much of it is dappled through the trees much of the day. I called the tree trimmer that was recommended, his machine was full. Maybe just start with a trim, but I would love to have the elm tree gone, gone in the next couple of years. Any experts out there think the sun is an issue? I think it is soil and water, too – which I can do myself.

Here is the link to the animated version https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz6dnrksmzSNdUZ5Tmo3bkplZVE/view?usp=sharing

Today, Our Mascot Bloomed!!!

June 29, 2017June 29, 2017Leave a comment

The Colorado Kid. I found her on some site and ordered her from far away. Near-blue, Colorado in the name . . . This is her second year in my yard. And, her blooms make me smile. They are so pretty in the morning before the sun hits and turns the near blue to a deeper, more lavender color. Still pretty, but the UV by mid day makes all the blooms frump a little.

Other first blooms today – the much awaited Pink Enchilada. This flower gives me hope that it just takes time for the bare roots to bloom in the new garden. It is year 2 in the garden, but a first bloom today.

The Southwest Garden also welcomed Indian Love Call. This flower seems happier here than in the pot I had it in last year . . . so that is a positive sign, too.

Soco Gap is a huge daylily in that garden. It was a bonus plant that I stuck between 2 yuccas before I enlarged the garden. It thrives, also a positive sign.

Those positives said, I only have 12 plants with scapes out of 76 plants in the Southwest Garden. Yard-wide (including the porch pots, front garden and Southwestern Garden, I have had 28 cultivators bloom so far (most in the front now have scapes). I have around 160 cultivators total. So, it’s under 20% still. Should be interesting to see what happens in July. (6 of 9 of my back porch pots have bloomed already – interesting on sun and drip systems).

In hindsight, I don’t think I did enough spring watering in the Southwest Garden. The new sprinkler hose also seems to give better coverage. I have also leaned on over fertilizing this year to get the plants some size before they invest in blooms. The soil will need more work – but it is decent for year 2. I wonder about the trees giving too much shade. I think I will go out and snap a cell photo every hour some day soon to see if each area gets 5 -6 hours. I think it is close, but I may invest in some tree trimming this fall. LOL – Who says skiing is the most expensive hobby in Colorado???

Up for tomorrow . . . maybe Bluegrass Music. Maybe Primal Scream or even Aztec Firebird. And, Indian Sky has some baby scapes, finally. The daylily garden is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.

Honey, I Planted My Family

June 28, 2017June 28, 2017Leave a comment

Today, Stephanie Returned to my yard. Stephanie Returns, that is. She is a sweet light pink girl who bears the same name as my daughter. And, she was added the year my daughter returned to Colorado. Hard to get good lighting today. She was unbloomed, and then the sun hit full force. She looks a little dry and I upped her water. (I have daylilies that bear the names of my grandmother, mom, and both grandkids. I want to get a Santa Clause for in memory of my dad).

The other first-timer for the year was Inwood. I love the contrast on the blooms.

I believe my back porch has now reached peak bloom with this addition. Sadly, Electric Lizard is still not looking like it will produce much despite the addition of some more fans last fall. Maybe it needs a larger pot. Nosferatu, Cheddar Cheese, and Canyon Colors all have big fans but no scapes. Guessing not enough sun, too much fertilizer or some other imbalance. I am still hoping . . . but would have expected scapes by now. Generally, my pots grow bigger, healthier blooms than this basic clay soil. But, sometimes the mix is off. (Below is Jungle Queen, quite happy in the same pot for 2 years).

As for the Southwest garden – it looks like I’ll have some new blooms tomorrow. Soco Gap is about to give birth. I think I’ll see my first Pink Enchilada tomorrow. Papa Long Legs and Kokopelli, perhaps. Maybe Indian Love Call. I was hoping for 50% bloom out there, but I am guessing it may be 30% now. I am erring on the side of fertilizer this year to get the plants big. I think I need to do more soil amendments in the fall, too. Most the plants are blooming size. A few have died back. I have to remember that some of mine had spring in the South last year, so may not bloom this year. Bare root daylilies are not instant gratification.

The flowers are so pretty, they are worth the amazing time and energy to make them thrive. Tomorrow also holds the promise of our first The Colorado Kid (our mascot) of the year. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

The Wild Horses of Mesa Verde are in My Garden

June 27, 2017Leave a comment

Today, three newcomers!!! The two mentioned in the title of this post are two of my all-time favorites. And, believe it or not, neither resides in my Southwest garden. But they sound like they should.

Wild Horses is a breath-taking bloom because of the striking pattern. I see the horse in it. Do you?

And, Mesa Verde is striking for her ruffles. This daylily is amazing to watch bloom. It takes until nearly noon . . . like waiting for a baby to be born. Also, notice how the color turns from pink to bright orange. (4 photos, below)

Lastly, an old friend, Early Bird Cardinal. It is a sweet red ruffled bloom.

And, for tomorrow . . . I think Stephanie Returns, Pink Enchilada, Inwood. A couple of my near blues are getting close . . . Bluegrass Music. Now, there is a story to tell about that one!

Switched at Birth?

June 26, 2017June 26, 2017Leave a comment

I went camping this weekend, so there was one day that I missed my blooms. I got home today at 4, and rounded the corner to my outside porch. I start counting blooms, and I spy a new one for the year. But it is totally the wrong color. It is mauve and white, I was expecting light yellow. What’s the deal?

Last year, I planted my two New Mexico named daylilies in the same pot. I labeled them (I thought). Last year, Ghost Ranch bloomed. So, one of the two plants is decidedly larger. So much so that the smaller one got its own pot to see if I can beef it up a tad. I thought Ghost Ranch was the one in the big pot. Apparently not, because the bloom looks like Chaco Canyon. It is odd, I still can’t figure it out. Chaco blooms early and Ghost Ranch is later. So, we will see. Maybe the fans are mixed now.

Anyway, remember when I said I would only post photos of new blooms? I have a few today. Please know that it was 4 PM when I got home so some of the blooms are past their prime. But, the garden explodes in color.

Here is Hopi Jewel:

Isaac:

Lady Fingers:

Prairie Wildfire:

Red Hot Returns:

Chama Valley

Tomorrow there are several possibilities for new faces. I think Wild Horses, Inwood (I missed the first bloom on Saturday), Mesa Verde, Stephanie Returns, Pink Enchilada, and Soco Gap are close. Any guesses????

Queen of the Jungle

June 23, 2017Leave a comment

It was hot outside today . . . 98. Could be worse, I could live in Arizona or California. But, 98 is respectively hot. Daylilies like heat, but I think they prefer the Southern, humid kind. I feel like I spend every second that I can get outside watering something in my yard. Average rainfall for June her is half an inch. It is a challenge . . . it is the desert.

So, today Jungle Queen made her first appearance in my yard for 2017. It is not humid enough to be a jungle, but I am always glad to see her amazing bright blooms. Today, she is Desert Queen.

Tomorrow, if there are new faces, it may be Hopi Jewel or Inwood. Wait and see.

The Longest Day

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017Leave a comment

I love solstice because I like long days. And, today was long with paid work and yard work. My split shift was spent in my Southwestern garden. I have two in bloom today, Papa Long Legs and Kokopelli. (Kokopelli is immediately below and Papa Long Legs is the second photo on this page). A spider and an Anasazi pipe player. Funny names.

The strugglers got some attention. In fact, turning hard adobe earth into a garden requires more attention than photographs of the fruits of the labors. I have two brand new ones that have shrunken into small fans. Like seedlings. I think sometimes Southern daylilies go into shock with the soil, lack of rain, and dry air. I lost a couple last year, and I have 4 currently in ICU, one in critical condition.

My new ICU approach is to cut the bottom out of a cheap plastic pot and use it as a buried container . . . bottomless. Sort of a hybrid situation. I am hoping it aids soil retention and keeps the soil more acidic, at least until they get started. I also installed a sprinkler hose on the side that gets less water. Boy, do I loose a lot of water with the regular sprinkler, and there are so many barriers between the sprinkler and some parts of the garden. There is clearly one side where the plants are more anemic, and I think it is a water difference. I guess we will see.

As for tomorrow, I think Jungle Queen will make a debut. She came in the same order as Kokopelli – practice bidding on the auction. It is interesting to look back and see what was in bloom this day last year. Lots the same. But, some of the Southern daylilies that I put in last spring bloomed pretty early due to being from another zone. Not sure if they will bloom this year. And, old timers like Early Bird Cardinal were putting on a show last year, but this year the scapes are still developing. At the same time, I think I have more scapes total this year. Bigger plants (mostly). Lots of time and effort in making the ground more fertile in the past 12 months.

Kokopelli brings the summer!

June 21, 2017Leave a comment

Kokopelli is a Hopi word meaning wooden backed. The Kokopelli is truly a legend of the Southwest. Lots of folklore. . . the character who changes winter to spring. And today, Solstice, brings the blooms. The equinox and solstice were both amazingly powerful in the Anasazi culture. Back on the equinox, Kokopelli was one of my first daylilies to show its fans.

With my love of the Southwest and spider daylilies, a bloom with this name surely caught my eye. My first purchase on the lily auction. The start of my Southwest garden. Still a gamble of a biology project.

I am in awe at how perfect this first bloom looks. Last year’s first blooms were a little scraggly. I put it in in Fall 2015, the same year I started my doctorate. I guess we are both more established now.

Not sure on new faces in the garden tomorrow. I think next up is Jungle Queen. Sometime this week.

Valentine’s Day: The Day Before Solstice

June 20, 2017June 20, 2017Leave a comment

What an interesting year. Lots of blooms and lots of work hours. Finding whatever balance there is in the mix. So different from last year. Time and money . . . sort of. So, limiting to new blooms despite a dozen cool photos of seven different daylilies is like narrowing a doctoral project topic. So much cool stuff, but only so much time.

So, today was the first bloom of Funny Valentine. Last year, she did not like her location and she gave me only a couple scrawny blooms. Funny what improving drainage, sun, and water can do for a daylily. Always a few out there that are not happy. You tweak, you hope. And, sometimes they send you Funny Valentines. Tomorrow, Kokopelli for Solstice, perhaps. Turning winter to summer, that’s what Kokopellis and Solsti do.

Few things are more stunning than daylilies, but . . .

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017Leave a comment

I have had a busy weekend revamping my back porch. This is the place that my evergreens spend 3 months of the winter. Spring and fall are temperate in the south-facing fiberglass lean-to style porch. So, why not have a place to sit and pretend it’s spring?

At any rate, when I did get a chance to go get some pictures of flowers, I was focused on a gorgeous bouquet of Ruby Spider and Return a Smile, when something caught my eye. It was a bloom on my Easter Lily Cactus. I brought it home from the Senora a couple months ago. It’s bloom buds fell off in the colder weather – but I guess we are Senora hot now.

New to the yard for this year (and doing much better than last year) is Strutter’s Ball. A common daylily, but still a favorite big purple-red bloom.

With my work schedule this year, I am sticking primarily with new blooms for photos. I had 7 varieties in bloom in the yard today. I take photos, but don’t have time for posting more than I do. So, please enjoy these two beauties.

PS – I named my back porch the Senora Room!

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Month: June 2017