Kokopelli has made history as the first daylily bloom of 2018!  In Native American folklore, the Kokopelli turns winter to summer (and visa versa).  Today, Kokopelli brought thunderstorms . . . badly needed thunderstorms to our exceptional drought area.  Chilly, overcast.  When I first went out this AM, it was hot and dry, now it is cool and 60s.  I hope she brings more rain.

Kokopelli was my first Ned Roberts daylily.  Now, my Southwest garden bulges with them. I have around 66 Roberts cultivators – most with southwestern names in my Southwestern Garden.  I have just over 75 cultivators in the Southwest Garden.  What bonds the is names from the Southwest US.  They live with some big yucca out in that garden, and a Kokopelli sculpture.

Last year, I had about 15 different cultivators bloom in the Southwest Garden.  Not such a great rate out of 75.  That meant I needed to make changes.  My soil here is heavy clay with roots embedded.  We don’t get much rain, even on a good year.  So, that is when I started looking around and noticing that my potted cultivators did better.  Therefore, I dug up around 60 of the daylilies in the Southwest Garden, put them in better soil in a quick draining container, and buried the container.  Broke a rib and got sciatica in the process.

But, it seems to be paying off because I now have 20 cultivators in scape out there!  It is early in the season so I only have 8 scapes in all my other gardens combined.  Last fall, I had the elm tree that cast shade on the Southwest Garden removed.  I also added a soak hose watering system.  20 in scape by 6/3. . . I can’t believe my eyes.  It is the first time I ever had my first bloom from out there, too.

So, once the elm was a stump, I had to figure out what do with said stump.  I decided on a native garden.  It is raised on one side and slopes down so that the yucca that have been under the tree for years could be part of the new garden.  It has sage, Morman tea, ornamental grass, cactus, and several zeroscape flowers.  Today, I want to share photos of the current bloomers – neighbors to the Southwest Garden.  The new garden is the Hovenweep Garden.

PS – Next up is Orange Flurry – maybe tomorrow.  Who knows what a cool, rainy day might bring?