Singing the Blues

July 31, 2019July 31, 2019Leave a comment

Why is it that we always want what we can’t have? Early in my daylily addiction, when I had planted my first mail-order roots, I became fascinated with blue daylilies. Well, actually, daylilies lack the genetics to make blue. So, you know, I became infatuated with “near blue” daylilies whose mosiac genetics lead them to look blue. This predates my addiction to Ned Roberts spiders. All my near blues are in pots and come into the back porch for the winter because they are evergreen daylilies and prefer warmer temps. My near blues have a special spot in the front yard where the pots live from March-October.

So, one of my Premiers today is a new near blue added last year called Baby Blue Eyes. I honestly thought I had killed her because the drought hit and, after my skin cancer surgery, I just gave up on the yard. I kept her on the porch, though, despite the fact she looked dried up. And, come spring, she came to life. I love the colors – she is a true near blue.

Baby Blue Eyes 7/30

I am going to show off my other near blues because their bloom cycle is nearing an end. My favorite is The Colorado Kid. I was just googling place names to see if there were daylilies with that name – and she popped up. I think this is year 4 for her – she is our mascot flower. She had a lot of blooms this year and has a couple of buds left. Baby Blue Eyes has similar coloring.

The Colorado Kid – July, 2019

I also have Blue Beat, an early addition and a nice blue replica.

Blue Beat – July, 2019

Bluegrass Music is a must-have blue daylily. I got pretty ripped off by the place I bought her from, but she has paid off with several years of blooms.

Bluegrass Music – July, 2019

Mildred Mitchell is an older cultivator, but she caught my eye as having a nice blue -looking color in the right light.

Mildred Mitchell – July, 2019

Prairie Blue Eyes is not in my blue section, but she also has a blue hue at times.

Prairie Blue Eyes – July, 2019

I got Heron’s Cove as a near blue – but moved her because she rarely looks blue – but occasionally, I see a bit of a bluish tint in her.

Heron’s Cove – July, 2019

OK – So I had two other Premiers today – both Ned Roberts spiders. Golden Eclipse showed her first bloom in my yard today. I have had her 2-3 years. The grower is someone I got a lot of my Neds from and she said it was an ugly brown color and to be sure I really wanted it. I think she is a pretty gold – a unique color for a daylily.

Golden Eclipse 7/30

And, big bloom Purple Thunderbird is back this year.

Purple Thunderbird 7/30

I will be out of premiers soon with three in one day. I maybe have 6-12 left in my whole yard. Honestly, I will be glad for it to slow down. I had 58 today.

The Daylilies of Winter

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019Leave a comment

The heat of July is upon us! I got stung by a wasp last night and I get a local, allergic reaction. So, my hand is red, swollen, blistered and itches horribly. Summer . . . one of my favorite seasons. Yet, those bugs . . .

So, to shift thoughts to times where wasps are non-existent, let me shift to our one and only Premier daylily bloom today. (I still had almost 60 in bloom). Her name is Candy Cane Dreams and I got her as a bonus with Santa’s Pants. I had no idea where to put her, so she is in the barrel planter with Black-Eyed Susan and Stella. She is kind of cool – she does look like Santa’s Pants!

Candy Cane Dreams 7/29

OK – So that always gets me thinking of the winter named daylilies. Here is Santa’s Pants from a few days ago:

Santa’s Pants – July 2019

What others that bring to mind winter . . . surely Lime Frost (in bloom today)

Lime Frost 7/29

And, Black Ice (from a few days ago):

Black Ice – July, 2019

What about Desert Icicle? – here she is from this weekend:

Desert Icicle – July, 2019

Santa Fe Christmas, of course, blooming today:

Santa Fe Christmas 7/29

Oh, and Funny Valentine from a couple weeks ago:

Funny Valentine – July, 2019

Orange Flurry from today sounds like snow:

Orange Flurry 7/29

What about Autumn Jewels from today to start to cool off?

Autumn Jewels 7/29

I’m feeling cooler already – now for the antihistamine and hopefully some sleep.

Daylily Rodeos

July 29, 2019July 29, 2019Leave a comment

Yesterday was our County Rodeo. I go every year. In fact, when I worked less in the summer and didn’t have so many dog duties, I went almost every evening to some event. The rodeo signals that summer is on the downside. I guess we are only 5 weeks into summer, but school starts in a couple of weeks or so. And, the daylily blooms drop off – which I only had 50+ of today. That is a drop off of 10-20.

Montrose County Ram Rodeo 7.27

Anyway – not a Premier, but Navajo Rodeo looked very pretty for rodeo weekend. I need to paint her this winter. IDK which Robert’s daylilies I want to paint the most – but there are a lot. By far the highest bloom rate of his cultivators. So many first blooms this year.

Navajo Rodeo 7/28

That is my segway to the Premiers for today. Only two. The first one is a never bloomed in my yard before Roberts spider named Dancing Maiden. She looks a lot like Aztec Firebird, except her shape is a little different. I barely noticed that she was from a different plant! I should have put her in a different place – but oh, well.

Dancing Maiden on the right, Aztec Firebird to the left 7/28

And, I got my first ever bloom on Sanctuary in the Clouds. I got this daylily for the woman who runs the animal sanctuary (Black Canyon Animal Sanctuary) where my dogs (and one cat) came from. I ordered this for her the year I adopted Kachina – so 2016. It came with lots of fans and I saved one. Anyway – finally, she blooms!

Sanctuary in the Clouds 7/28

Tomorrow is Monday – so squeeze blooms between my workday! Better get to bed.

Show Me Your Stethoscope!

July 28, 2019July 28, 2019Leave a comment

I am a nurse and a midwife. Remember the “show me your stethoscope” incident on The View a few years back? It took over my Facebook feed for a few weeks – nurses united! During that time, I was pretty active on the American Daylily Society Facebook page. I had an idea – they should name a daylily Nurse’s Stethoscope. Well, one of the hybridizers who was also in healthcare picked-up on the suggestion and registered a daylily with that name.

It was a pretty daylily – beautiful, I thought. Except it was new on the market so out of my price range. Summer before last, I finally caved and bought it. It thrived last summer and gave me quite a show of blooms. But, she was one of the ones who struggled because of the cold, wet spring. Her scapes died back after sprouting. I put her in a smaller pot and moved her to the front yard for the summer. I crossed my fingers. She is coming back enough to have a couple buds. Once she blooms, I will fertilize. Glad to have her as one of my premiers today! My little daylily legacy!

Nurse’s Stethoscope 7/27

Another Premier was Kachina Firecracker, another Ned Roberts spider. I was putting her in my new daylily garden three years ago when I adopted my rescue dog, Kachina. There were two daylilies – Kachina Firecracker and Kachina Dancer. Kachina was a stray before going to the sanctuary, so they gave her the name Tina due to her small size (7 pounds of anxiety!) I was trying to think of a name for her that rhymed with Tina. It was the daylilies named Kachina that synapsed my choice of names for my mutt.

Kachina Firecracker 7/27

Last Premier is Baja – an old favorite. One of my early daylilies that just keeps coming back every summer.

Baja 7/27

I do find the taking photos of 70+ flowers every day for a few weeks is exhausting on top of the blogging. I start to dream of fall hikes in the canyon and watching Call the Midwife. For now, we will see what tomorrow brings. We had another gusher monsoon today, so I will see what is up when I awaken from much-needed sleep.

Daylily Photobombs

July 27, 2019July 27, 2019Leave a comment

The peak lives on with 72 blooms today. One of the things about photographing so many daylilies before I have to leave for work is that I get in a rush. I focus on the flower and hit the shutter button. Sometimes, when I am editing later, I find stuff that I didn’t notice at the time.

My favorite photobombs have other daylilies that I didn’t notice in the background – like Happy Hopi today:

Happy Hopi with friends Laughing Feather and Zuni Thunderbird 7/26

And, the most common photobombs are when I cut off a petal in the shot by a lot. Why am I struggling to get photos of Navajo Grey Hills?

Navajo Grey Hills 7/26

Of course, there are occasionally cat photobombs:

Skinwalker and my cat, Sokasbai – 7/25

Or, dog photobombs:

Blue Beat and my dog, Maizzy – 7/25

The most embarrassing, though, are the foot photobombs. The flower is at a weird angle, so you try to bend over so you can get a front shot. What was I thinking?

Black Ice and my feet – 7/26

OK – so what about Premiers. Only three today. The pace slows a bit, although I saw my neighbors at dinner and the first thing they talked about was my giant daylilies. So, it isn’t over yet!

Nona’s Garnet Spider was a bonus. She hasn’t been a consistent bloomer but is putting on a good show of buds this year.

Nona’s Garnet Spider – 7/26

Autumn Jewels . . . I think this was a bonus, too. She is related to El Desperado. I had a huge El Desperado for years but lost it to the weird, cold, wet spring. I lost a couple and several had setbacks . . . but so many are blooming this year that haven’t before or the regulars have a higher bud count than usual. It’s interesting the yin and yang of this year. Anyway – I got a new El Desperado and it is just putting up scapes now. I like both of these cultivators.

Autumn Jewels – 7/26

And, Nearly Wild is another bonus plant – she looks like her ancestor, the ditch lily or Fulva. I am sure that is where she gets her name.

Nearly Wild – 7/26

It is raining, again. We will see what that brings.

Five Months Until Christmas!!!

July 26, 2019July 26, 2019Leave a comment

The rain is pouring outside as the thunder crashes. It was hot today and I had over 70 blooms, again. For some reason, the 7/25 hit me as 5 months until Christmas. The daylilies will lie still under the ground and snow; under layers of leaf mulch. I will be inside bored and playing with orchids and poinsettias as the daylilies rest before the next season. I thought I would share my two Christmas named daylilies from today as a reminder that the seasons change so quickly.

Santa Fe Christmas 7/25

Santa’s Pants 7/25

I got called in early to work, so my daylily photos had to wait until after work – late afternoon. Some were a little weathered, but all were fully open (which is a challenge before work). I had 3 new kids today – and I forgot to take a photo of Navajo Grey Hills. I saw it but got distracted by all the others so had to blow up a photo of it in the background (see top photo). Tired and out of sync.

Navajo Grey Hills – 7/25

Today’s Premiers include Classy Lady – she was one that was either a bonus or an add on to a lily auction order. I like her shape and color – she is a consistent bloomer.

Classy Lady 7/25

Tiger Kitten gave us her first purr for the season. I am fairly sure she was a bonus. Seriously, I paid nothing for many of my daylilies. Others were only a few dollars online. Nurse’s Stethoscope was my most expensive at about $100. But, I helped to name her so it was a treat. (She suffered a set back with the cold spring but finally has a scape.)

Tiger Kitten 7/25

The last Premier is Bella Boo. I got Bella Boo and Platinum Pink Palet Whispers for $10 for 2 deal at a local nursery a couple years ago. I stuck them in the same pot. I think this might be Bella’s first bloom ever in my yard.

Bella Boo 7/25

My flowers are so beautiful at peak. I love the huge spiders the most. Tomorrow, we will see what blooms after the downpour. PS – Speaking of Christmas and poinsettias, the cold spring has my plants looking like they should in mid-June. Sort of wondering if they will come back enough before fall.

Daylily Who’s Who????

July 25, 2019Leave a comment

Another amazing day with over 60 cultivators in bloom. I blogged the other day about knowing my flowers by name tags, mapping, and photographic surroundings. Well, I blew it on one of my Roberts spiders. It all feels so rushed with being at work most of the day – I have been home with my daylilies for the last 4 summers. That is when my collection grew. Now, I rush around in the morning to get pictures and that is really the only time I see these beauties. Hopefully, in a couple years, I can reduce my summer hours.

Until then, my flub was stellar. That is, both daylilies referred to the sky. Seriously, looking at them, they totally look like their names. I don’t know how I got them mixed up other than taking 80-100 photos off my camera, editing and organizing in the evening . . . and travel, and two special needs dogs, and work. Well, stellar flubs happen. Here they are both in bloom the same day (today), which helped.

Star over Milagro 7/24

Truchas Sunrise 7/24

So, now that I have confessed, here are today’s Premiers:

Mama Cuna is another Roberts daylily – it is good to see her, again! She resembles Star over Milagro – I need to look up and see if they share genes in common.

Indian Sky is probably not the real Indian Sky, although it was sold as such. It was one of my early online purchases – it fit my Southwest theme. I think it is still really pretty.

Rosie’s Red was another bonus daylily – and one I really like. The deep red color is beautiful and I like the shape.

Mama Cuna 7/24

Indian Sky 7/24

Rosie’s Red

Route 66

July 24, 2019Leave a comment

Route 66 is, of course, a famous highway that runs partially through the Southwest. We usually pass over it going and coming from our spring road trip to the desert. Route 66 is also the name of one of my favorite daylilies. It was the first place name daylily that I got and after that, I was hooked. My daylily names are like points on a road trip a lot of the time.

Route 66, Flagstaff, Arizona

Today, I had 66 cultivators blooming in my yard. I was thinking about Route 66 (she was in bloom and is the lead photo) and my own route to having 66 daylilies in bloom in one day. In 2015, I had 7. I now have 10X the number of daylilies. How did I get here? . . . well, I started at local nurseries. Then I tried one online site, then another. Eventually, I got attached to my Ned Roberts spiders and found a couple growers with good supplies of those. (I now have around 70 of his cultivators.) I also found the lily auction – which was fun but I get into trouble on that site. LOL.

Some of the daylilies I got in 2015/16 are having their first bloom this year. I think it takes them time to adapt to the desert – and last year, we had the exceptional drought. The year before that, I transplanted them into buried pots – so that was another adjustment. Anyway – it is cool to finally see some of these after tending them for a few years.

A couple of our Premiers today have been around that long and finally blooming. One is Navajo Grey Hills and another is Fringe Benefit. Navajo Grey Hills was a sought after Ned Roberts Southwest named daylily. Fringe Benefit, on the other hand, was a bonus plant that looks nothing like the Fringe Benefit I see online. But, oh well. I honestly had no idea what it looked like until today. I like both of them a lot!

So, without further ado, here are the Premiers (it’s not slowing down – So far, 133 blooms or about 74% bloom rate. Last year this date we were at 123 – and I have a lot more scapes left this year.):

“Fringe Benefit” bonus plant 7/23

Navajo Grey Hills 7/23

Fol da Rol 7/23

Lime Frost 7/23

Glen Eyrie 7/23

Adios Albuquerque 7/23

Bold Tiger 7/23

The Company They Keep!

July 23, 2019July 23, 2019Leave a comment

Sorting photos of daylilies . . . People ask me how I keep them straight. Well, I don’t always but I generally do OK because I have some systems to help. First, I have a garden map that I created a couple years ago. It is awesome, it has circles for each daylily in my Southwest Garden with the color of each daylily. And, they have letters/numbers. You can look up the letter/number and see the daylily name with a photo.

The other system is metal markers that have paint pen on them. Want to know a little secret – if you spray them with engine spray after you paint the name on it stays on for years!!!

So, if one system fails, I have the other. As I go through old photos, though, there is a system that works even if it has been a while since you took the photo. Well, look at the company it keeps. I look for landscaping or other plants. I look for other daylilies – what is the backdrop. Usually, I can figure it out. I did make a couple mistakes on Treasure of the Southwest (confused with Soco Gap) that I need to go back and fix.

It feels good to be sort of caught up. But, I realize how different this year is as far as photography. Previous years, I took my phone photos to post on Facebook or if I didn’t have time to download from the camera. I used the camera to get multiple shots of each bloom – especially new blooms and last blooms. This year, both the cell and camera only have one photo of each cultivator/day except in a few cases. That means if the daylily was blooming during my trip, I may only have a photo or two of it for the whole year – half a dozen max.

Perhaps I can enjoy snapping a few more photos now that the trips are done and I have my photosystem for the year up and running. I had 65 total, today. The peak is still with us. Anyway – not quite so many Premiers today. Here they are:

Apache Uprising 7/22

Marque Moon

Red Hot Returns 7/22

Zuni Eye 7/22

Oh, and my amazing Easter Lily Cactus bloomed today. Like daylilies, the blooms only last one day. Enjoy each moment for it will never return.

Eye-70

July 22, 2019July 22, 2019Leave a comment

Oh, perhaps more like aye yi yi. I woke up to 70 cultivars in bloom today. Let’s see, I had 13 the day I left on vacation on 7/5. I’ve slept in my own bed 5 going on 6 nights since then.

Thirteen is a good number of blooms. Interesting but not overwhelming. But now, just 5 days at home later, I’m at 118/180 daylilies that have bloomed. We went from 7% to 66%.

The problem is that I had trips and conferences to prepare for along with two sick dogs . . . And, work. So, I’ve been using my cellphone for daily shots. I use my Powershot, too, but haven’t edited or organized anything since June 25 or something.

Today, I got 2 days organized and played a bit with my daylily software. Here it is midnight thirty but I am more caught up. I just know that I’ve been so distracted this year that the blog in mediocre because my passion is not here yet.

Next weekend, I stay home. Hopefully, I can keep catching up. Aye yi yi, I need to stay on the Interstate of progress after I get some sleep. The daylilies are already blooming. Can you hear them?