Freedoms

June 20, 2020Leave a comment

Today, I woke-up late because I worked until midnight on a supply list for one of our new programs. It is busy on top of COVID-19 – the world of nursing academics is and will stay upside-down.

I was foggy . . . but when consciousness returned, I realized it was Juneteenth. I knew nothing about Juneteenth until I lived in Galveston and read a book by the same name. It is a day worth remembering.

We live in a world that seems shaken by so much right now. But, I am free to go out in my yard and take photos of the 13 bloomers of the day. All are different colors, and I treat each the same. I am free to write the blog. I can put just about anything I want in this blog – that is freedom. I can be a crazy daylily lady – that is freedom.

The other cool thing about today is that my Nurse’s Stethoscope daylily bloomed her premier bloom. She is the one I suggested the name for through the Daylily Society. She is named for the Show Me Your Stethoscope episode of the View. Maybe COVID-19 has helped the world understand all of the capabilities of my profession.

I had a few other premiers – I do believe the peak is beginning to build. Canyon Colors had a premier bloom today. There is so much grass in her put that she didn’t put out many scapes. I was going to replant her in March, but couldn’t get out to buy the soil before she got too big.

Indian Love Call had a nice first bloom. She is loaded with buds.

Land of Enchantment had a premier bloom that looks almost as beat-up as Kokopelli did yesterday. I think it is bud damage from the big windstorm a couple weeks ago.

It is Friday, summer solstice is tomorrow. It just feels like a significant day.

My flowers today are dedicated to those who don’t know the same freedoms that I have known. And, they are dedicated to the frontline workers during COVID-19 – my Nurse’s Stethoscope seems to say “thanks” to my colleagues.

It’s my home weekend tomorrow. A few things planned around the yard. Solstice . . . Summer Solstice. And, I get a little sad knowing that the days will start shrinking, again.

Enjoy the show below . . . almost time to limit to just premier blooms in the daily blog.

The Big Parade

June 19, 2020June 19, 2020Leave a comment

I think that, in the song, 75 trombones lead the big parade. Well, in my yard, it is a handful of yellow(ish) trumpets. But, it is a big parade . . . Christmas in July.

Today was an odd day. It was cold last night – I crawled back under the covers because my bedroom window was cracked.

When it is cold the daylilies usually open later in the day. Today, it was noonish before some were open enough for photos. The problem with that is the lack of humidity in Colorado means the UV is intense. And, so some of my blooms looked frazzled by the time I could take a photo of them open.

I had three premiers today. Jungle Queen – one of my early Lily Auction adoptees – marched proudly in the parade. I have always thought her colors were some of the most stunning in my yard.

Jungle Queen with her big, showy flowers 6.18.20

The other two premiers looked like they would have been better off to stay in bed and sleep late. Oh, wait, they did. Anyway, Mildred Mitchell had beautiful near blue bloom that didn’t open until the sun got the best of it’s splendor.

Mildred Mitchell looking weathered on her premier bloom day 6.18.20

And, oh poor Kokopelli. This cultivator’s name comes from the Native American legend of a traveler, trader, and turner of seasons. I knew something was up with her bud. Maybe wind damage, maybe insects. IDK, but I hope the other buds do a little better. Kokopelli is such a favorite that this poor bloom makes me sad.

The saddest Kokopelli on the planet 6.18.20

Ojo de Dios was back, probably the star of today’s parade because the show went on despite the cool night.

Ojo de Dios shows resilience after a cold night 6.18.20

Mesa Verde had another couple of blooms. Those ruffles had a rough time wanting to open today.

Funny Valentine has nice, rich color this year.

And, the trumpets – Saratoga Springtime had a nice little clump of marchers.

Stella has grit – always putting on a show. Both Stella colors.

And, their cousin, Yellow Punch.

I wonder who will lead tomorrow’s parade?

Folders of Flowers

June 18, 2020Leave a comment

I remember a presidential debate several years ago where one of the candidates said he had binders of women. Instantly, it was the twitter trend. Well, I am not sure my folders of flowers will rate that highly, but there are similarities.

Laughing Feather – premier bloom 6.17.20

This time of year, I organize my flower photos in folders labeled by cultivator name, date, and then which photo # it is that day for that flower. So, I might have stella6.17.1 for my first Stella de Oro shot today.

I use Microsoft One Drive as my back-up for my camera photos. It always worked great until I switched computers . . . or maybe it’s the new camera . . . or some update. I have checked every setting and I can’t figure it out.

My yellow (vs golden) Stella de Oro and her premier bloom 6.17.20

It just isn’t backing up the photos I put on my computer. Now, I can upload the folder to One Drive – but I have to delete the one off my computer. And, then the one from One Drive shows up. It honestly took me hours to figure out a work-around. I think once a week is plenty for this little procedure.

Dream Keeper still livin’ the dream 6.17.20

So far, I have eleven folders of flowers for 2020. Last year, I had 161 total. I have more work ahead of me than what lays behind. And, I need to move my flower software to the new computer, too.

So, I had more premiers to add to my list of folders. Today, a couple of Southwestern named cultivators. Mesa Verde is one of my favorites – especially for a ruffly bloom.

And distinctive Laughing Feather has bloomed – one of my Robert’s spiders. It usually isn’t a particularly early bloomer . . . beat Kokopelli this year, though.

Oh, and my yellow (vs golden) version of Stella put our a premier bloom today, too.

My other cultivators are pictured above between my writing. Tomorrow, I think I will be adding more folders. Maybe Kokopelli. I didn’t have time to make bud rounds today so I am not really sure. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

Here Comes the Color

June 17, 20202 Comments

Yellow trumpet daylilies are like appetizers before a 6 course meal. They let you know that the season is coming but leave you wanting more. It always feels like I get 2 weeks of yellow trumpets, and then the action starts. Somehow, colorful spider Dream Keeper shows up with the yellow trumpets – ahead of her time.

So, today I had some colorful premier blooms. First, Funny Valentine. She is an older daylily that I keep on my porch. She budded at the same time as Saratoga Springtime, so I have been waiting for her appearance on stage.

And, another Robert’s spider joins Dream Keeper as a premier today – Ojo de Dios. I love the stately color combo of this neatly curled spider.

And, my first near-blue for 2020 gave a premier showing – Blue Beat!

And, there are still yellow trumpets blaring out their tune – Stella de Oro – the most popular trumpet in town.

Happy Returns, who looks almost like a twin to Stella this year.

And, Saratoga Springtime.

I think there will be more premiers tomorrow. Laughing Feather is close . . . so close. And, I am up to about 100 cultivators in scape. Hopefully, peak happens before my camping road trip next month. I just extended by a day.

Four for the Price of One

June 16, 2020Leave a comment

Wow – no blog since Thursday. Why? First – it is pretty much the same 4 bloomers off and on every day. Second – it is camping season and still busy at work. I blog about my travel on my on another blog – so I just didn’t have time for both last night.

Where are my other blooms? Well, last year, I was behind this year with bloom rate. But it was rainy and my overall bloom rate was the highest ever. But, the year before that was an exceptional drought and I already had several more cultivators in bloom, but a lower overall bloom rate for the season.

My only premier since last post: Happy Returns 6.15.20

My theory is easy – the rain is the stimulant to form scapes and decide to bloom for another year. It happens in March and April, the rain. I can water, but in a desert, I can’t keep up with mom nature. When it finally warms up, there are lots of scapes ready to ascend into full blooms.

Drought years tend to warm-up quickly. So, those daylilies that did form scapes because they did OK on less rain emerge earlier due to the daily temps. But, overall, there are fewer scapes that formed because of less moisture in March and April.

This year, we are somewhere in between. I have 85 in scape now – about half. I always start to worry if I don’t see scapes by late June – perhaps this cultivator needs a year off.

I have several that look ready to pop. Laughing Feather, Ojo de Dios, Mesa Verde, Funny Valentine to name a few. I guess I need to wait until tomorrow to see what opens up. For tonight, you get four nights of blog for the price of one read. Soon, I won’t be able to do that and stay caught-up.

Two Trumpets

June 12, 20202 Comments

Sometimes, a picture is better than words. Sometimes, sleep is better than being awake.

The sun and warmth have returned and I have 75 scapes.

Crowning

June 11, 2020Leave a comment

Crowning is a nurse-midwifery term for when a baby’s head begins to come into the world. For many years, it was my job to deliver babies. We knew it wouldn’t be long once the head was crowning.

I start my day by touring my daylilies to see how many cultivators have scapes. I love the anticipation enough that I peak down between the leaves to see is a scape is forming that hasn’t emerged yet. I feel like a midwife checking under the sheets to see if the baby’s head is crowning.

So, today I had the same four bloomers as I had the last few days. Nothing else looks super ready to open, but I have 70 that are crowning 😉 I guess I’ll see what tomorrow brings.

PS since it was so cold last night and yesterday, my blooms lasted into a second day only slightly frazzled.

Rode Hard and Put Away Wet

June 10, 2020Leave a comment

It is an expression about horses – rode hard and put away wet means running a horse so hard that it sweats. Well, looking at my daylilies today, the expression came to mind. The Derecho followed by 2 more days of intense wind – then down to near freezing last night – that is a lot to ask of a daylily. And, the foliage is bent and after two days of dust bowl wind, the last rain was “dirty” so to speak. So, my leaves have a little debris on them.

I still had 4 blooms today. I think Dream Keeper looks so sad and faded today after the storm.

Dream Keeper before the storm 6.7.20 – see the color difference?

And, Saratoga Springtime broke a petal.

Saratoga Springtime – After the storm 6.9.20

Stella, and her cousin, Yellow Punch (a primier bloom today) look pretty normal. Except the buds (other than Saratoga Springtime) did not fully open until this afternoon about 2 PM. It is a clear sign that blooms are partially heat driven.

What’s close – IDK, maybe Funny Valentine. I do have close to 70 scapes now. The wind is gone, like a case of Corona Virus is gone. And, it gets up to 75 tomorrow.

Oh, and my poinsettias are OK. Poinsettias will die if you expose them to temps under 50 in the winter, but I have found that during growing season, they are much more resilient.

Feels Like 32 Degrees

June 9, 2020June 9, 2020Leave a comment

Well, this wind storm (called a derecho) is causing some very cold, wet, windy weather. Derechos usually occur in the Eastern US and Saturday brought Colorado’s first-recorded, significant derecho. It’s still stirring things up. It’s supposed to get down to 38 tonight. I hope my poinsettias are ok.

Wind leaves the plants looking they have been through a hurricane. My poor bleeding heart plant is shredded.

I still had two resilient blooms and 60 scapes. It’ll be cold for a couple days. I may not see much action until then.

Three’s Company: Week 1 Roll-Call

June 8, 2020Leave a comment

Daylily season has begun. I have been trying to remember all of the things I did with the blog last year. I know I did Premier (first bloom for each cultivator, Encore for reblooms and Finales for the final bloom of each cultivator.

Because of the number of flowers I have at peak, it is easier to show Premiers, Encores, and Finales in the daily blog and try to do all the bloomers that week on Sunday. If I have less than 10 cultivators in bloom, I still post each one – so we have a couple weeks. I get a little burned out with it – but it only is crazy for a couple of weeks.

Dream Keeper (My first Ned Roberts bloom for 2020 with a few extra pedals 6.6.20

The other difference on Sunday is that I try to use Powershot photos and not phone photos. During the week, I don’t always have time but I try.

So, as you can see (above), Stella de Oro joined the group today. 3 out of 171 bloomed so far with 55 spikes or so. And 171 cultivators. That is a 1.7% bloom rate. No where to go but up. I am just glad these kids are resilient because the wind has been blowing constantly since the rain stopped yesterday – gusts to 60 MPH. Poor early bloomers get Springtime in the Rockies. Let’s see what tomorrow blows in . . .

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure