The Shrunken Days of August

August 10, 2019Leave a comment

My eyes are so tired that they drip with tears. I woke up before dawn, but dawn is getting later. And, my sprinklers now go off after dark in the evening even though I have not reset the time. Work starts earlier and ends later. Things always seem chaotic at the start of a school year. I am tireder than is healthy – it impacts my wellbeing. I can’t push the envelope the way I use to. Neither can the sun — it begins its rest cycle. I feel a bit sad because I don’t like the cold, dark side of the year. Mostly, though, I feel tired.

So, I had two Premiers today that I want to talk about before sleep. Frans Hals is one of my early mail order daylilies. It has been moved around the yard a few times. I thought this was the most beautiful daylily I had ever seen – this and Best Seller. I believe they were in my first batch of roots. Now, it looks kind of ordinary. Still, a nice late bloomer.

Frans Hals 8/9

And, my apologies to Chaco Canyon and Kachina Dancer. I got them mixed up. The one that bloomed earlier is Kachina Dancer. Chaco Canyon was divided and I thought her division had put out some small flowers – but it was Kachina Dancer. My main Chaco lost a scape to a storm in the spring – but managed to send out a re-bloom spike that opened today. Clearly, a different flower.

Chaco Canyon 8/9

Kachina Dancer – July, 2019

Thirty-two today. I have broken records nearly every day for a month. As the days shrink, so will the daylilies. Perhaps we all need a rest.

Oh – and my Apple Blossom Amaryllis baby bulbs (mom was pregnant about 3 years ago) finally bloomed! Merry Christmas – Winter Solstice is coming.

Apple Blossom Amaryllis 8/9

My Favorite!

August 9, 2019August 9, 2019Leave a comment

This day started before the sun. Trying to photograph daylilies right after the sun rises is futile – or at least not productive. I had 30 in bloom on this first day of faculty meetings. I had to finish photos this evening because daylilies look sad when the bud is only a little open.

Anyway – This is a short blog because I am tired and tomorrow is another 5:30 wake-up. I am a late bloomer, so my bud is only half-open when I get to work. But . . . I have to blog because my favorite daylily showed-up today! Purple Corn Dancer was my premier today. I don’t know why I like that bloom so much, but I do. So, tonight let the Corn Dancer enjoy center stage. I’ll see you tomorrow!

My Colorado Kids

August 8, 2019August 8, 2019Leave a comment

Faculty comes back to work tomorrow (except me – because the boss gets to work all summer 😉 ) Still, I had 40 cultivators in bloom today. Last year at this time, I was having surgery in a week, in-process with interviewing for this job . . . and I had only a handful of daylilies. There were none left to bloom. And, mid-August, the blog dropped into nothingness until poinsettia time. It is Jugust in my yard – my poinsettias look like it’s June and my daylilies think it is July . . . and faculty come back to work tomorrow.

Anyway – I still have 5ish that have scapes and have not bloomed yet and a lot with buds left – this blog season is not close to being over yet. So, what to talk about today? Well, I was going to talk about my daylilies with Colorado names. A couple are in bloom today – but let’s look at the summer.

Cripple Creek is a golden Ned Roberts spider that I assume is named for the gold rush town of Cripple Creek in Colorado. Ned, the hybridizer, lived fairly near Cripple Creek, CO.

Cripple Creek – 2019

I believe Echo Canyon is named for a canyon near the Royal Gorge. Ned Roberts lived closeby in Colorado Springs.

Echo Canyon – 2019

Glen Eyrie IS a place in Colorado Springs – no doubt about it! It is an old castle and new conference center. Another Ned Roberts spider.

Glen Eyrie 2019

Hesperus is the name of a sacred (to the Navajo) mountain in the San Juan Mountain Range near my home. I have no idea if the cultivator was named after the mountain, but I like the theory enough that I bought the daylily.

Hesperus – 2019

Mount Echo Sunrise – I am guessing this is named after Echo Mountain that is the tallest mountain visible from Denver. It is a guess because it is another Ned Roberts daylily.

Mount Echo Sunrise – 2019

Rocky Mountain Pals was named for the folks at the University Cancer Center in Denver – there Ned Roberts went for treatment later in his life. At least that is the story I was told.

Rocky Mountain Pals – 2019

The Colorado Kid is named after the movie – but when I saw the name early in my place name and blue daylily addiction, she had to be mine. She is the mascot of this blog!

The Colorado Kid – 2019

Lovely Ladies

August 7, 2019August 7, 2019Leave a comment

As I download, upload, and edit photos every night, I try to think of some meaningful focus for this blog. Tonight, I am tired and what strikes me are the lovely lady names of some of today’s bloomers. They all look like they are dancing to me, too.

Classy Lady caught my eye first thing!

Classy Lady 8/6

Dancing Maiden is getting some great, flowing blooms now.

Dancing Maiden 8/6

Rosie’s Red always adds such color to the front garden.

Rosie’s Red 8/6

Nona’s Garnet Spider is doing morning yoga.

Nona’s Garnet Spider 8/6

Maya Cha Cha is always an eye-catching gal ready to meet the day with a smile.

Maya Cha Cha 8/6

Lobo Lucy is a fine redhead.

Lobo Lucy 8/6

Black-eyed Susan shines on.

Black-Eyed Susan 8/6

And, Ruby Stella is a non-stop bloomer this summer!

Ruby Stella 8/6

The top photo is Spirit of the Morning, who woke up dancing a beautiful ballet.

And, amidst my flourishing daylilies who have not been bug sprayed or fertilized all summer due to my busy schedule are my Christmas plants. My baby amaryllis bulbs of 3 years ago are sending up spikes now! But, my poinsettias still look like they are frozen in early June. New leaves, but small. I started fertilizing . . . but I usually bring these in late August to start the bloom cycle and these guys are nowhere close to ready. Well, one is big and full. Two are small size but not pigmy. Three are pigmy. What to do with them if they don’t correct in the next few weeks??? Was it the cold spring??? And, oh, the fall daylily chores start to cross my mind – maybe move a couple that haven’t bloomed or add a front garden drip system. A gardener’s mind is always dancing.

Sleepy Eyes

August 6, 2019August 6, 2019Leave a comment

Circadian rhythms. We all have them and they are at least partially hardwired. If you let people follow them with more flexible schedules, generally productivity increases. The next couple of weeks are not real flexible, so I started gearing up today. Woke up at 5:50 something – still took until 9 AM to get to work. I didn’t get to bed until after midnight. Sleepy eyes. (I have the yard, exercise, a disabled dog, making breakfast, getting ready . . . it adds up.)

Daylilies have different rhythms, too. I started taking photos just before 7 AM. Several blooms were open (I had 28 cultivators today), but they lacked the coloring and energy that they would have an hour or two later. The worst one today was Black Arrowhead. Sleepy eyes. She went from this:

To this (at 7 PM):

Spirit of the Morning must have been named for her rhythms. She was in full bloom and ready to go with my first walk through the garden. By 2 PM, she looks like melted wax. Her petals just drip into nothingness.

I am like Black Arrowhead. Good night.

A Watched Pot

August 5, 20191 Comment

So, this was my camping weekend. And, I’ve had 5 Premiere blooms since my last post. I want to say something before I share them. I had over 30 still in bloom. I have 5 or 6 with scapes that have not bloomed yet. I could possibly get late scapes. I’m at 85% bloom rate – anticipate low 90’s. This week, my regular hours start. It’s going to get crazy. I hope to photograph those that are open before I leave but many don’t open until 9 or 10 AM. They are pretty cooked by 2 PM, so we will see how this goes. Crazy late cycle.

Two brand new blooms on Friday. Cripple Creek – a golden flower that I assume Ned Roberts named after the Colorado gold rush town. Coberg Fright Wig – from back when I bought crazy names. Tried to die, but I finally got it thriving 4 years later.

Cripple Creek 8/2

Coberg Fright Wig 8/2

And, today some new blooms for 2019 on old favorites. Western Sandstone and Pizza Crust. They look and act enough alike that I looked up parentage a couple years ago and they are kin.

Pizza Crust 8/4

Western Sandstone 8/4

Orange Vols is probably my favorite orange.

Orange Vols 8/4

Colorado Day: My Top 10 Red Daylilies

August 2, 2019August 2, 20191 Comment

August 1st brought a cool day with rain. School starts next week, work is buzzing. But, I tell myself, we are still 6 weeks from fall and the short day, cool seasons. August 1st is also Colorado Day. Colorado means red. So, since I have no new cultivators today (but still 50+ in bloom), I thought I would share my top 10 red daylilies. Here they are in no particular order:

Ruby Spider – one of my oldest daylilies – 2019

Baja – another oldy but goodie (looks like velvet) – 2019

Route 66 – nice colors (she brings to mind my spring road trip) – 2019

Maya Cha Cha – This is for my Granddaughter, Maia! – 2019

Apache Bandana – an eye-catching flower – 2019

Santa’s Pants – a jolly old soul – 2019

Fox Ears – I simply love the shape! – 2019

Nurse’s Stethoscope – I helped name this one (my legacy) – 2019

Navajo Rodeo – I like the distinctive shape and the name – 2019

Kachina Firecracker – looks like red ribbons – 2019

What’s your favorite?

50 Startling Southwest Spider Daylilies!

August 1, 20191 Comment

Only 40 something daylilies today and no Premiers. So, it leaves time to talk about some of my daylily categories. I have talked a lot about my Ned Roberts spiders. I originally started collecting them after seeing Kokopelli on the Lily Auction – I love the Southwest and had to have her (I got the bid)! From there, I added more = lots more. At first, it was all fully Southwest names. Then, I gathered some animal and insect names to my Ned collection. And, some stellar names. IDK, is Dancing Maiden a name from the Southwest?

So, tonight, I will show you my purely Southwest named daylilies – the obvious names from the Southwest. But, first, Mildred Mitchell had an extra petal today – a genetic flaw that made her look pretty cool.

OK – Here are my Southwest Ned Roberts spiders. (These are the ones that have bloomed the last two years. Mostly this year, except Kokopelli did not bloom this year – which is unusual).

Adios Albuquerque – 2019

Apache Bandana – 2019

Apache Beacon – 2019

Aztec Firebirds – 2019

Black Arrowhead – 2019

Chaco Canyon – 2019

Cheyenne Eyes – 2019

Chief Four Fingers – 2019

Chokecherry Mountain – 2019

Comanche Princess – 2019

Coral Taco – 2019

Desert Icicle

Dream Catcher

Echo Canyon – 2019

Feather Woman – 2019

Ghost Ranch – 2019

Glen Eyrie – 2019

Happy Hopi – 2019

Iktomi – 2019

Kachina Firecracker – 2019

Kokopelli – 2018

Land of Enchantment – 2019

Laughing Feather – 2019

Mama Cuna – 2019

Maya Cha Cha – 2019

Medicine Feather – 2019

Mount Echo Sunrise – 2019

Navajo Curls – 2018

Navajo Grey Hills – 2019

Navajo Rodeo – 2019

Ojo de Dios – 2019

Pink Enchalada – 2019

Pink Rain Dance – 2019

Purple Corndancer – 2018

Purple Many Faces – 2019

Purple Thunderbird – 2019

Santa Fe Christmas

Shape Shifter – 2019

Skinwalker – 2019

Spirit of the Morning – 2019

Star Over Milagro – 2019

Taco Twister – 2019

Talon – 2019

Truchas Sunrise – 2019

Twirling Pinata – 2018

Wild Rose Fandango – 2019

Zuni Eye – 2019

Zuni Thunderbird – 2019

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!