A Shoebox of Adobe

August 27, 2017August 27, 2017Leave a comment

The way the story was told to me, the Ute Indians put a curse on white men way back when because of how they were treated by “us”. The curse was that you had to take a shoebox of our adobe clay earth with you when you left or you were destined to always return. I thought maybe the yucca I planted in the stuff might suffice, but I guess not because I have been back for 12 years.

Each daylily now sits in a buried pot.

I think of the curse as I dig in my Southwestern garden, installing buried pots for most of the daylilies. That stuff is nasty. My poor yucca – it never looked good when it was planted in that stuff. It is either clay or cement . . . no in between. And, I don’t water houseplants that much. Cement.

My only bloom today: Passionate Returns

Today, I finished what I plan to finish this year as far as buried pots in the Southwest garden. I count close to 70 pots out there. And, 50+ in the front garden – but that is easier. Way easier. Now, it is musical daylily pots . . . the big decorative ones. I literally had to figure out which one I needed to start with so the right pots would be empty for the next step. But, this is comparatively easy work. It should move fast. Then, extend the side yard drip system for pots I am putting out there this year. Finally, mulch the Southwestern garden. Then, other than a few side duties, I can put this year to bed. In a shoebox. I can’t wait to hike in the desert canyons this fall. It seems like years since spring.

H2O

August 26, 2017Leave a comment

Water, the giver of life. Usually. I watch Hurricane Harvey and think of my days living in Galveston, Texas. Eighteen years ago? Where did the time go? Well, anyway, those days taught about having so much water that it becomes life threatening. Tonight, my thoughts are with those affected by the storm.

Coral Taco

I live in the desert, so our rain is never close to what they get on the Gulf Coast. Generally, my daylilies beg for more water, not less. Still, I hold my breath as I try both pots and a drip system in the Southwestern garden. I worry that they are too dry. I worry that they are too wet and going to get root rot. I have 3 makes of pots out there, too . . . so one may be OK and the other not. In the spring, I will put them all in plastic pots with drainage inserts = that should also keep the tree roots out. If they all survive the storm.

Passionate Returns

Water. Life giving. Most of the time.

Yellow Punch

The Stages of Daylily Obsession

August 25, 2017Leave a comment

Today, I got a package with daylily roots from one of my favorite places –Shady Rest Gardens. Well, Doris always sends huge fans . . . and she included some extra fans of two that I ordered. Two of the ones I ordered were to thicken up some of mine that shrunk in the Southwestern garden. So, it becomes too much daylily for the pots. I divided both the new ones into two and put the existing small ones with the smaller division of the new ones.

Pink and Cream

So, now I need to make room in the front or side yard for the extras. I am giving away a couple that I have doubles of to make room. And, so it begins . . . which to keep and which to give away? Is variety better than focusing on favorites? I have a feeling this problem could get worse before it gets better. In a way, though, it is nice because you can see how the same cultivator behaves in different conditions in your yard.

Yellow Punch

So, I decided to come up with some stages of daylily obsession:

You consider daylilies the perfect perennial enough that you favor them when you pick out nursery plants for your garden.
You start noticing more little things about the daylilies you pick . . . like size, shape, and name.
You decide to have daylilies as the dominant plant in at least one garden.
You discover that roots are a cheaper way to fill the space, with more selection.
You discover the auctions and find several reputable daylily root nurseries.
You start to favor some type of bloom or hybridizer. In my case, it was the Southwestern names of the Ned Robert’s cultivators that caught my eye.
You realize there are billions and billions of the type you want . . . you start collecting. You have to make fairly major garden revisions to host so many.
A year or two later, you have all the ones you want. They need to be divided and find new homes. It seems weird to have too many.
(I am not here yet) You become a hybridizer and/or farm them to sell.

Coral Taco

Oh, it is my mom’s 100th birthday today. I wish she could be here to see the Easter Lily Cactus blooms today. Like daylilies, they only last one day. I love all their biological features.

Easter Lily Cactus

Shift Happens

August 24, 2017August 24, 2017Leave a comment

I am so excited to be ALMOST done with the buried daylily pots. I have 48 done (in the Southwestern garden), 4 to go. Well, if you don’t count the 20+ that I am not potting this year. I have to tell you that potting the front garden and potting the Southwest garden are day and night different. One is an easy dig, pull weeds out, put in a pot, and easy dig to replace the pot. The Southwestern garden is hard dig with root clippers, shovel, trowel. I feel like a surgeon doing open heart surgery of something! Seriously. I dig enough heavy clay dirt and roots out of each hole to nearly fill one of the big Home Depot buckets (times 48). Then, I bag it and have to dispose of it when done. Fitting in nursery pots is harder than decorative pots because they are not tapered. My carpal tunnel gets so crazy it feels like I am getting shocked.

I am hoping to see new growth on the transplants soon. It seems a bit slow. I will fertilize once I finish the last 4 pots. This weekend . . . finished. This has been the biggest garden project of my life, especially if you count the veggie garden.

Anyway, I had four cool visitors today.

Anasazi had a bit of a double bloom.

Heirloom Heaven bloomed her last bloom of 2017.

Passionate Returns continues to be awesome. I honestly had no idea I would like these blooms so much! Love the shape and color.

And, good old Pink and Cream, my big box re-bloomer still putting out new scapes.

The kids have returned to the bus stop on my running route. Soon, there will be daylily-less days. I still hope to have a few through the first freeze. We are only 2-3 weeks away from putting the Amaryllis and Poinsettias into hibernation for winter bloom. When the spring comes again, we will see if the pots really made a difference. Shift Happens.

No Words

August 23, 2017Leave a comment

Eclipse!

August 22, 2017Leave a comment

Today brought the solar eclipse . . . and the first ever Anasazi bloom in my yard! There is a connection between the Anasazi (Ancient Pueblo Indians) and total solar eclipses. The eclipse of 1097 likely mplayed a part in the Ancient Pueblos leaving the Four Corners area. It was one of many celestial events that may have made this civilization decide that they were being given messages to leave.

I saw a video this AM of a Navajo talking about how the eclipse is seen as spiritual by their tribe. They see it as a time of new beginnings . . . a time to make resolutions. Like New Year, he said. My resolution is a big long pause on some things in my life that were not good for my spirit. I love them too much to ever do harm to them . . . or to ignore harm being done. That is a BIG resolution for me. I am glad I won’t have to do that for another 100 years 🙂

I wish I had realized how the sun reflects in the drops on the petals of the daylilies. I missed my 100-year chance to capture the eclipse within one of the daylilies in my yard. This photo was taken several minutes before the peak. If you look closely in the background, you can see some crescents in the shadows of the tree leaves. It was weirdly dark . . . but I never thought of focusing on the drops. Dang!

I nursed Anasazi from a 3.50 cent fan to a blooming size pot . . . it took 2 years. She is in a pot, of course. I smile for my progress. I had Heirloom Heaven and Cherokee Star also today. Somewhat sad to say this will be my last new bloom for the year . . . unless I get a surprise.

It’s Late

August 21, 2017August 21, 2017Leave a comment

Camping weekend, but still time for an afternoon of fun putting daylilies in underground pots. My carpal tunnel is acting up from the trowel, my back hurts from the shovel. So, I switch back and forth. Five more moved. I have 7 more pots – so that is all I am doing this fall. I should be done by next weekend. In fact, the whole fall daylily thing should be wrapping up soon. I prefer the blooms to the digging. And, having more time to savor camping. 🙂

Here are a few from the last few days.

Coral Taco, Heirloom Heaven, Pink and Cream, Passionate Returns, Indian Sky

And – Three weeks after I discovered the scape, Anasazi is looking ready to bloom. Now, how cool if a flower with that name blooms on the eclipse day? I need to sleep first!

Daylily Legacy

August 18, 2017August 18, 2017Leave a comment

Perhaps it is all the digging and paying for pots for almost every daylily in my yard, but for the first time I feel like I have too many daylilies. I never thought this day would come. I even think the yard looks a bit cluttered with pots now that there are pots buried in the flower beds. I have an idea for a daylily “shelf” in the front yard to break it up a bit. Next year.

I have wondered what I will do when my favorites from the Southwest garden need to be divided – will I give away some of my others to make room for more than one in my yard? I have so many ones that were free gifts . . . now they seem like part of my summer, so I feel bonded. I honestly am overwhelmed. Next year, I hope to be digging more flowers not more dirt.

So, I ordered one more today . . . and, honestly, it is almost nauseating to me to be buying more cultivators now. But, if I have any legacy in the world of daylily hybridizers, it is that I suggested a name and someone ran with it! It was back when the “Show me your stethoscope” deal was happening. I suggested “Nurse’s Stethoscope”. One of the hybridizers was a medical professional . . . and she liked it. It is a beautiful daylily, and I paid more than I normally do for a plant. I have no idea where I will put it, either. Oh, boy, another pot! But, you know, it also seems like I should have it in my collection. And, that is it . . . the inn is full. I will be building the “shelf” come spring!

Catch 22

August 17, 2017August 17, 2017Leave a comment

I swore I would not work putting pots in the Southwest garden again today. I lost the bet with myself. Because there was an area on the thriving side that looked sad and I was curious. What did I find? Lots of tree roots. Even the daylily that I put in a half pot a couple months ago had roots growing up into the pot – but the daylily was doing better than without the pot.

Such findings make me feel a little nauseated, really. I made an investment in daylilies after doing a pilot out there. All my pilot plants did (and do) beautifully. So, I make a bigger garden spot there. The problem is that I think the scale is drawing the roots. In the pilot, I hand watered. But, now I have to mass water and fertilize. The half pot I dug up had roots woven around the outside of the pot in its exact shape. They dominate.

So, now I think I may have to do real garden pots (as opposed to nursery pots) out there, after all. The reason is that if I cut big enough holes in the pot bottoms to protect from root rot, I get root invasion. Catch 22. The real (decorative plastic) pots that I used in the front garden have a second bottom piece to help with drainage – so I can have a large drainage hole and roots can’t really grow up into the daylily space. Oh, I will work with the nursery pots for this year. But, I see the future. I am feeling like a farmer now.

I also divided several more daylilies. Little by little, the fall work is getting done. I am really ready for a boring split shift where I walk the dogs downtown. I feel overwhelmed with daylilies. Seriously. Am I ready to be a farmer?

Anyway, enjoy my blooms from today. I’ll worry about the tree roots.

Under the Surface

August 16, 2017Leave a comment

Today brought a good variety of color. From the yellow-pink blooms of Pizza Crust and Pink & Cream to the deep red of Cherokee Star and Heirloom Heaven. In the middle was pretty Indian Sky.

I am keeping a close eye on the Southwest garden since the replantings. Some yellow leaves here and there. Overall, they are in much better shape despite looking a bit frazzled.

It makes me think of our humanity. Sometimes everything can look pretty perfect on the surface. The garden had mulch and few weeds. The sprinkler ran regularly. And, the lilies looked pretty much OK. But, several were too small and one died. The bloom rate was poor and the blooms looked stunted. I wondered about the sunlight, mostly. Something was off, but the thought of fixing what lay under the surface was something I wanted to deny.

It was odd to deny it . . . I knew what was underneath. Somehow, I hoped top soil would be enough to get the lilies started. I mean, maybe they could do OK in the clay . . . that is what it says on the internet. Seriously, this Colorado Plateau clay is like an abusive, addictive relationship. Not only does it not provide nutrition, it is like cement. I have never seen it get damp more than a couple inches below the surface. The roots that do penetrate are stuck forever, unable to move yet starving for a better existence.

Diving under the surface and fixing the real problem is hard, hard work. And, I am sure there is more of it ahead in this adventure. I could continue to ignore it . . . normalize it. You know, just keep watering harder and hope somehow it corrects itself. But, then it comes time to stop the cycle and do something different. I hope it will pay off and that everything flourishes and blooms. Then, it will be worth it for daylily generations to come.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure