The Last of the Spiders

WOW! I am do far behind blogging this time. July 26 was almost 2 weeks ago. The old porch is painted and my autoimmune thyroid is kicking me in the butt a little.

I’ll start with the last of the Ned Roberts spiders for this blog. How about that?

Adios Albuquerque is a nice, mid-late spider that reminds me of many New Mexico road trips.

Adios Albuquerque 7.27

The very next day, Cripple Creek bloomed. Named for the Colorado gold mining town.

Cripple Creek 7.28

Skinwalker, Kachina Firecracker, and Navajo Curls arrived on 7.29. Great array of color. Love the late spiders.

Skinwalker 7.29
Kachina Firecracker 7.29
Navajo Curls 7.29

On the 30th came Purple Thunderbird and Fox Ears. Fox Ears hasn’t bloomed in a couple of years so I am especially excited to see her back.

Fox Ears 7.30
Purple Thunderbird 7.30

August 2nd brought the last of my Ned spiders to have a first bloom this year. My beloved Purple Corn Dancer. She always closes out the season in my yard. She is the last first of all my blooms.

Purple Corn Dancer 8.2

I’m adding a couple of later bloomers next year (and 3 new Ned Roberts spiders). No more than 200 in my yard because of size and water. I’m also adding a little Coneflower garden as a fur kid memorial garden. I got most of it in yesterday. Both Echinacia and Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan family) should add a little fall interest to the yard.

Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan)
My finished porch

I’ll be back with more! Peak daylily season with a major DIY project. Add autoimmune thyroid and a new business venture downtown. So much for retirement! Lol.

Sunday Morning Creeping Like a Nun

I guess even #daylilygardens need a #dayofrest – less than half of yesterday’s number but so many still unbloomed. Only 3 premiers. I’ll probably have hell to pay tomorrow. And, I’m leaving to go camping for a couple days.

Mini Pearl 7.10 (grandma’s flower)
Blue Heron 7.10
Bold Tiger 7.10

I spent my afternoon wrapping houseplants for my Etsy shop so was glad for the break.

Synchronous Seasons

It’s beginning to look a lot like summer! Today is 6/8. It was 8/6 when I wrote my last blog about daylilies blooming in my yard.

Saratoga Springtime premier bloom 6/3/22

Today isn’t the first day I had a bloom for the year. That was Friday – the same day we left on our first camping trip of the season. I sort of wish daylily season didn’t overlap with camping season. I always have to miss out on something. Last weekend, however, I did not miss out on the mountain wildflowers.

Stella de Oro premier bloom 6/7/22

I have actually been giving some thought to the blog this summer. I am going to simplify my photos and just use my cellphone – except maybe premiers or exceptional blooms. It takes way too much time to do photos of 60+ blooms/day on both cell and camera. I also want to include my other blooms around the yard somehow. And, I would like to spend more energy on providing gardening tips. Plus, some video.

Our wildflower hike on the Grand Mesa in Colorado

I retire next month – at least until I find part-time flexible work. But, I plan to spend a few months getting my Art from the Hartt (and The Midwife’s Nursery) business going. And, camping.

Colorado wildflowers on our hike

I bought several cool daylilies last fall to celebrate semi-retirement. They did horrible – and I bought from more than 1 reliable seller, so it is on my end. I fully lost 2, and have about half the others with one struggling fan. The ones doing well are also mostly one fan, but normal size. It was a dry winter followed by a cold spring. And, I didn’t winter water. Lessons learned. Perhaps the worst part is the name labels washed off the new plants so I have no idea what I lost and what is left, but they should all still have grower labels so I will do some digging and get new labels up.

Mountain wildflowers on our hike

Here is to a new season. And, my usual premier, Saratoga Springtime. I have ~30 scapes and it is going to be 90 degrees the next few days.

Why is it that wildflowers seem so tame compared to daylilies?

Welcome to summer!

Plant Care Videos from The Midwife’s Nursery

I am working on making videos for the various houseplants that I sell on Etsy. I will be adding to these over time. I specialize in epiphyllum cactus varieties, rhizomatous begonias, various succulents and I have a few bromeliads. I will also add the outdoor plants I sell – right now, this is daylily, iris, banana yucca, and a few native southwest US plants. I am a small home-based nursery, so my selections vary with the availability of plants to propagate. Please enjoy the videos and let me know if there are specific ones you want to be added. Also, please follow Art from the Hartt on YouTube for my latest updates. #Houseplantcareinstructions #orchidcactus #queenofthenight

Epiphyllum Cactus Rooting and Care Instructions
Euphorbia Tirucalli Pencil Cactus Rooting and Care Instructions

New Year’s Eve and My First Vlog

Wow! It is next year somewhere, so I am sipping wine and eating chocolate cake.

I am also sharing my first vlog video – a little tour of the “art cove” where I produce my art. It is actually an old workbench in my 1940’s built home. Yes, that is PVC running through it! I also want to wish readers a Happy New Year and look forward to more vlogs throughout the year.

Mama Cuna and the Banana Yucca

There are a zillion daylily gardens that are larger than my little half lot. What makes my garden a little unique (other than my collection of Roberts spiders) is the Southwestern native plants.

Mama Cuna cuddling tha banana yucca in my yard – nearly finished painting

I absolutely adore my daylily-yucca combination photos. Mama Cuna is one of my favorite because of her huge blooms size and purple-red color. It’s a stunning mix with the green-aqua banana yucca leaves.

The first petal appears on the wood

So, this photo of Mama Cuna caught my eye for a painting. This is an 8×8 inch wood panel with lively acrylic paint. The rock bed background is always a fun challenge. And, those cool curly cue yucca spines.

The yucca taking form.

I’ll be listing both the painting and photo prints to my Etsy store tomorrow 11/3/21. Perfect Christmas present for a daylily lover! Www.etsy.com/shop/ArtfromtheHartt

Now, for the rocks and yucca spines.

Winter Blooms: Daylily paintings and photo prints!

Hi guys, sorry I’ve been so quiet the last few weeks. Semi-retirement is crazy so far. Started a business and running 2 programs for my part-time day job.

My Etsy Store is hopping. And, I’ve gotten lots of artwork done. I’m going to share some of my work below just to brighten your day. If you see something you like, please visit my Etsy store!

Skinwalker 8×8 painting (photo prints coming soon)
Daylily ornaments featuring Candy Cane Dreams, Santa Fe Christmas, Desert Icicle and Santa’s Pants
Nurse’s Stethoscope photo print from original painting 8×8
Canyon Colors photo print from original painting 8×8
Land of Enchantment photo print from original painting 8×8

More coming soon!

Fall Daylily Sale! We got spiders!

I have exciting news! My Etsy Store is up and running. And, I am having a Fall Daylily Sale. I actually divided several of my Ned Roberts spiders. I have the following listed on Etsy for sale (link to my shop click here):

Aztec Firebird

Cheyenne Eyes

Comanche Princess

Desert Icicle

Dream Catcher

Land of Enchantment

Laughing Feather

Lobo Lucy

Moon Over Chimayo

Ojo de Dios

Shape Shifter

Purple Many Faces

Spirit of the Morning

Star over Milagro

Winds of Love

So, what have I been up to the last month? Starting my business on Etsy and working in nursing academic leadership 3 days a week. Some year, I am going to blog every day in August! I have Purple Grasshopper still in bloom – she was one of the first and will be the last. It is like she is on steroids this year.

Anyway, please visit my Etsy Shop for photos and more info on the daylily sale. It only goes until 9.11 due to the fact the freeze will get here in October. If the daylily you are interested doesn’t have a listing, please email me at cathy.hartt55@gmail.com to see if I have it available. Growing in fairly small pots means I usually only get 2-4 extra fans when I divide.

I will be back with my end of month list of bloomers for August in a couple days. See you then!

Visit Art from the Hartt on Etsy!