It’s the 4th of July, again! Today’s new blooms for 2023 are Feather Woman and Primal Scream. Something about those names reminds me of a 4th of July parade.
Feather Woman first bloom 7.4Primal Scream first bloom 7.4
I think I missed a couple yesterday. It reminds me of the time my flight out of Denver was delayed multiple times. After a 6 hour wait, we got motel vouchers. We returned bright and early to another 6 hours of delays. One gentleman I met on the plane left the boarding area to charge his phone and almost missed the plane. When we get use to delays, we stop paying attention. They will be back.
Please visit my business website Www.artfromthehartt.com
Two more beautiful daylilies joined the 2023 party today: Funny Valentine and Longlesson Show-off.
Funny Valentine first bloom 7.3
Funny Valentine was one of my early landscaping daylilies. She produces a huge number of blooms from her pot.
Longlesson Show-off first bloom 7.3
Longlesson Show-off was a bonus daylily. I recently moved it to the back patio to give more room to some new favorites. I think the color is nicer in the new spot.
It’s been a weird year. Not just the weather, but definitely the weather. Cold, wet spring. It felt like winter until it was summer – then BAM we get into fire weather with high winds and low humidity. I also lost my beloved soul dog, Sazi, in March. I adopted a new special needs senior in April and she had major surgery in May. Oh, and my art/houseplant business, Art from the Hartt, changed locations in May.
My dog, Kachina, and her new sister, Kokopelli
So, daylilies have been on the back burner. But, hey, it is July 1, and only 6 cultivators have bloomed so far this season, anyway. Mostly Saratoga Springtime – who bloomed on June 7th and is now finished. I lost almost all of the daylilies that I added last fall plus a couple old timers 😦 I added a few new ones from local nurseries to fill gaps – I am also using coleus as pot savers. I ordered a few new ones for fall, but I think I am out of space to nurture too many more.
Saratoga Springtime began blooming 6.7Dream Keeper first bloom 6.25Comanche Princess began blooming today (7.1)Kokopelli began blooming 6.30Open My Eyes began blooming 6.25Stella de Oro began blooming 6.28
I can’t believe it has been nearly 11 months since my last blog. One would think I had 4 other websites and a bunch of social media to run. . . Wait, I do. LOL. Plus, it was past peak when I stopped blogging last year in early August and we are no where near peak today. Anyway, enjoy my list (with pictures) of cultivators that have come through the cold spring and into bloom. I call them psychrophilic.
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.
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 7.30Purple 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.
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 7.10Bold Tiger 7.10
I spent my afternoon wrapping houseplants for my Etsy shop so was glad for the break.
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?
These care videos were created when plants were a larger part of Art from the Hartt. I’m keeping them here because they’re genuinely useful — good plant care information doesn’t expire.
Houseplants Videos cover epiphyllum cactus varieties including Queen of the Night, rhizomatous begonias, and various succulents. A few bromeliad videos are included as well.
Outdoor Plants Additional videos may cover daylilies, iris, banana yucca, and a few native Southwest US varieties.
If you found one of my plants at Country Flair Antiques in Montrose and need care guidance — you’re in the right place. And if there’s something you’d like to see added to the library, feel free to reach out.
I type this on a cold, snowy New Years Day. I got my artwork all out to do a short video vlog of my current products in my Art from the Hartt shop. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a video worth?
For purchase, questions, or special order requests please email me or visit my Etsy shop.
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.
Colorado Kid Daylilies 