Like an Advent Calendar (sort of)

June 6, 2018June 6, 2018Leave a comment

Last blog, I compared daylilies to popcorn – starting to pop slowly, then reaching peak season. That is a good analogy, but it is incomplete because each kernel of corn is the same basic size and color. So, my other analogy is an advent calendar minus the religious meaning.

Kokopelli 6/5/18

When I was a kid, I loved my advent calendars every year. I have curiosity as a strength, so opening that little paper window every day was thrilling to me. What was behind door #1, door #2 and door #3? So, something in daylily blooms that is like opening a surprise door to see each cultivator. Today’s doors were Kokopelli and Saratoga Springtime.

Saratoga Springtime 6/5/18

This time of year, I hunt scapes every day. Today, I bet I found half dozen new ones . . . Route 66, Happy Returns, a couple of mystery ones, and one from the Southwest garden (but I forgot which one). And, last but not least, Nurse’s Stethoscope!

Nurse’s Stethoscope scape 6/5/18

I am super jazzed about Nurse’s Stethoscope because I helped to name it! You see, during that whole deal about “Show me your stethoscope” a few years ago, I posted the suggestion to the national daylily society Facebook page. The hybridizer is also in healthcare – she liked the name and the next year Nurse’s Stethoscope became a registered daylily. I held off buying her because she is new and still expensive. But, last year, I decided she would be the last major daylily purchase (other than replacements) for my yard. She cost $100. I thought myself crazy, except I helped to name her. She is my daylily legacy! I worried all winter that the drought would kill her – and winter waterings hold some risk with freeze-thaw plant loss. But, she turned green and got big. Today, there they were, two beautiful scapes. Advent calendar joy fills my heart!

A photo of Nurse’s Stethoscope from her hybridizer’s page

Popcorn

June 5, 2018June 5, 2018Leave a comment

Daylilies remind me of popcorn. When I was a kid, we had a metal tray with a screen over it and a handle that was our popcorn popper. No nuking a sack for a few minutes. No, you had a jar of corn and you poured it in with oil. It was usually over the gas flame on the stove or fireplace. You had to shake the popper the whole time or the popcorn would stick. Good exercise.

Pretty soon, though, if you were persistent enough, you would hear a pop. A few seconds later, another. Pretty soon, the kernels are popping so fast that you can’t count them anymore. Keep shaking that popper! Eventually, they slow to almost a stop. If you wait too long for the last few to pop, the whole thing burns. It is an art, really.

In early June, the daylilies start to pop. One cultivator at a time, the buds get bigger and bigger. The early days are like a treasure hunt in the morning, looking to see if any popped during the night. In a month, we will be at peak. This honestly scares me a little, because if my bloom rate improves like I think it might, I have no clue how I will keep up with photographing them all. It is possible I’ll have days with 100! Crazy. I burn more space on my memory card during daylily season than any other time all year. Then, come mid-August, the explosion begins to settle down. It is back to treasure hunt mod, again. Except it is usually a couple months at the slower rate.

Dream Keeper 2018

So, today Dream Keeper came to visit. She is another Ned Roberts spider daylily. Her sibling (or parent?) is Dream Catcher – one of my most flourishing daylilies. Dream Keeper bloomed early in 2016, right after I put her in, but not again since that time. I love her orange coloring.

Saratoga Springtime 2018

The surprise today was Saratoga Springtime. This is her first ever bloom in my yard. I have had her for 2 years – but she was small and I put her in not the best place. Last summer, I moved the daylilies out of garden areas where they never bloomed. She is now by my driveway on a solar drip system. It seems to agree with her. The surprise was that her pot was mislabeled and I thought she was orange flurry. Geez, I need to get my labeling caught up soon.

I am guessing that the three that have bloomed thus far will be the early popcorn for the next week or so. They are really the only ones ready to pop. But . . . keep shaking because it won’t be long now.

Kokopelli has Landed!

June 3, 2018June 3, 2018Leave a comment

Kokopelli has made history as the first daylily bloom of 2018! In Native American folklore, the Kokopelli turns winter to summer (and visa versa). Today, Kokopelli brought thunderstorms . . . badly needed thunderstorms to our exceptional drought area. Chilly, overcast. When I first went out this AM, it was hot and dry, now it is cool and 60s. I hope she brings more rain.

Kokopelli6.3.1.JPG

Kokopelli was my first Ned Roberts daylily. Now, my Southwest garden bulges with them. I have around 66 Roberts cultivators – most with southwestern names in my Southwestern Garden. I have just over 75 cultivators in the Southwest Garden. What bonds the is names from the Southwest US. They live with some big yucca out in that garden, and a Kokopelli sculpture.

Kokopelli6.3.2.JPG

Last year, I had about 15 different cultivators bloom in the Southwest Garden. Not such a great rate out of 75. That meant I needed to make changes. My soil here is heavy clay with roots embedded. We don’t get much rain, even on a good year. So, that is when I started looking around and noticing that my potted cultivators did better. Therefore, I dug up around 60 of the daylilies in the Southwest Garden, put them in better soil in a quick draining container, and buried the container. Broke a rib and got sciatica in the process.

But, it seems to be paying off because I now have 20 cultivators in scape out there! It is early in the season so I only have 8 scapes in all my other gardens combined. Last fall, I had the elm tree that cast shade on the Southwest Garden removed. I also added a soak hose watering system. 20 in scape by 6/3. . . I can’t believe my eyes. It is the first time I ever had my first bloom from out there, too.

So, once the elm was a stump, I had to figure out what do with said stump. I decided on a native garden. It is raised on one side and slopes down so that the yucca that have been under the tree for years could be part of the new garden. It has sage, Morman tea, ornamental grass, cactus, and several zeroscape flowers. Today, I want to share photos of the current bloomers – neighbors to the Southwest Garden. The new garden is the Hovenweep Garden.

PS – Next up is Orange Flurry – maybe tomorrow. Who knows what a cool, rainy day might bring?

Santa came early . . . or late!

November 1, 2017November 1, 2017Leave a comment

I haven’t blogged since fall hit the air. (And, I adopted a new special needs dog.) But, today warrants a post because I had a new (first time in my “yard”) daylily bloom today. And, the funny thing is that it was Santa’s Pants . . . seems appropriate for the season. The other odd thing is that one of my poinsettias is already blooming some. So, what a great combo. Summer and winter, together on Halloween.

By way of history, I noticed a scape on Santa’s Pants circa 3 weeks ago – after we fell to 26 degrees. But, I am optimistic and it was potted, so I moved it into my back porch, with some nights in my bathroom (I have to hang it to cat-proof it) and some warm days in the full sun outside. The temperature is warmer on the porch, but the light is more direct outside. It has been a balance. The photos look a little weird inside my porch, but it works. 3 more buds. Love having blooms into November.

There Goes The Sun

September 1, 2017Leave a comment

Tonight will be my last nightly blog. Maybe weekly from here out. It struck me how dark it was by the time I got off work. Like, WTH? The change always seems so quick to me in fall and so slow in the spring. And, then we set the clocks to make it worse.

Anasazi

Today, though, brought another double Anasazi bloom. These are such cool flowers!!! I have wondered if there was a mix-up when they shipped it . . . early/mid bloomer and not a double. But, it is a rebloomer, so maybe that is why is showed up so late. I did find a post in the Lily Auction today that said that it can double. Perhaps it knows it is stealing the show right now with so little competition.

Azalea

It reminds me a bit of my new Azalea, actually. Pink frilly blossoms. Make blooms while the sun shines. Tomorrow starts the 4th month of blooms. I can’t wait for May!

Speaking of Anasazi, this weekend, I am off to the 4-Corners!

Yellow Punch

Many Blessings

August 31, 2017Leave a comment

It nears September. Today, I did musical Amaryllis pots. Some of my bulbs are 4 feet tall now. Never doubt that you get more plant if you buy from a nursery vs big box or grocery store. They are a cool addition to the landscape. In pots, of course. I can’t believe it is nearly time to bring them in to hibernate for a bit. And, my two poinsettias will be a pain to get into bloom, again. But, I am up for it.

Stella de Oro

And, so I am beginning to plan past daylily season. I hope to have blooms through September. Maybe, if another scape appears, they will go into October. It happened last year . . . into November. I await my last addition . . . Nurse’s Stethoscope. I have her pot ready. As soon as the weird weather passes Kentucky, she will be on her way.

Passionate Returns

It is time to blog less. I am ready to watch some videos in the evening. I am taking steps to decide what my new steps will be. I hope I can get my orchids to bloom this winter! And, keep my new azalea blooming. I hope this winter brings many blessings. We shall see. No matter what, the blooms will help.

Yellow Punch

A little help from my friends

August 30, 2017Leave a comment

Daylilies bring positive emotion to most folks. The bright colors are engaging and awe inspiring. This year, I gave daylilies away to friends and coworkers. I gave them away at some cost to myself. Next year, I think I may try to sell some of my daylily offspring to offset the costs of my hobby.

Passionate Returns

This year, though, I chose to give them. At first, I was just wanting to thin mine so they would do better in the pots. So, I found takers. The very cool side effect was seeing friends I had not seen for a while. One coworker even came to Montrose to pick hers up (well, amongst other errands here). Wow, makes me wish I lived closer to Colorado Springs where the Daylily Society meetings are. Life can be isolated in rural America.

Broadening and building resources means keeping our ratios of positivity high. That helps us reach out to others, thus forming networks of resilience. I need to be working on that ratio right now. My job requires an attitude of positivity, always. It is business, 100%. That means I need to surround myself in a garden of supportive friends. The daylilies are a start.

PS – I loved the red yucca pods (above). They add a fall touch to the yard as the daylilies dwindle,

Savor the Moment

August 29, 2017Leave a comment

The days are getting shorter. Although it is hot now . . . as hot as July. But, still, fall is coming. It is getting dark by the time I get off work at 8 PM. I am beginning to want to watch Call the Midwife in the evenings and put the blog more on the back burner. Not yet, but it is coming.

Today, I had one of my big box rebloomers (Pink and Cream) and a red Mexican Daylily (Shellflower). They are mostly yellow – so I like the red ones. It is cool they are peaking later than the real daylilies.

It is time for me to begin to consider matters from the heart . . . sadness, anger, grief. Such loss of so much that I wanted for life. I know where it leads . . . and I need to find new soil. Unreal. Life feels unreal. The daylilies have been the perfect pause button. I am not ready to let them go. Hoping for several more weeks of the (more) occasional bloom. Savor the moment. Smile 🙂

Double or Nothing

August 28, 2017Leave a comment

Anasazi is turning out to be a delightful addition to my late bloomers. She is producing a lot of double blooms. I only have a couple other doubles, and neither bloomed this year. She was my only flower today . . . otherwise, nothing.

Today, I did the musical pots task. It was hot, too – 91. But, it is finished. No more big digging projects this year. I up-potted Mesa Verde and Canyon Colors – the size of their root balls was amazing. I feel sort of sad for the daylilies in the Southwest garden – those pots will be easy to outgrow. Still, more space than now. Who knows what ideas I will have for the future?

I also got the drip system rigged up for the border garden pots. That will go on with the soak hose. I hope there is enough sun out there. Oh, who knows what a couple years will bring? All I know is that another season is winding down . . . yet, so many of the daylilies look so happy to have a chance to grow in good soil with better water retention. The Colorado Plateau has sunshine going for it, though. As long as there aren’t trees in the way, that is.

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.

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Category: daylily container garden