Stay Tuned For The Late Show

July 25, 2022Leave a comment

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged in 4-5 days. I’m revamping my old porch that’s 80 years old with a 50 year old extention. And, part of it was DIY to begin with. It’s been an adventure.

My old porch stripped of paint that covered the previous owner’s names. I’ve owned my home for 25 years.

Meanwhile, the daylilies keep blooming. I’m even starting to get late bloomers. My daily count has dropped from 70 to 40. It’s slowing down but definitely not done.

7.21 saw Golden Eclipse, Shape Shifter, and Purple Grasshopper. All Ned Roberts spiders.

7.22 saw Zuni Eye, Coyote Laughs (which I think is a different Roberts spider but was sold to me as CL), Pizza Crust and Memories of OZ.

7.23 saw Dancing Maiden. My 55th Ned Roberts spider. I have 8 more with unbloomed scapes. Still hoping Navajo Gray Hills will throw a scape.

And, today, two bloomers that signal that the season is winding down: Royal Palace Prince and Heirloom Heaven.

I’m still working on the porch but hopefully done in a couple of days. I had no idea what I was getting into.

The Firebird Returns

July 18, 20221 Comment

Aztec Firebird, that is. This was one of the first Ned Roberts spiders in my collection. Somehow, I found Kokopelli on the lily auction. I wanted a Southwestern named daylily garden so I had to have it. It was a little competitive but I wanted it!

I was new as a daylily collector back then and didn’t know much about how online growers worked. But, I quickly figured out enough to add Aztec Firebird and Dream Catcher to my pilot garden. It worked great having them out with the yucca as long as I watered enough.

I started upscaling. I enlarged the garden and planted a lot of daylilies the next couple years. Only 12 bloomed the first year. Ugh. A few died. I put tons of topsoil but when I dug one up to see what was happening, it was embedded in our adobe dirt that apparently swallowed the top soil like quick sand.

The other thing I found was tree roots crowding out the daylilies. This is the desert and they were hungry for the water I was applying daily. Eventually, I potted and buried all 70+ or them. I broke my rib pulling back on tree roots. The nursery pots didn’t do enough to keep tree roots out. So, I went to nicer pots and placed weed guard under each. And, this year, the bloom rate I believe will be the best ever. Welcome back, Firebird.

Here are today’s other premiers:

Adapting the desert to a daylily patch is a labor that love.

Que sera, sera

July 7, 2022Leave a comment

Whatever will be, will be. Such is the lesson of the daylily garden.

Look, I’m exhausted today so quick run down on my premiers today. Then, zzzzz!

I will say a word about my garden’s family section. I have Stephanie Returns, Oh Erica, Isaac, Mayan Poppy (for Maia), Mini Pearl (actually, my grandmother’s name), Catherine Irene (mom’s name), and Santa’s Pants (dad played Santa for years in Estes Park). So, today, Isaac bloomed. It’s a sweet, simple bloom. A bit of a unique shape for a daylily. Kind of like a tulip. I love the green eye. Just right for my grandson.

The other newbies were all reds with yellow eyes 👀.

As for tomorrow, Que sera, sera

July, She Will Fly and Give No Warning to Her Flight

July 3, 2022Leave a comment

Simon and Garfunkel were spot on. July and daylily season will fly by. Time is different in July. The flowers . . . what will bloom and when will it bloom? Blogs are a way to document the days when daylilies dominate our lives. They fly by too fast to remember without written record.

I had 3 new Ned Roberts spiders today, and 6 total premiere blooms for 2022. I’m still in the 20s for bloom totals each day. Peak is 40-60, so we need premiere to outnumber finales for a bit longer.

The first Roberts spider was sold to me as either Pueblo Dreamer or Pueblo Dancer. It’s never fit either description. It hated life until I put it in a pot with a soak hose. I thought that might be making the bloom weird. But, she is happy now and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s Roberts’ Bark at Me. In my Southwest Visions garden? Well, I always take the dogs on road trips. Woof.

Pink Rain Dance is timely this year in the middle of monsoon season. And, Land of Enchantment takes me to all our trips to New Mexico. Last summer was fun visiting Truchas, Chimayo, and Ghost Ranch.

South Seas is a nice coral color that put in an appearance, but not in the Southwest garden.

Sweet Petite Petticoats opened. I think she is my favorite small all yellow bloom

Canyon Colors is a favorite but struggling a bit. The bloom obviously has bug damage. July has definitely brought the bugs. Always a tough problem in the daylily garden.

Tomorrow, we will see what July holds in store.

Out of the Frying Pan . . .

June 30, 2022Leave a comment

And, decidedly into the fire. Several new blooms for 2022 doesn’t sound like many. It really isn’t too bad. Going from less than a dozen in bloom/day to almost 2 dozen today felt like daylily season.

I have 72 cultivators with scapea and or bloomed in the Southwest Visions garden. I don’t have more than a handful with nothing. It’s the same everywhere in my yard this year.

I had 2 premiere Ned Roberts spiders. Chaco Canyon and Orchid Moonrise.

Other premiers are Jungle Queen, Early Bird Cardinal, Thin Man, Primal Scream, and Mesa Verde.

Saratoga Springtime in almost done, as is Dream Keeper. It’s gonna be a crazy July. Primal Scream is right!

Santa Claus & The Eye of God

June 28, 2022Leave a comment

No, this is not a religious post. It’s about my daylily blooms today. And, as for now, all hell (meaning chaos) has not broken loose. I only had 3 premiere or first blooms for 2022 today.

First, another Ned Roberts spider, Ojo de Dios. Translates to the Eye of God. This is my 7th Roberts spider to bloom for 2022.

Indian Love Call also made her premiere. She is my best rebloomer so I put her in 2 places this year.

Where does Santa fit in? Well, Santa was hiding older the shrub when I went on my morning walk. So, he got missed until I found him wilted in the afternoon sun. Poor Santa. I have him in my collection because my dad played Santa for many years when I was a kid.

Many buds, maybe a little monsoon action tomorrow. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had so many in bud in the front garden. I started hooking up my drip system intermittently in laye March. Maybe this is the payoff.

Come Hell or High Water

June 28, 2022Leave a comment

Yesterday, the rains came. Many daylily growers live where that happens often enough that it isn’t out of the ordinary. In Western Colorado, it’s usually out of the ordinary.

Today, all hell started breaking loose. In other words, I had a record number of first blooms for the season. Where to start? Maybe alphabetical.

I best get some sleep. Once it starts, there is no stopping it. Come hell or high water. Because, I think the bloom rate is going to be high this year.

A Native American and Her Horse

June 27, 2022Leave a comment

Today, the rain came. It is monsoon season. Sometimes you get rain, and sometimes it moves right past you. The moisture is good but it may make all hell break loose.

Today, however, the season continued at it’s slow pace. I had two premiers and a ton of fat buds.

Comanche Princess, one of my Ned Roberts spiders bloomed for the first time this season. She always looks like she is doing somersaults to me.

To go along with the theme of a Comanche Princess, Wild Horses also made a premiere today. I actually googled both names together and got a lot of photos of Native Americans and their ponies.

Today’s boutique is dedicated to my beloved but estranged daughter, Erica. We haven’t spoken in 25 years or so. Today is her birthday. I hope she is safe, healthy, happy, and at peace. Happy birthday. I’m proud of you.

That’s all for today.

Groundhogs Day Lilies

June 25, 2022Leave a comment

I love that old movie Groundhogs Day. “Babe, I got you, babe.” Every day, he wakes up to the same day.

Yellow Punch with pollinator moth in camo 6.25

It feels that way in my daylily garden this year. The same 8 cultivators. Some daily, some intermittently. The buds grow larger and leak their color. But, for now it’s “I got you babe.” Until all hell breaks loose.

Synchronous Seasons

June 9, 2022Leave a comment

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.

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.

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.

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!

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Category: Daylily photography