How Many Daylilies (or Cats or Dogs) Is Too Many?

July 10, 2024July 10, 2024Leave a comment

Cats, Dogs, Daylilies, and Addictions

As with cats or dogs, the answer to the “how many daylilies is to many” question varies depending on the situation. I know daylily growers that have acres and acres of gorgeous flowers and they have the support to keep them healthy. For me, I won’t go above 200 varieties. (Of those varieties, I had 4 new ones today: “Fringe Benefit“, Collier, Holy Sombrero, and Hesperus. I will include photos throughout the text.)

“Fringe Benefit” was on the label of this bonus daylily. She isn’t Fringe Benefit, but I call her that, anyway.

Cats

I got too many cats once. Well, not all at once. But, between 2006 and 2013, I collected 6 cats in addition to the one I started with. (The first cat, Serendipity, passed in 2013 before I added the 6th cat.) Since 2012, I have rehomed 3 (one to my grandson, two to friends) and another one, my beloved Soksabal, has passed. Almost 20 years later, I still have 2.

Cats need territories and my house isn’t that big. As I added cats and I also added behavior issues/fighting. The fighting was the main reason for rehoming. I also needed tons and tons of litter plus the associated time cleaning. And, cats smell. I am sorry, but they just do. People actually comment on it when they visit and I work hard to keep the pans clean!

Cats are reasonably inexpensive compared to dogs when it comes to vet expenses. I think I read 1 dog = 3 cats when it comes to vet bills. Cats also live forever. So, my oversupply would take years (decades) to clear had I not rehomed a few. (I am ready for no cats for a while after this group is done. Burnout plus they can’t travel. Although I miss Soksabai in the garden.)

Dogs

Now that I have transitioned to be a dog person, I won’t ever go above 14 pounds/dog or above 3 dogs at a time. I learned my lesson – and the vet/food expenses are my limiting factor with my senior/special needs rescue girls. If you are a dog lover, please check out The Three Amigas/The Traveling Pup Crew Instagram Page to follow their adventures.

Cimarron, Kachina, and Kokopelli at Monument Valley on our Southwest road trip.

How Many X Is Too Many?

So, what questions do I as myself about getting another dog/cat now?

Is there enough physical space for them to be happy? Cats in small territories are stressed!
Are there financial resources to support them to live their best life? Food, vet, etc.
Is there enough time to take on the responsibility? Feeding, walking, litter cleaning. At the point that it feels like a burden more often than a joy, then I have likely crossed a line.
Are there regulations that limit the number of pets you can have in your home?

Back to Daylilies

The same rules apply to daylilies, really.

Is there adequate physical space in the garden or yard? This means space with good soil, water and sunshine.
It costs money to grow daylilies even if you get them for free. Soil, fertilizer, etc cost money. I grow in pots because my soil is so bad and my tree roots are aggressively competitive. So, I had to purchase nearly 200 pots that are at least 12 inches in diameter. $$$. I live in the high desert so I water daily – and I live downtown on City water. Water is another cost and financial limitation.
Time is a big factor. It took hours and hours to dig 200 holes in clay soil and bury pots. The pots need winter care, soil, fertilizer, and weed management. I’m saving time on photography this year because my bloom rate is low (so far), but is that because I didn’t have time to do pot maintenance last year or to water last winter?
There are regulations – like property lines – that matter with daylilies. Or water restrictions. My Southwest Road Trip Garden is on the easement. My lot is small, there really isn’t a lot of other space for it. That’s another reason for pots, though, because the can be moved if the City has to dig. It is a limiting factor.

It you have the space, money, time and aren’t violating any laws, then daylily addiction is perfectly legal. Go for it! There is even a Confessions of a Daylily Addict group on Facebook that you can join. (Yes, I am a member.)

Help Grow This Daylily Artist!

Don’t forget to check out the daylily art in my Etsy shop that is on-sale all summer, and into the fall (hopefully) – or until my last daylily blooms. I also have sales going on houseplants, hypertufa pots/art, and volume purchases. It really appreciate those who take a minute to click the link and visit my shop. I appreciate every click!!! I use my income to help afford my travel with my rescue dogs!

A Busy Day and A Gorgeous Daylily Bouquet

July 10, 2024Leave a comment

Some days, I like to talk about daylily gardening and blogging. Other days, I run out of time and energy. Today was full of shipping and restocking for my business, Art from the Hartt. And, I am on the Valley Food Partnership Board that oversees out local Farmer’s Market – so I also had an evening meeting. I figure with almost 200 daylily varieties that I have some farmer in me. My main reason for supporting the local farmers, though, is my background in nursing and wellbeing science. And, my love of leadership and my community.

Today, I had 5 new bloomers. I am just going to cut to the chase and post their photos: Bold Tiger, Pardon Me, Little Grapette, Moon Over Chimayo, and Glen Eyrie. The bottom row are my latest two Ned Roberts spiders. (I’m up to 15/70 in Neds that have bloomed.) Tomorrow, I may have more time to share my gardening life with you. For now, enjoy the pictures!

Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale on Etsy

A reminder about my daylily art that is on-sale at my Etsy shop all summer. Prices will continue to drop! I also have sales running on my handmade hypertufa pots/art, houseplants, and orders over $50. Check it out at this link or click on the photo below.

AI Impact on Blogging and Etsy: Insights from a Daylily Hobbyist and Artist

July 9, 2024Leave a comment

Midseason Monday Meanderings

Midseason Monday brings only 2 first blooms for 2024 to the yard. The first is an older daylily, Prairie Blue Eyes. Even though she is a classic, Prairie Blue Eyes has a nice blue hue around the eye zone.

The second is one I got as a bonus called Nona’s Garnet Spider. She is a 90s girl. Nona is a petite spider that adds a nice red accent in my front path garden.

It was a nice break in the flurry of midseason today. I had other things to get done today. Finding balance during peak season is always a challenge, and I don’t think I am at peak. This year may be more like a prolonged plateau until Fall.

Ned Roberts Spider Daylily Collection To Date

I wanted to show off my Ned Roberts spiders so far this season. I have over 70 total Ned cultivators – I hope this isn’t an accurate mid-season picture as far as bloom rate. I am nowhere close to 35 (or midway). Here they are in the order shown below: Chaco Canyon, Chief Four Fingers, Chokecherry Mountain, Comanche Princess, Coral Taco, Echo Canyon, Fried Green Tomatoes, Kachina Dancer, Kokopelli, Maya Cha Cha, Papa Longlegs, Pueblo Dancer, Talon. 13 of 70 is about 18%, so the Southwest Road Trip Garden is lower than my yard as a whole.

To AI or Not to AI? That is the Question!

To my fellow bloggers out there, what are your thoughts on AI? I have been using the Word Press AI feature for headlines and my stats seem to be up, but it also feels a little distant or impersonal. That said, it does save a little time. The excerpt is another time-saver, but again feels impersonal. I feel like the 3rd person.

I usually use Grammarly, but it hasn’t been running for a few days for some reason. I like the feedback it gives, generally speaking. I used it for my doctorate, also, and found it helpful – although it argues with the AI I use for my Etsy listings. I SMH with the bots arguing about grammar but using AI does seem to be increasing my Etsy traffic.

Bloggers – if you are using AI, do you think it is helping with traffic? If yes – why and how much???

Speaking of Etsy . . .

Please don’t forget my Until the Last Daylily Blooms art sale on Etsy. This sale is on all of my daylily artwork – wall art, pots, clocks, and cards. Please follow my Art from the Hartt page on Facebook and Instagram for updates and process videos. Click here to visit my Etsy shop.

I will be adding some new pieces before the summer is over. I plan to do some daylily paintings over a marbled acrylic pour background. I will be talking more about my process in the next few weeks!

Daylily Photography: Capturing Every Bloom and Seeking Tracking System

July 7, 2024Leave a comment

Today’s Fresh Faces for 2024

July is cooking! I had 6 first of the season blooms today. It is well past yellow trumpet season and the color variety is amazing. Here are today’s new blooms: Better Off Blue, Coral Taco, Echo Canyon, Nurse’s Stethoscope, Talon, and Titan Skye.

Which of these do you think would make the best coaster or mini clock? Please add to comments.

A Day in the Life of a Daylily Hobbyist in July

My days during prime daylily season aren’t particularly entertaining, but they are very different than the other 10-11 months of the year. As always, the day starts with the dogs and a jog. But, somewhere in there, I go out with my cellphone and photograph a bloom from every cultivator that has one. I use to use my Canon Powershot, but as my collection grew my time shrunk. Each photo is edited and uploaded to my online photo drive. By noon-thirty, my phone battery is dying.

After that, I post to Facebook (my personal page) and then make a reel of all the first blooms of the season for Instagram. Then, I share that reel to my business IG, FB, Threads, and my story. My phone is now charging and the clock saying early afternoon..

And, then it’s time for the blog. Except for today, because I stopped to make an extra Instagram video about my Until the Last Daylily Blooms Art Sale on Etsy. So, I opened Canva to start designing a short reel and there went another hour. It does take longer because I am trying to integrate my art business, Art from the Hartt. I don’t sell daylilies because of the need for a nursery license, but I do sell daylily art. So, I do whatever I can do to support myself with my garden.

OK, so now it’s 4 o’something and it’s time for the blog. What can I choose for a topic? Something simple, because it’s late and I still have chores to do. I haven’t touched my art.

Daily Daylily Photography

So, let’s talk about daylily photography. Why do I take a photo of every cultivator that’s blooming every day? Maybe I am just an anal retentive retired nurse who is use to taking vital signs every shift. Only through monitoring the norm can we spot trouble coming. Maybe because I am an artist and I use my photography to make art – the more photos I have, the better chance of capturing cool things like this Nurse’s Stethoscope daylily painting. Maybe it is because the sun is so intense in the high desert that my blooms are melted by early afternoon and I’m not ready to let go.

Looking for a Daily Bloom Tracking System

What I am looking for is an app or software where I can track which cultivators are in bloom every day. I don’t need more hybridization software because I love PlantStep. I want a chart of what is in bloom each day. Ah, this is the anal retentive nurse coming out. But really – I would like to ask my readers if they know of a charting system where I can input the daylily names and put a checkmark each day (like a calendar) that it blooms – then run a report at the end. It would be cool to have a photo of each – but you would only need 1 photo for the year.

I monitor a lot by photographing each day, but I can’t use the data as well as I could with a better system of daily daylily tracking. I appreciate any ideas from readers!

Until The Last Daylily Blooms Art Sale on Etsy

What happens to all those photos? Mostly, they are stored. The inspirational ones, however, can become art! Daylily art was my first dive into painting many years ago and I still adore making art from my daylilies.

I have lots of wall art, clocks, cards, and painted pots available for sale this summer – literally until my last daylily blooms. Last year, that was the day before Halloween. So, while the sale lists an end date in November, it will actually end at midnight 24 hours after my last daylily blooms. If we are lucky enough to be blooming in late October, my art is 50% off! The Instagram (above) has the sale dates and percentages off. Please visit my Etsy store and check it out.

Open My Eyes on October 27th, 2023. She bloomed again the 29th and the bloom was hit with freezing rain. She lost her other buds.

PS – The time is now 5:55 PM and I am about to hit publish.

Colorful Daylily Showcase: Latest Blooms and Seasonal Garden Tasks

July 6, 2024Leave a comment

When I logged off on Sunday, I didn’t think it would be almost a week before I got a chance to write another blog. The heat is on!!! Camping, the 4th of July, and lots of daylilies have happened since I last posted.

What’s New in the Daylily Garden?

Let’s start with 7/1: Hopi Jewel and Lady Fingers.

On 7.2, we were on our camping trip to Vega State Park. Here is a post I did for my travel blog about the trip. There were so many gorgeous wildflowers up there – The wild Colorado Columbines are my favorite.

On 7.3, we returned home. The daylilies where pretty sunburnt by the time I got pictures. Canyon Colors and Maya Cha Cha made their debut in my Southwest Road Trip Garden.

Yankee Doodle Daylily blooms where Strutter’s Ball, Mini Pearl, Chaco Canyon, and (our namesake/mascot) The Colorado Kid.

Those that bloomed the first time on the fifth of July were: Melon Balls, Lime Frost, Pueblo Dreamer, Chief Four Fingers, and Pink and Cream.

Today was a gorgeous slue of new blooms: South Seas, Heron’s Cove, Papa Longlegs, Chokecherry Mountain, Kachina Dancer, Stephanie Returns, and Cheddar Cheese.

Summertime Work in the Daylily Garden

The work of summer is waiting, watching, watering, weeding, dead-heading, counting, photographing, photo editing, making Instagram posts, and writing this blog. It is more than it seem. It takes all day. I started this morning and here I am at 5 PM, still working.

And, this summer is slow. Some of the early bloomers no-showed. I am currently in the low 100s with plants that have scapes, are in bloom, or have finished blooming. Forty one out of 198 have bloomed so far this season. That’s 21%. So, it’s either going to be a wild late summer peak or a boring season. Likely somewhere in-between.

I’m up to 12 Ned Roberts spiders now. Most of my Neds are in the Southwest Road Trip Garden that is likely going to have the lowest bloom rate of any of my gardens.

I do know that I have fall work ahead to improve next year’s bloom rate. And, I will likely fertilize in a few weeks – I will time it around the monsoons, again, if possible. I will also be planting my new daylily roots from Shady Rest once they arrive in late August.

Until the Last Daylily Blooms + Hypertufa Planter Sale on Etsy

Just a quick reminder that all of my Etsy shop daylily artwork – wall art, clocks, pots, paintings – is on sale “Until the Last Daylily Blooms” in my yard. If you follow this blog, you know the photos and paintings are original Colorado artwork. On July 21st, this discount goes from 25% to 30% off. On August 20th to goes from 30% to 35% off. In September it will jump to 40% off. Will I still have blooms in mid to late October? IDK but if I do, my art will be 45% off. How low can you go??? Don’t miss the bus!!! Click here or on the photo below for the specific listing – and be sure to check out all my sale items.

Original wood panel painting of Skinwalker daylily from my Etsy Shop.

I also make hypertufa (a mix of Portland cement, sphagnum moss, and vermiculate) planters that are 25% off on Etsy during July. My planters are too small for daylilies, but I know many of us adore a wide variety of flora. Hypertufa is porous, similar to terra cotta. So, it lets the roots breath. It has thick walls for stability and can be left outdoors in winter. I do put mine in a protected area (shed) for winter due to freeze, thaw. All of my handmade hypertufa pots are put in a vinegar bath for several days to assure that the pH is favorable to plants of all types. Planters can be used indoors or outdoors. I also make some fun art with hypertufa that is also on sale during July. Click here or on the photo to go to the listing – be sure to check out my other hypertufa pots and art that is on sale during July. Love this one of the cat petroglyph at Petrified Forest

Petrified Forest Cat Petroglyph Replica Pot

I’ve Seen It Rainin’ Fire In The Sky.

August 2, 2023August 2, 2023Leave a comment

Nice couple of days in the garden! Rain and much cooler weather – closer to average for us. And, today is Colorado Day. I had a beautiful The Colorado Kid in bloom today, too!

I’m having a Dog Days of Summer Sale at my store this month, so I still didn’t have much time in the garden but hopefully tomorrow. Check it out at my shop link at the bottom of the page. The items are or will be available on Etsy and 20% goes to Colorado rescue organizations.

I’ve had 4 with first blooms for 2023 the last two days. Mama Cuna has really short scapes this year and some bug 🐛 damage. Autumn Jewels, on the other hand, has a lot more buds than usual. In fact, she doesn’t bloom that often. Strange year, for sure.

Please enjoy my reel. In order of appearance: (7.31) Mama Cuna, (8.1) Royal Palace Prince, Autumn Jewels, and Indian Sky.

Please visit my website Www.artfromthehartt.com

Illusion in the Garden

July 29, 2023July 29, 2023Leave a comment

Another warm (hot with UV of 9) in the desert daylily garden. Four new mif-late season cultivators. Winds of Love is suck a cool daylily because she always looks like a painting to me. Like an illusion of perfection in my imperfect garden.

The rains still have not come. They seem more a forecaster’s illusion than science at the moment. Looks like maybe some cooling and rain next week. I’ve said that before.

Please enjoy my IG reel from today. In order: Marque Moon, Western Sandstone, Winds of Love, Zuni Thunderbird.

Code Red

July 27, 2023Leave a comment

I’ve had 3 red and 1 orange daylily have their premiere blooms for 2023 since my last blog 2 days ago. It’s hot and by evening i look like my cooked daylilies. Enjoy!

Double Nickles

July 24, 2023Leave a comment

Today, saw 55 cultivators in bloom and nearly 100 degrees. It’s too hot to enjoy them before the fizzle in the dry heat. I savor my picture taking time because it forces me to pay attention. I’m done with the endless heat and no rain.

My Instagram reel for today has 4 cultivators, but only 3 were new. Previously, I misidentified Wild Rose Fandango as Chokecherry Mountain. I realized today when Chokecherry Mountain bloomed. In order: Prelude to Love, Chokecherry Mountain, Santa Fe Christmas and Wild Rose Fandango.

Another Peakish Day

July 20, 2023July 20, 20232 Comments

It was another peakish in the daylily garden. Not as many first blooms for 2023 as yesterday (or last year), but a decent number. It’s too late to catch-up to last year, but this hot weather is doing its darnedest.

I feel a little sad for my desert daylilies when it’s so hot and dry. They like the South or humid areas with rain much better. Blooms are so faded and look like melted wax by noon in so many. I’m not saying I don’t love them but the reason I take so many photos is to savor the blooms at their best without cooking myself in the sun.

Anyway – here is my Instagram reel with photos for today.

Cultivators in order of appearance: Mayan Poppy, Pick of the Litter, Mildred Mitchell, Star Over Milagro, Truchas Sunrise, Little Grapette, Hesperus, and Bold Tiger.

We had a little monsoon today. Let’s hope the rains are back for the season. Short, intense, unpredictable but cooling and all moisture helps.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Category: July Daylilies