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.
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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.
I had 3 new cultivators in bloom for 2023 today: Happy Returns, Indian Love Call, and Ruby Spider. The few blooms get lost in slow-moving garden. Ruby Spider stands out, though.
Happy Returns first bloom 7.2Indian Love Call first bloom 7.2Ruby Spider first bloom 7.2
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.
Hey, Guys, I’m super tired after a long day. Want to share my newbies from today.
Spirit of the Morning is a unique cultivator. I absolutely adore her. She earns her name. These blooms are wasted by noon.
Spirit of the Morning 7.25
Raven Woodsong is a gorgeous near black. It is such a stunning color and form. (That makes 57 Ned Roberts spiders so far this summer).
Raven Woodsong 7.25
El Desperado is actually the first daylily I put in the Southwest Visions garden area a few years before I put in the garden. Wasn’t well planned out for irrigation and he moved back closer to the house. Then, I lost him a few years later and immediately replaced him. Definitely, a late bloomer.
El Desperado 7.25
Bloom rate headed for high 80s, but the Southwest Visions garden is nearly 100%. Except Truchas Sunrise, Navajo Gray Hills, the other 70 something have bloomed or have scapes.
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.
Golden Eclipse 7.21Shape Shifter 7.21Purple Grasshopper 7.21
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.
Zuni Eye 7.22Coyote Laughs 7.22Pizza Crust 7.22Memories of Oz 7.22
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.
Dancing Maiden 7.23
And, today, two bloomers that signal that the season is winding down: Royal Palace Prince and Heirloom Heaven.
Royal Palace Prince 7.24Heirloom 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.
It’s just too hot to enjoy my harden after 11 AM. And my daylilys often look like melted wax by then, anyway. What happened to our cooling monsoons?
The flow of new daylilies begins to drop. It won’t be long until I’m counting non-blooming pots instead of blooms. I think I only have 4 left to bloom in front (unless I get a late scape). I have one on the porch and several in the Southwest Visions garden. It’s like late afternoon on Christmas Day when you realize that the day won’t last forever but there is still dessert to eat.
So, my premiers for yesterday and today included three Ned Roberts spiders and a beautiful bonus cultivator. I think I’m up to 48 Ned Spiders now. I think I have at least 10 more with scapes and there could still be surprise late scapes. So, 140 total cultivators have bloomed so far. 75% bloom rate. Hoping to get to mid 80s if more buds don’t dry up.
So, here we go.
Desert Icicle 7.19Moon Over Chimayo 7.20Iktomi 7.20Carlotta 7.20
I had 3 new Roberts spiders today. That makes 45 Cultivators from Ned Roberts so far.
Dream Keeper was one of my first 3 Roberts spiders when I started the Southwest Visions garden 6 years ago. Love the whispy shape and colors.
Dream Keeper 7.18
Mama Cuna reminds me of the painting I did last fall. She is planted right next to my huge banana yucca and looks like a weird bloom from the succulent. Mama Cuna is a signal that the season is moving on. She is mid-late.
Mama Cuna 7.18
Santa Fe Christmas was my favorite today for some reason. The colors are shape are unique and caught my eye. Not many buds this year, so savor every one of them.
Santa Fe Christmas 7.18Tiger Kitten 7.18
Also, little Tiger Kitten (funny, I sell begonias with that name) opened one of its few buds for the first time today.
134 have bloomed so far. So, bloom rate in the 70s with lots left to go. Purple Corn Dancer is starting to put out scapes. She is always the last one.
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!
Aztec Firebird 7.17
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.
Southwest Visions Garden
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.
Colorado Kid Daylilies 