Four Eyes

July 1, 2022July 1, 2022Leave a comment

I have 100s of scapes. They are everywhere. Like little aliens running through the garden.

But, today only brought four new “eyes” to the 2022 blooming cultivators.

Bluegrass Music hasn’t bloomed in a couple years. One of my first near blues – except she is very purple. I just had to have her! And, some grower charged me $50 for 2 scrawny fans.

The others were reds and oranges. Today, I saw a post from 10 years ago on Facebook memories about Ruby Spider’s first bloom. I just loved the huge bloom. Ten years ago, I had like 5 daylilies. Crazy.

Still waiting for all hell to break loose. Tomorrow is another day.

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.

All Hell is About to Break Loose!

June 24, 20223 Comments

No new daylilies in bloom today. What IS new is that I’m now officially retired. But, that’s not why all hell is going to break loose. Well, maybe.

I have ~185 daylilies. I have 8 that are currently in bloom. About 5%. I have ~140 with scapes or in bloom – about 75%. That’s the hell that’s about to break loose. One day, I’ll wake up to 50 in bloom or something.

I’ll show off the 3 Ned Roberts spiders that were in bloom, again, today.

I’ll also show off my gorgeous prickly pear bloom and my cool bromeliad bloom. My broms live on the front porch all summer, so they are part of my outdoor garden.

I wonder if all hell will break loose tomorrow?

Paradoxical Daylilies

June 23, 2022Leave a comment

Indian Giver was a bonus plant I got probably 6 years ago. It had water issues the first couple of years, both loves being in a buried pot. It was a delight when it finally bloomed. I love the purple with white edges. I wouldn’t call it a mini, but it’s a smaller bloom. She had her premiere bloom today.

My other premier bloom was Happy Returns. She is a yellow, fragile Stella de Oro type daylily.

Indian Giver is an old expression for one party thinking they are being given a gift, while the other party thinks it’s a trade. When the second party realizes it isn’t a trade, they take back the “gift.” We would call it scamming these days.

Happy Returns means to wish someone a good day or happy birthday. It’s an expression of hope that the joy will return many times.

The paradox is in the meanings of the names. One is an expression of anger and discontent. The other of goodwill and optimism. It hit me as funny as I posted these to Instagram this morning. Purple and yellow are also opposite colors. I smile at nature’s hidden message.

The monsoons should return tomorrow. We will see.

Kokopelli and the Summer Solstice

June 22, 2022June 22, 2022Leave a comment

Kokopelli is one of the most intriguing and widespread images surviving from ancient Anasazi Indian culture. He is depicted as a humpbacked flute player, and is widely believed to bring well-being to the people. He was the one who would change the seasons and bring about a good harvest. Allie Prater

Kokopelli came today, bringing with him the change of seasons. Kokopelli, my Ned Roberts spider daylily that is. This cultivator is my gateway to my collection of Neds. Spied at the lily auction back when I was first considering a Southwestern Visions garden.

My other premier today is Apache Bandana. Another Ned Roberts spider.

I have 120+ in bloom or scapes. Two days left until retirement starts and 20% cell battery. See you tomorrow. My others are still blooming, BTW.

Slow Start and Creeping Bellflower

June 20, 2022Leave a comment

As my Facebook memories pop-up, I become aware how slow this year is as far as blooms. I have the same 4 in bloom as yesterday.

I counted 103 scapes yesterday and 111 today. So, I think it’s not far off. I’m still upset that so many of my new ones parished over the winter.

Saratoga Springtime and Stella de Oro 6.20

I wanted to talk a little about weeds. Creeping Bellflower is the nemesis of my front garden. I thought the pots would keep the things from spreading, but they also send seeds. This article has good info https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/campanula/removing-creeping-bellflower.htm

Photo of Creeping Bellflower in my walkway garden last year.

The worst part is their roots look like pale daylily roots, and they grow right into the daylily root structure so it looks like daylily root. They grow tall and smother the daylilies.

This year, I’d had enough but was hesitant about herbicides. So, I decided to smother them back. I put down thick landscape fabric (including under each pot) and mulched over that. I bought about $200 in the round pot disks made of coir. Most my pots have those. My other invader is grass, so this should help that, too.

The walkway garden today. Creeping Bellflower 90% gone.

So far, so good. I’ll keep you posted.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Category: June Daylilies