Until the Last Daylily Blooms: Daylilies Dwindle But Art Production Thrives!

August 19, 20241 Comment

Dwindling Daylilies and Late Bloomers

The daylilies dwindle and I am back to creating new art! Each day still starts with a walk through the blooming daylilies to get photos. It is just a lot easier (and less spectacular) when there are only a couple blooming. And, my Art from the Hartt is back in production because I need colorful adventures to survive!

Still with us this past week were Adios Albuquerque, Autumn Minaret, Frans Hals, Happy Returns, Heirloom Heaven, Indian Sky, Kachina Firecracker, Navajo Curls, Purple Corn Dancer, Raven Woodsong, Rosie’s Red, Simmering Elephants, Skinwalker, and my NOID Roberts that could be Winds of Love or Skinwalker. This coming week is going to start to be much slimmer pickings. Oh, and Happy Returns is a first bloom for the year – likely my last first!

Encouraging Rebloomers, Prepping For Next Season

To encourage my rebloomers, I used liquid fertilizer yesterday and today. I gave about 1/3rd of the pots some organic fertilizer in their water. The rest got Miracle Grow spray today. This should help the plants fill out and rejuvenate before they go dormant.

I think part of my problem this year is that I didn’t do any fall care. I also need to put more soil in a few pots this fall – plus I plan time-released fertilizer next month. The weather is cooling off and we have some rain the next several days, so I picked the spray type since it is still summer.

Until the Last Daylily Blooms Art Sale Prices Drop Again This Week

On the 20th of August, my Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale prices drop to 35% off select items in my Etsy Shop. These prices drop to 40% off is I still have a daylily in bloom on September 20th. My sale ends within 72 hours of my last daylily bloom! Don’t wait!

What is on sale starting August 20th?

Most of my hypertufa art is included in the August 20-Sept 19th sale prices. This includes pots, leaf castings, leaf castings and pet memorials!!!
All of my hand painted tile clocks. There are stunning pour paint on tile and wood styles (various sizes) and landscape clocks. I even have one daylily clock.
My daylily wall art is part of the sale. Hand painted daylily wood panels and signed prints to help you see daylilies 365 days a year!
My daylily terra cotta pots are on sale. These are an adorable way to show your daylily love with a year around houseplant or succulent.
My flower photo notecards are part of the sale!
And more.

Visit my Etsy Shop today! Email me if you are interested in a product line and need help finding the listing.

Adorable Fluid Art Pumpkins On Sale!!

I wanted to spend a minute on the adorable hypertufa pumpkins that I just made. These stunning fall art pieces would look awesome in the yard for Halloween or on the table for Thanksgiving. I have several in process – so more designs will be added to Etsy soon! Great for garden lovers who want some fall color in their lives! Learn more about the pumpkins on my art blog – Art from the Hartt.

More Sale Merchandise Planned for September

I have more autumn themed art that I will add to the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale IN A MONTH on September 20th – if my daylilies are still blooming. The art is so new it isn’t listed (of finished) yet! I have everything from paw art to candle holders to succulent planters coming to the sale if those daylilies keep blooming! Sneak preview below.

I will run the sale through September 2nd regardless to give the rebloomers a little time. If I end the sale and get a very late scape – we will restart the sale where we left off!

Don’t Forget to Enter the Give Away TODAY!

I also have the give-away of $35 if you email a guess on the day the last daylily will bloom. Entries are due by midnight September 2nd. Email me at cathy@artfromthehartt.com with your guess (the day my last daylily blooms for 2024) and put daylily in the topic to enter. More info on the contest here – click.

Ultimate Daylily Blooms Contest: Win $35 Coupon!

August 12, 20242 Comments

As the daylilies slacken-off, life begins to revert to default mode. I have been busy in the Art from the Hartt studio and at my shop. Plus, my other blogs needed a lot of attention. Not to worry, the daylilies are still blooming.

Since my last post, I have had first-of-the-season blooms from Adios Albuquerque, Navajo Curls, and Indian Sky. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I have any other unbloomed scapes. I do see a rebloom scape on Happy Returns, though – so the first of my rebloomers.

I want to encourage some rebloomers this year, so I am going to do another fertilizer experiment next week with liquid Bloom fertilizer. I am using an organic liquid because it is still pretty warm and I think it is a little safer in regards to burning the roots. Liquid fertilizer is often recommended for midseason application. I also need to trim up any spent scapes so the plant can focus needed energy on reblooming.

Rebloomers Matter: My Art Giveaway (ENTER TODAY)!

Ok, folks, I am sweating it because I need rebloomers in order for my Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale to be a success. And – I need readers like you to ENTER THE CONTEST! There is no cost and potentially a $35 coupon to spend in my Etsy shop! I am doing this to help more people know about my Art from the Hartt business.

Art from the Hartt Until The Last Daylily Blooms Giveaway! Enter Today!!!

Here are the details: All you have to do is guess the day that the last daylily will bloom in my yard and email your guess to Cathy@artfromthehartt.com by no later than September first – put “daylily” in the subject line. You need to pick a date that occurs later than September first in order to be entered, so the first date you can pick is September 2nd.

I typically have some blooms throughout September. Last year my last bloom was October 30th. I have had blooms up until Thanksgiving. If I get a very late scape, I may put it in the lean-to at night to protect it from freezing. However, it is rare to get a new scape once the freeze happens. Our date of first freeze is generally around October 1st. Zone 6 Colorado. That’s all the hints that I am giving!

Purple Corn Dancer: One of my favorite late bloomers.

The entry closest to the actual date of the last daylily bloom will win. In the case of a tie, the winning entries will receive a coupon code for $17.50 each. (I do not sell my email list or use it to send spam.)

Last Year’s Last Bloom: Open My Eyes (October 30th.)

One entry per customer. Winner will be notified within a week of the last daylily bloom and will be sent a code to use in my Etsy Shop valid through January 1, 2025.

What If There Are No Rebloomers?

I hope I didn’t jinx myself by running this sale. What if there are no rebloomers? What if the scapes I have now are the last ones of the season? I think the best way to handle this is to give a 20% off coupon to all people who entered the contest if there are no blooms on September 2nd or later. In that case, everyone wins!!! Coupons will expire January 1, 2025 – these will be great to use for Christmas!!!

Purple Thunderbird: Another stunning late bloomer

Come on, Bloom fertilizer, work some magic.

Cool Stuff You Could Win!

Daylily art – of course! Wall art, paintings, signed prints, pots and more.
Pour knobs – colorful hand painted fluid art door knobs (coming soon to Etsy.)
Fall palette hand painted tiles
Hand painted fluid art pumpkins
Stunning pour paint tile and wood pallet clocks
Handmade pots and planters for succulents and houseplants
Daylily and wildflower greeting cards
Yard art and pet memorials!

Visit my shop Art from the Hartt to see the possibilities – you can apply the $35 to any item in my shop!!!!

Pour knobs: Fluid acrylic cupboard knobs.

You have nothing to lose – just drop an email to cathy@artfromthehartt.com with “daylily” in the heading with your guess. Be sure to send in your entry before midnight on September 1st.

Recycled Habitat for Humanity tile turned into a colorful, hand painted coaster.

I am working on fall seasonal decor right now that will be added. For more info on my art – please follow my art process blog at Art from the Hartt.

The Savings Are Happening Now!

Don’t wait for the $35 prize! The shop now has several items at 30% off. This goes up to 35% off in about a week – and I will be throwing in more items! What would you like to see added to the sale items?

Exciting New Daylily Blooms of 2024: Ghost Ranch, Simmering Elephants, and More

July 31, 2024Leave a comment

I am posting a quick update. Several mid-late bloomers in the past week. I haven’t posted here because of brain fog (no AC), little dogs, other blogs (I have 4 active) and old frogs. I am just going to do a quick post to catch-up.

My 3 Special Needs/Senior Rescues Keep Me Busy!

On 7.24, Ghost Ranch bloomed with the first decent sized blooms ever in my yard. I replaced the first plant a couple years ago because it died. I also had a NOID Red Spider that may be another Skinwalker or Winds of Love, but doesn’t perfectly match either. It was suppose to be Coyote Laughs, but it clearly isn’t. I also had reliable El Desperado.

On 7.25 I had a first ever bloom from Simmering Elephants. I like it! I also had Kachina Firecracker and Laughing Feather, but Ned Roberts spiders

Then, 7.26 brought Apache Uprising, Mama Cuna and Little Cadet.

The days 7.27-28 brought Petite Petticoats, Purple Corn Dancer and Cripple Creek.

Today, the newbies (for 2024) were Royal Palace Prince and Frans Hals.

It’s an interesting year – I am still in the low 20s every day. My highest day was in the 30s or low 40s – nothing like 60-70. It has been a slow, steady season.

I am going to go to weekly with this blog now that the season is slowing. I will continue to blog until the last daylily blooms, but frequency will decrease as the yard slows. I need to get back to life!

And, a quick reminder about my Until the Last Daylily Blooms Etsy sale! I use my earnings to help support my rescue dogs, so I appreciate readers who take the time to visit my shop. Thank you!

Visit Art From The Hartt by clicking on picture.

A Dedication to My Daylily Friend and More Colorful Spiders!

July 23, 2024Leave a comment

A Dedication: For My Daylily Friend

Life can change in a moment. A couple of years ago, an online friend who I met through a Facebook daylily group called Daylily Lovers and I did a daylily exchange. He lived in the same USDA zone but in the eastern US. I’m out west. I sent him Saratoga Springtime and he sent me Autumn Minaret. I guess we were looking for daylilies from opposite seasons to add to our yards.

The daylily he sent didn’t do much last year, so today is the first ever bloom for Autumn Minaret. I want to dedicate this post to my friend. So much happened to him so quickly. I doubt he will ever see this post but I wonder how he are doing. The flower will always remind me of his love of daylilies.

Readers – Have you ever exchanged daylilies with a friend? How did it go? Please share the experience! Did you stay local or ship the daylily roots? Do you recommend daylily exchanges to others?

More Ned Spider Daylilies

I had two new Ned Roberts daylilies in the Southwest Road Trip Garden today: Black Arrowhead and Skinwalker. I like the dark daylilies, and I didn’t even realize Black Arrowhead had a scape. Nice surprise.

Skinwalker is an old favorite – love the pale yellow and the wispy petals.

Yesterday, was also a day of new spider daylilies from my Ned Roberts collection. Maybe my Southwest Road Trip Garden will catch-up a little. Cheyenne Eyes, Desert Icicle, Shape Shifter, and Taco Twister. That makes 31 total Roberts Spiders for the year out of 72, I believe. That’s 43% for the year. A dozen more and it’ll be 60%. Stretch goal!

Until the Last Daylily Blooms: Skinwalker Painting and Signed Prints

Immerse yourself in the serene beauty of nature with this exquisite, original hand-painted daylily wall art. Capturing the delicate forms of Skinwalker, a yellow daylily with subtle pink edging, this piece serves as a charming accent for any room.

Speaking of Skinwalker, I have an original hand painted wood panel or limited edition signed prints available of my Skinwalker painting. These are available through my Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale and they are now 30% off through August 19. These are limited edition and available while supplies last. The original panel is now $24.50 (plus free shipping) and the prints are only $8.50. Click on photo to go to listing for the painting (or click here). Click here for listing of the limited edition signed prints.

Visit my Etsy shop Art from the Hartt at the link above – or my business website here. This is a time-limited sale – until my last daylily blooms!

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Driving Me Buggy: How to Prevent Earwig Photobombs

July 21, 2024Leave a comment

Ugly, Smiling Pincers

How many of those of us who take photographs have ever been disgusted to take a closer look at our beautiful flower photo and see those ugly pincers (click link to find out more about earwig ID) were smiling at the camera when we clicked the otherwise gorgeous shot? Ugh!

Parts of earwig visible in the throat of the flower.

Manual Extraction of the Earwig

I am not here to talk about photoshop or insecticide. I am here to talk about twigs. That’s right, twigs. I don’t like to use insecticide because my earwig issues are usually only for a few weeks during hot weather and I worry about other pollinators.

I inspect the flower for earwigs before I take the photo. If I see the nasty little pincers, I grab a nearby twig. I want a fine enough twig not to damage the flower – but it also needs to be strong enough to grab the insect and allow me to drag it out of the flower. Below is a short video with my process. Sorry about the shakiness, I had to try to hold the camera while manually extracting the insect. Normally, I hold the flower steady with the other hand to minimize or prevent flower damage.

Manual extraction of earwig from throat of daylily.

PS – As a nurse-midwife, I occasionally had to manually extract a placenta. There are some similarities to the process. 🙂 Kind of like high, hot, and a hell of a lot!

Dog photo bombs are much cuter than earwig photobombs.

More Colorful Spiders: Reaching for My Stretch Goal . . . of 60% Bloom Rate

I had two first of the season blooms today – both Ned Roberts’ spiders. That makes 25 total for the year so far . . . out of 70+. 😦 That’s about 35%. As with the rest of the yard, I hope for 60%. That’s about 18 more cultivators. It’s my stretch goal!

Winds of Love is such a beautiful flower – she always looks like she is blowing in a gentle breeze. Golden Eclipse has unique coloring. I was cautioned by the grower that it looked a little brown to some buyers – but I adore the color.

When Will My Last Daylily Bloom?

Maybe I should run a contest! Last year, it was the day before Halloween. I have actually have had blooms into November some years, but I moved the plant into the lean-to so the buds didn’t freeze. Typically, late September/early October – about freeze time in Colorado zone 6.

My last bloom last year was Open My Eyes on10.29 – It was hit with freezing rain after blooming.

30% Off Art Sale: Until My Last Daylily Blooms!

I am running a sale. It includes my daylily wall art, tile art, planters, and greeting cards. I will be adding more items once I cut down on blogging in August. For the current 30% off sale (July 21-August 19), I threw in more items – yard art (more gnomes styles coming soon) and my pet memorials. I make pet ash memorials from hosta or begonia leaves and summer is the time to order for more leaf selection!

My dog Maizzy’s memorial leaf during it’s creation.

Yesterday, I decided to include my Colorado wildflower cards. These are made with my own photography of Pearl Lake State Park – the Park is named after my grandma.

Until the Last Daylily Blooms – 30% off art sale!

Visit my Etsy Shop! You can click the photo above, the icon below or this link to see all of my art!

Tie It Up

Today’s blog looked at non-techno, eco-friendly approaches to removing earwigs from your daylily photos. I shared photos of my latest beloved Ned Roberts spider daylilies. And, I shared updated information on my Until the Last Daylily Blooms art sale. I am seriously considering a contest for the person who guesses the last bloom date! What do you think?

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New 2024 Daylily Blooms: Stunning Photos and Varieties Revealed

July 21, 2024Leave a comment

Return from the Colorado Mountains: Fourteen New Bloomers for the Season

I always feel overwhelmed the day after I take a camping break – especially during daylily season! Fortunately or unfortunately, my underwhelming bloom rate for 2024 has made it more manageable. But, it is still a lot of photos to organize and turn into an Instagram reel/blog post.

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Below are my Ned Roberts’ spiders that are new since my last post.

So, how is the bloom rate doing now? I have had 84 of 196. So, 43%. That’s way down from the past few years for this point in time. I am hoping to hit 60%. That would take 34 more new blooms for 2024. I think that’s optimistic. Too many pots decided to rest this year.

Here are my other first blooms for 2024 (since my last post.)

Remediating a Poor Bloom Rate

Gardening is a science experiment. I am going to try some liquid spray fertilizer once we have a some cooler weather in the forecast. I will probably do more time release before the end of the season – and I am considering working some manure into the pots in September, about a month before freeze.

My Wildflower Dogs on our camping trip this week.

Peaks and Wildflowers

I have a wonderful trip to Hahns Peak, Colorado – and to Pearl Lake State Park which is named after my grandmother. The land was once a summer sheep pasture for my granddad’s companies. Grandma sold it to the Forrest Service – and the State Parks owns that portion with the Lake. This is my blog post from last year – I am still working on my post for this year so please check back in a few days.

If I didn’t get much of a daylily peak this year, at least I got a break in the heat at a picturesque Colorado peak.

Hahns Peak (background) from Steamboat Lake State Park, July 2024.

Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale: 30% Off Starting Tomorrow

Just a quick reminder about the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale. Prices drop again tomorrow – 30% off for the next month on daylily wall art, tile art, planters, and cards. I also added my hypertufa and cement yard art and pet memorials. Please visit my last post to see details on the yard art and memorials. So, please come check it out at my Etsy shop!

I wanted to share my Pearl Lake Wildflower Cards as today’s listing. I just added these to the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale that goes live tomorrow. They will be 30% off for the next month! Perfect for flower lovers. The cards will be approximately (depending on Etsy’s calculator) $2.80 for a single card or 10.50 for a set of all 5 cards. This is in addition to FREE SHIPPING. Click on the photo below or this link to go to the listing.

Questions on the sale? Special order requests? Please reach out and email me!

Balancing Daylily Blooms, Camping, Hiking, and Rescue Dogs While Running An Online Business

July 12, 2024Leave a comment

A Saturated Batch of Red Daylilies on a Hot Summer Day

I had a nice bouquet of reds for my first blooms of 2024 today. Red is high-intensity, like the sun is today. I’m actually doing my blog from the basement family room/winter nursery today. Why? Because I don’t have AC and my portable swamp coolers get overwhelmed when it is above 90. It’s 92 (feels like 99) today and 85 upstairs. It’s probably 10 degrees cooler downstairs, but the dogs are disoriented. I’m working to socialize them to the basement.

But, I digress. Daylilies are heat lovers. That’s why so many bloom in mid-season. And, the colors grow more intense and saturated as the season heats up.

Today, was a day for medium sized red blooms. Prelude to Love is a very saturated red with some maroon tones. Ruby Slippers of Oz is a colorful ruby red. Cherokee Star is a deep velvet red – like a theater seat. Twirling Pinata is red with a twist and a yellow-green throat to add some character. And the red-black theme of Route 66 makes me want to be in a 1955 Chevy getting my kicks. I also had one purple – Indian Giver – a nice contrast of intense purple.

It is now mid-July. I may be at peak bloom with 65 that have bloomed for the year and 35 in bloom today. That’s a 33% bloom rate. Maybe we will make it to 66% for the year? Or, maybe we should just get our kicks camping on Route 66 this year.

Making Daylilies Work With Other Summer Hobbies

I wish I had a good recipe for making multiple summer-only hobbies work together. The Daylilies are seriously blooming from July 1st through mid to late August. But, daylilies are in bloom in my yard from early June through September or later. Pretty typical for zone 6 in Colorado, I think.

But, then there is camping. I find connection with nature is very spiritual. Camping season is mid May through Mid September, early October. Schedule conflict.

Let’s take a closer look at how daylilies fit into my warm-season schedule. I may be retired from nursing, but I run a retail art business Art from the Hartt – partially so I can afford to give my rescue dogs their best life. That means running it more like a business than a hobby. So, I don’t consider myself to be retired (although the schedule for “weekends” is more flexible.) Online business are a lot of work.

Juggling Warm-Season Activities

March – Hiking and early yard prep. I often do one day a week of each. I move the daylilies that wintered in the porch or patio back to their summer locations. I start hooking up irrigation systems and giving them some regular water.
April – My road trip to AZ, hiking, yard prep.
May – Camping starts. I rotate a weekend of camping, a weekend of yard work.
June – A repeat of May but add in beginning daylily season and the blog.
July – I plan one camping trip and focus more on the daylilies.
August – My camping road trip becomes the focus – planning and executing. I’m still focused on the daylilies but losing momentum quickly. I want to get back to my other activities.
September – Daylilies are waning in blooms. The daylily pots may need work (new soil, etc) and I am also planting any new daylily roots that I ordered. Fall hiking starts, similar schedule to spring. I take a camping road trip to the 4-corners for several days as my camping finale.
October – If I am lucky, I still have a daylily in bloom here or there. Freeze is happening. Snow usually starts by the end of the month. I love my October canyon hikes.
November – Daylilies are leaf mulched for the winter. My semi-evergreens and evergreens may be moved to the lean-to for the winter.

Managing Warm-Season Activities

How do you manage your multiple activities in the summer? It gets so crazy, that I lose my daylily momentum. I want to get back to putting energy into my business, etc – and I usually give up the blog and photos sooner than I plan to. I would like to hang in this year – until my last daylily blooms. Maybe not daily. I know daylily people who blog all year and never seem to tire of it. How on earth do you keep your momentum?

Pick Your Favorite Daylily this Summer (on Etsy)!

My daylily paintings bloom all year and require no fertilizer! Don’t miss my Until The Last Daylily Blooms sale on Etsy. Right now, my daylily paintings, prints, clocks, and pots are 25% off. I will be making new daylily art to add – but as you can see, it may be a month or so away. What is your favorite? I would love to know so I can make more! Follow the link or click the picture to see the listing.

Capturing Exquisite Daylily Photography: Tools and Techniques

July 12, 2024Leave a comment

Hot Fun!

It’s the time of the season for heat. The monsoons have evaporated for the last week or two. It’s 94 today, suppose to be 100 on Sunday. I wonder what the temp spike will do for my cultivators but also look forward to a mountain get-away from the heat wave next week.

Buttered Popcorn, Anyone?

It’s odd to only have one first-of-the-season bloom on a day like today. But, perhaps a good day to think about Buttered Popcorn. Or maybe it is just that it is 5:30 already and I am getting hungry. Too hot to walk the dogs for an hour or so. Dinner is a ways off. Buttered popcorn – YES! Can I DoorDash that? LOL.

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Daylily Photography Processes and Improvements

I am curious what other daylily photographers are using for their photos. I use to use my Canon Powershot and had no complaints. Except, I had to download the photos and edit them to upload them to my online drive. As my daylily collection grew, my time for photo editing shrunk.

I then shifted to my Kindle for a year or two because of the large screen for focus. It worked OK, but was an awkward size and getting the photos to the online drive was still a pain.

Now, I use my Samsung Galaxy A52. The camera is decent. I honestly don’t see much difference between it and the Canon for my purposes, and I think it is better than the Kindle. It’s easy to upload to my online drive, share to social media, and even blog from my phone (although I prefer my PC for blogging.) Since I use my photos as a tracking method and daylily art reference, I find it adequate and time-efficient. I’m not after super high-quality photographic images to sell.

I would love to hear from other daylily bloggers and photographers about their camera and daily photo process.

Add a Splash of Color to Your Space!

Speaking of daylily art – my original paintings and art prints are on sale ALL SUMMER at my Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale on Etsy. This one of Chief Four Fingers is one of my favorites. The original was acrylic on tile, giving this painting a unique texture. The signed prints look adorable in an 8X8 frame and add a splash of color to any space! Click this link or the photo to go to the Etsy listing! Only $9 currently!!!

Chief Four Fingers daylily signed print.

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!

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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.

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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!