Four for the Price of One

June 16, 2020Leave a comment

Wow – no blog since Thursday. Why? First – it is pretty much the same 4 bloomers off and on every day. Second – it is camping season and still busy at work. I blog about my travel on my on another blog – so I just didn’t have time for both last night.

Where are my other blooms? Well, last year, I was behind this year with bloom rate. But it was rainy and my overall bloom rate was the highest ever. But, the year before that was an exceptional drought and I already had several more cultivators in bloom, but a lower overall bloom rate for the season.

My only premier since last post: Happy Returns 6.15.20

My theory is easy – the rain is the stimulant to form scapes and decide to bloom for another year. It happens in March and April, the rain. I can water, but in a desert, I can’t keep up with mom nature. When it finally warms up, there are lots of scapes ready to ascend into full blooms.

Drought years tend to warm-up quickly. So, those daylilies that did form scapes because they did OK on less rain emerge earlier due to the daily temps. But, overall, there are fewer scapes that formed because of less moisture in March and April.

This year, we are somewhere in between. I have 85 in scape now – about half. I always start to worry if I don’t see scapes by late June – perhaps this cultivator needs a year off.

I have several that look ready to pop. Laughing Feather, Ojo de Dios, Mesa Verde, Funny Valentine to name a few. I guess I need to wait until tomorrow to see what opens up. For tonight, you get four nights of blog for the price of one read. Soon, I won’t be able to do that and stay caught-up.

Crowning

June 11, 2020Leave a comment

Crowning is a nurse-midwifery term for when a baby’s head begins to come into the world. For many years, it was my job to deliver babies. We knew it wouldn’t be long once the head was crowning.

I start my day by touring my daylilies to see how many cultivators have scapes. I love the anticipation enough that I peak down between the leaves to see is a scape is forming that hasn’t emerged yet. I feel like a midwife checking under the sheets to see if the baby’s head is crowning.

So, today I had the same four bloomers as I had the last few days. Nothing else looks super ready to open, but I have 70 that are crowning 😉 I guess I’ll see what tomorrow brings.

PS since it was so cold last night and yesterday, my blooms lasted into a second day only slightly frazzled.

Rode Hard and Put Away Wet

June 10, 2020Leave a comment

It is an expression about horses – rode hard and put away wet means running a horse so hard that it sweats. Well, looking at my daylilies today, the expression came to mind. The Derecho followed by 2 more days of intense wind – then down to near freezing last night – that is a lot to ask of a daylily. And, the foliage is bent and after two days of dust bowl wind, the last rain was “dirty” so to speak. So, my leaves have a little debris on them.

I still had 4 blooms today. I think Dream Keeper looks so sad and faded today after the storm.

Dream Keeper before the storm 6.7.20 – see the color difference?

And, Saratoga Springtime broke a petal.

Saratoga Springtime – After the storm 6.9.20

Stella, and her cousin, Yellow Punch (a primier bloom today) look pretty normal. Except the buds (other than Saratoga Springtime) did not fully open until this afternoon about 2 PM. It is a clear sign that blooms are partially heat driven.

What’s close – IDK, maybe Funny Valentine. I do have close to 70 scapes now. The wind is gone, like a case of Corona Virus is gone. And, it gets up to 75 tomorrow.

Oh, and my poinsettias are OK. Poinsettias will die if you expose them to temps under 50 in the winter, but I have found that during growing season, they are much more resilient.

Feels Like 32 Degrees

June 9, 2020June 9, 2020Leave a comment

Well, this wind storm (called a derecho) is causing some very cold, wet, windy weather. Derechos usually occur in the Eastern US and Saturday brought Colorado’s first-recorded, significant derecho. It’s still stirring things up. It’s supposed to get down to 38 tonight. I hope my poinsettias are ok.

Wind leaves the plants looking they have been through a hurricane. My poor bleeding heart plant is shredded.

I still had two resilient blooms and 60 scapes. It’ll be cold for a couple days. I may not see much action until then.

Three’s Company: Week 1 Roll-Call

June 8, 2020Leave a comment

Daylily season has begun. I have been trying to remember all of the things I did with the blog last year. I know I did Premier (first bloom for each cultivator, Encore for reblooms and Finales for the final bloom of each cultivator.

Because of the number of flowers I have at peak, it is easier to show Premiers, Encores, and Finales in the daily blog and try to do all the bloomers that week on Sunday. If I have less than 10 cultivators in bloom, I still post each one – so we have a couple weeks. I get a little burned out with it – but it only is crazy for a couple of weeks.

Dream Keeper (My first Ned Roberts bloom for 2020 with a few extra pedals 6.6.20

The other difference on Sunday is that I try to use Powershot photos and not phone photos. During the week, I don’t always have time but I try.

So, as you can see (above), Stella de Oro joined the group today. 3 out of 171 bloomed so far with 55 spikes or so. And 171 cultivators. That is a 1.7% bloom rate. No where to go but up. I am just glad these kids are resilient because the wind has been blowing constantly since the rain stopped yesterday – gusts to 60 MPH. Poor early bloomers get Springtime in the Rockies. Let’s see what tomorrow blows in . . .

Rolling Thunder

June 6, 2020June 6, 2020Leave a comment

I woke up to rolling thunder and light rain. It’s Saturday so I slept late. I’m sure the dark, cool weather helped.

As soon as I regained enough consciousness, I started wondering if my big Dream Keeper bud was open.

So, I grabbed my camera and headed outside. I kept the camera tucked in my shirt as I photographed a couple of my early bloomer favorites.

Enchantment in the Garden

May 27, 2020May 27, 2020Leave a comment

A spellbinding magic show that brings you delight and pleasure . . . that is what it means to be enchanted. New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment. I am perhaps less enchanted with New Mexico than I am Arizona because Western Colorado has areas that resemble New Mexico.

Yucca in a drift at White Sands National Monument

That said, I am enchanted by my roadtrips through New Mexico. The badlands are beautiful, and the cultural flavor is richer than Colorado – if you are into the Southwest.

The stark horizon at White Sands National Monument, NM

Last year, we saw different side of New Mexico at White Sands National Monument. It is a landscape so boring that it is enchanting. Non-colored sand with a few resilient plants poking their heads through.

This view reminds me of the ski slopes in Colorado – White Sands National Monument

The hikes are like marching through a very hilly sand box. My cats would likely like it better than my dogs, who considered it way too hot at 85 degrees. I had never seen dunes quite like these ones . . . enchanting.

Kachina, Sazi, and Maizzy feeling the heat at White Sands National Monument

So, my vicarious roadtrip daylily of the day is Land of Enchantment – another Ned Roberts spider. Last year was her first year to bloom in my yard and by golly, she does look a bit like the New Mexico State flag.

She was one of my early bloomers last year. She doesn’t have scapes yet – but I do have 15 cultivators with their weird claw hands being raised to the heavens in prep for a bloom.

I am nervous because drought years tend to bring early blooming but poor bloom rates. I try to keep up with watering, but I am not the same as a good monsoon. And, the monsoons are too late – it is really the March-May water that matters.

I did put in a new drip system out in the walkway garden and the plants are bigger. So, I guess we will wait to see how enchanting this summer is in the garden. 2020 has brought my 65th birthday, a dead furnace, a broken sewer mainline and COVID-19. I could use a little enchantment.

Kachina Dancer and a Mural

May 25, 2020Leave a comment

I started my mural 22 years ago. I finished a few hours ago. For this round. So much has changed. Now, daylilies live on a drip system on this porch.

Little Chief dances on a ruin wall from Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

As I’m taking my spring road trip vicariously through my daylily names, I’ve got my dream vacation in my mural. All the 4-corners States are represented.

A hoodoo from Goblin Valley and my dogs on a Dead Horse Point rock

The older mural have cactus from the Senora, Monument Valley, and a Pueblo Indian dwelling. It’s funny, I used artwork that I owned as my prototype for the latter two.

Now, I use actual photos of vacations. The Southwest is a much bigger part of my life now. So are daylilies.

An old section of the mural -I still need to sign this year

I blogged about my mural last week and used Pueblo Dancer. This time, I’m using Kachina Dancer.

She is a pretty Ned Roberts spider. I’ve had her several years. She has only bloomed once, and I captured only one bloom. I hope she paints the garden this summer.

Holy Sombrero, Batman!

May 24, 2020May 24, 2020Leave a comment

Sombrero – That is a Mexican Hat! And, so tonight’s vicarious road trip through the daylilies takes us to Mexica Hat, UT.

We camped near here last summer at a place called Sand Island Petroglyphs. The Mexican Hat is just a few miles from there – Iconic Utah.

It was hot, early July. We got up early and did whatever hiking we were going to do for the day and then drove in AC the rest of the time. Having dogs on a road trip is a little like Corona virus in that you get your food to go and eat in the car with the AC rolling.

Kachina, Sazi and Maizzy at Monument Valley, UT

Bears Ears National Monument is in the area – Mexican Hat use to be part of that system.

Other favorite stops in the area are Goosenecks State Park and Moki Dugway. “Mokee” is derived from the Spanish “Moqui” meaning “small people” which referred to the Native American cultures (Navajo, Zuni, Hopi). I am naming my next dog Moki. Goes well with Sazi Ana and Kachina.

The Bears Ears themselves are cool to see – which can be done from the top of Moki Dugway and down the road a bit.

Then, there is Natural Bridges National Monument.

So, Holy Sombrero is a big, yellow daylily that I got as a bonus after ordering a bunch of Southwest named daylilies. I guess the hybridizer knew what I was doing with my garden.

The cultivator has bloomed every year without fail. Interestingly enough, it hit peak bloom when we were visiting Mexican Hat last summer. It is suppose to be taller than it is, so I have to dig in the tall daylilies to find it.

A few more scapes today. It is another drought this year and my water bill will show it soon. Hopefully the monsoons kick in. Half the year, I live outside in my yard or on a road trip. The other half, I spend doing warm things inside – well, I hike but not during the coldest days. I am so glad it is spring . . . almost summer.

The Colorado Kid

May 23, 2020May 24, 20201 Comment

No blog about Southwest (and West) daylily names would be complete without a blog about our namesake, The Colorado Kid.

So, what say we take a ride down the Colorado River for a spell. It is only an hour from my house and runs through some of my favorite camping and hiking spots.

The mighty Colorado starts in Rocky Mountain National Park, not too far from where I grew up (in Estes Park). Born in the Colorado snowpack, it (like me) heads straight the desert.

The Colorado runs through Grand Junction – I love camping at Colorado River State Park and exploring the Colorado National Monument. It is amazing the force of wind and water on sandstone.

So, on my February trip, we took the back road (Utah 128) that runs by the Colorado River.

Fisher Towers formed by the Colorado River – 2020

The river then runs through Dead Horse Point – a favorite, dog-friendly hiking spot.

From there, it heads down through Lake Powell.

And on to the Grand Canyon.

Horseshoe Bend, five miles downstream from Lake Powell – 2015

The Colorado Kid daylily was a must-have daylily when I first started collecting daylilies for their place names.

The other reason I picked her is that she is near blue. I was absolutely infatuated with near-blues when I first discovered that daylilies didn’t come in blue. I guess we want what we can’t have. At any rate, her color is best before the sun hits her – she is on the north side of the house. Once the light hits, her blue is decidedly purple.

She is one of my favorite near-blues in my near-blue pot section of the yard. And, she is the namesake of this blog. And, another reason to go road trippin’ vicariously through my daylilies during the COVID pandemic.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Category: Southwest Name Daylilies