Daylily Photobombs

July 27, 2019July 27, 2019Leave a comment

The peak lives on with 72 blooms today. One of the things about photographing so many daylilies before I have to leave for work is that I get in a rush. I focus on the flower and hit the shutter button. Sometimes, when I am editing later, I find stuff that I didn’t notice at the time.

My favorite photobombs have other daylilies that I didn’t notice in the background – like Happy Hopi today:

Happy Hopi with friends Laughing Feather and Zuni Thunderbird 7/26

And, the most common photobombs are when I cut off a petal in the shot by a lot. Why am I struggling to get photos of Navajo Grey Hills?

Navajo Grey Hills 7/26

Of course, there are occasionally cat photobombs:

Skinwalker and my cat, Sokasbai – 7/25

Or, dog photobombs:

Blue Beat and my dog, Maizzy – 7/25

The most embarrassing, though, are the foot photobombs. The flower is at a weird angle, so you try to bend over so you can get a front shot. What was I thinking?

Black Ice and my feet – 7/26

OK – so what about Premiers. Only three today. The pace slows a bit, although I saw my neighbors at dinner and the first thing they talked about was my giant daylilies. So, it isn’t over yet!

Nona’s Garnet Spider was a bonus. She hasn’t been a consistent bloomer but is putting on a good show of buds this year.

Nona’s Garnet Spider – 7/26

Autumn Jewels . . . I think this was a bonus, too. She is related to El Desperado. I had a huge El Desperado for years but lost it to the weird, cold, wet spring. I lost a couple and several had setbacks . . . but so many are blooming this year that haven’t before or the regulars have a higher bud count than usual. It’s interesting the yin and yang of this year. Anyway – I got a new El Desperado and it is just putting up scapes now. I like both of these cultivators.

Autumn Jewels – 7/26

And, Nearly Wild is another bonus plant – she looks like her ancestor, the ditch lily or Fulva. I am sure that is where she gets her name.

Nearly Wild – 7/26

It is raining, again. We will see what that brings.

Five Months Until Christmas!!!

July 26, 2019July 26, 2019Leave a comment

The rain is pouring outside as the thunder crashes. It was hot today and I had over 70 blooms, again. For some reason, the 7/25 hit me as 5 months until Christmas. The daylilies will lie still under the ground and snow; under layers of leaf mulch. I will be inside bored and playing with orchids and poinsettias as the daylilies rest before the next season. I thought I would share my two Christmas named daylilies from today as a reminder that the seasons change so quickly.

Santa Fe Christmas 7/25

Santa’s Pants 7/25

I got called in early to work, so my daylily photos had to wait until after work – late afternoon. Some were a little weathered, but all were fully open (which is a challenge before work). I had 3 new kids today – and I forgot to take a photo of Navajo Grey Hills. I saw it but got distracted by all the others so had to blow up a photo of it in the background (see top photo). Tired and out of sync.

Navajo Grey Hills – 7/25

Today’s Premiers include Classy Lady – she was one that was either a bonus or an add on to a lily auction order. I like her shape and color – she is a consistent bloomer.

Classy Lady 7/25

Tiger Kitten gave us her first purr for the season. I am fairly sure she was a bonus. Seriously, I paid nothing for many of my daylilies. Others were only a few dollars online. Nurse’s Stethoscope was my most expensive at about $100. But, I helped to name her so it was a treat. (She suffered a set back with the cold spring but finally has a scape.)

Tiger Kitten 7/25

The last Premier is Bella Boo. I got Bella Boo and Platinum Pink Palet Whispers for $10 for 2 deal at a local nursery a couple years ago. I stuck them in the same pot. I think this might be Bella’s first bloom ever in my yard.

Bella Boo 7/25

My flowers are so beautiful at peak. I love the huge spiders the most. Tomorrow, we will see what blooms after the downpour. PS – Speaking of Christmas and poinsettias, the cold spring has my plants looking like they should in mid-June. Sort of wondering if they will come back enough before fall.

Daylily Who’s Who????

July 25, 2019Leave a comment

Another amazing day with over 60 cultivators in bloom. I blogged the other day about knowing my flowers by name tags, mapping, and photographic surroundings. Well, I blew it on one of my Roberts spiders. It all feels so rushed with being at work most of the day – I have been home with my daylilies for the last 4 summers. That is when my collection grew. Now, I rush around in the morning to get pictures and that is really the only time I see these beauties. Hopefully, in a couple years, I can reduce my summer hours.

Until then, my flub was stellar. That is, both daylilies referred to the sky. Seriously, looking at them, they totally look like their names. I don’t know how I got them mixed up other than taking 80-100 photos off my camera, editing and organizing in the evening . . . and travel, and two special needs dogs, and work. Well, stellar flubs happen. Here they are both in bloom the same day (today), which helped.

Star over Milagro 7/24

Truchas Sunrise 7/24

So, now that I have confessed, here are today’s Premiers:

Mama Cuna is another Roberts daylily – it is good to see her, again! She resembles Star over Milagro – I need to look up and see if they share genes in common.

Indian Sky is probably not the real Indian Sky, although it was sold as such. It was one of my early online purchases – it fit my Southwest theme. I think it is still really pretty.

Rosie’s Red was another bonus daylily – and one I really like. The deep red color is beautiful and I like the shape.

Mama Cuna 7/24

Indian Sky 7/24

Rosie’s Red

Route 66

July 24, 2019Leave a comment

Route 66 is, of course, a famous highway that runs partially through the Southwest. We usually pass over it going and coming from our spring road trip to the desert. Route 66 is also the name of one of my favorite daylilies. It was the first place name daylily that I got and after that, I was hooked. My daylily names are like points on a road trip a lot of the time.

Route 66, Flagstaff, Arizona

Today, I had 66 cultivators blooming in my yard. I was thinking about Route 66 (she was in bloom and is the lead photo) and my own route to having 66 daylilies in bloom in one day. In 2015, I had 7. I now have 10X the number of daylilies. How did I get here? . . . well, I started at local nurseries. Then I tried one online site, then another. Eventually, I got attached to my Ned Roberts spiders and found a couple growers with good supplies of those. (I now have around 70 of his cultivators.) I also found the lily auction – which was fun but I get into trouble on that site. LOL.

Some of the daylilies I got in 2015/16 are having their first bloom this year. I think it takes them time to adapt to the desert – and last year, we had the exceptional drought. The year before that, I transplanted them into buried pots – so that was another adjustment. Anyway – it is cool to finally see some of these after tending them for a few years.

A couple of our Premiers today have been around that long and finally blooming. One is Navajo Grey Hills and another is Fringe Benefit. Navajo Grey Hills was a sought after Ned Roberts Southwest named daylily. Fringe Benefit, on the other hand, was a bonus plant that looks nothing like the Fringe Benefit I see online. But, oh well. I honestly had no idea what it looked like until today. I like both of them a lot!

So, without further ado, here are the Premiers (it’s not slowing down – So far, 133 blooms or about 74% bloom rate. Last year this date we were at 123 – and I have a lot more scapes left this year.):

“Fringe Benefit” bonus plant 7/23

Navajo Grey Hills 7/23

Fol da Rol 7/23

Lime Frost 7/23

Glen Eyrie 7/23

Adios Albuquerque 7/23

Bold Tiger 7/23

The Company They Keep!

July 23, 2019July 23, 2019Leave a comment

Sorting photos of daylilies . . . People ask me how I keep them straight. Well, I don’t always but I generally do OK because I have some systems to help. First, I have a garden map that I created a couple years ago. It is awesome, it has circles for each daylily in my Southwest Garden with the color of each daylily. And, they have letters/numbers. You can look up the letter/number and see the daylily name with a photo.

The other system is metal markers that have paint pen on them. Want to know a little secret – if you spray them with engine spray after you paint the name on it stays on for years!!!

So, if one system fails, I have the other. As I go through old photos, though, there is a system that works even if it has been a while since you took the photo. Well, look at the company it keeps. I look for landscaping or other plants. I look for other daylilies – what is the backdrop. Usually, I can figure it out. I did make a couple mistakes on Treasure of the Southwest (confused with Soco Gap) that I need to go back and fix.

It feels good to be sort of caught up. But, I realize how different this year is as far as photography. Previous years, I took my phone photos to post on Facebook or if I didn’t have time to download from the camera. I used the camera to get multiple shots of each bloom – especially new blooms and last blooms. This year, both the cell and camera only have one photo of each cultivator/day except in a few cases. That means if the daylily was blooming during my trip, I may only have a photo or two of it for the whole year – half a dozen max.

Perhaps I can enjoy snapping a few more photos now that the trips are done and I have my photosystem for the year up and running. I had 65 total, today. The peak is still with us. Anyway – not quite so many Premiers today. Here they are:

Apache Uprising 7/22

Marque Moon

Red Hot Returns 7/22

Zuni Eye 7/22

Oh, and my amazing Easter Lily Cactus bloomed today. Like daylilies, the blooms only last one day. Enjoy each moment for it will never return.

Dusky Daylilies: (when your plane lands at 7:50 PM)

July 21, 2019Leave a comment

What a long day. I started at 6:30 AM ET and it’s now tomorrow ET. But, I’m back on MT. And, I’ve been home since 8 PM MT. It’s the time of year where there is still a little light. So, of course, I raced to take daylily photos. Not the best photography AND the poor flowers have had a long day, too. I had 72 cultivators today – it’s another record breaker.

I’m just do Premiers because I’m fading, too.

Ruby Stella 7/20

Wild Horses 7/20

Mayan Poppy 7/20

Chorus Line 7/20

Nosferatu 7/20

Red Bird Mary

Star over Milgro 7/20

Skinwalker 7/20

Lobo Lucy 7/20

Santa Fe Christmas 7/20

Dream Catcher 7/20

Spirit of the Morning 7/20

Shape Shifter 7/20

Desert Icicle 7/20

Counting Flowers on the Wall; That Don’t Bother Me At All!

July 20, 2019July 20, 20193 Comments

So, I had a record number of cultivators in bloom the day before my trip, but no time to blog. Tomorrow, I’m home but too late to see any blooms. So, here is the 7/16 batch. Honestly, I don’t remember which were new bloom, but I’ll try. It’ll be good to see what’s new on Sunday!

Premiers:

Apache Beacon 7/16

Inwood 7/17

Wild Rose Fandango 7/16

Coral Taco 7/16

Little Cadet 7/16

Winds of Love 7/16

Lacey Doily 7/16

Royal Palace Prince 7/16

Black Eyed Susan 7/16

Anasazi 7/16

Reruns – lots and lots of reruns:

Purple de Oro 7/16

Mauna Loa 7/16

Longlesson Show-off 7/16

South Seas 7/16

Isaac 7/16

Stephanie Returns 7/16

Passionate Returns 7/16

Prairie Wildfire 7/16

Catherine Irene 7/16

Strutter’s Ball 7/16

Prairie Blue Eyes 7/16

Red Riddle 7/16

Indian Love Call 7/16

Purple Many Faces 7/16

Iktomi 7/16

Indian Love Call 7/16

Chief Four Fingers 7/16

Zuni Thunderbird 7/16

Rocky Mountain Friends 7/16

Soco Gap 7/16

Black Ice 7/16

Maya Cha Cha 7/16

Purple Mystery 7/16

Ruby Spider 7/16

Comanche Princess 7/16

Mildred Mitchell 7/16

Thin Man 7/16

Lady Fingers 7/16

Papa Long Legs 7/16

Purple Grasshopper 7/16

Chaco Canyon 7/16

Happy Hopi 7/16

Feather Woman 7/16

Ojo de Dios 7/16

Canyon Colors 7/16

Cheddar Cheese 7/16

Mesa Verde 7/16

Primal Scream 7/16

The Colorado Kid 7/16

Melon Balls 7/16

Pardon Me 7/16

Cricket Call 7/16

Wineberry Candy 7/16

Raspberry Propeller 7/16

Route 66 7/16

Golden Stella 7/16

Yellow Punch 7/16

Early Bird Cardinal 7/16

Pink and Cream 7/16

Mini Pearl 7/16

Orange Flurry 7/16

Golden Stella 7/16

Cheyenne Eyes 7/16

Pink Enchilada 7/16

Apache Bandana 7/16

Here Come the Monsoons!

July 16, 2019Leave a comment

Today, I had 63 in bloom. It’s a record. Despite the wet, cold spring that did in a couple of my cultivars, my blooms so far are numerous. For a late start season, we are catching up! And, now, our monsoon rains are assisting with hydration.

I have several that are first blooms ever this year.

For time’s sake, I’m just doing Premiers tonight:

Lullaby Baby 7/15

Bluegrass Music 7/15

Blue Beet 7/15

Mildred Mitchell 7/15

Heavenly Curls 7/15

Medicine Feather 7/15

Black Ice 7/15

Maya Cha Cha 7/15

Indian Giver 7/15

Platinum Pink 7/15

Hesperus 7/15

Jungle Queen 7/15

Mauna Loa 7/15

Chaco Canyon 7/15

My lesson – water early and often. And, with any luck, the monsoons show up like they have this year.

I’m Back and Overwhelmed by Daylilies

July 14, 2019July 14, 20191 Comment

Life changes. This summer is so different from last year. Jobs, schedules, weather. So, I returned from Utah yesterday afternoon to an overwhelming thunderstorm that wiped out a lot of yesterday’s blooms. I decided to start fresh today, kind of. I leave for a work conference in Atlanta on Wednesday. Next Sunday, I can start my regular routine for daylily season. Lol.

So, a lot of Premier blooms (to me) today. Let’s start with my Ned Roberts spider collection:

Apache Bandana 7/14

Black Arrowhead 7/14

Chokecherry Mountain 7/14

Mount Echo Sunrise 7/14

Feather Woman 7/14

Navajo Rodeo 7/14

Rocky Mountain Pals 7/14

Talon 7/14

Zuni Thunderbird 7/14

Echo Canyon 7/14

Chief Four Fingers 7/14

Happy Hopi 7/14

Aztec Firebird 7/14

Laughing Feather 7/14

Iktomi 7/14

Pink Enchilada 7/14

Pink Rain Dance 7/14

Raspberry Propeller 7/14

And, the other Premier blooms:

Holy Sombrero 7/13

Isaac 7/14

Stephanie Returns 7/14

Catherine Irene 7/14

Pink and Cream 7/14

Early Bird Cardinal 7/14

Blue Beat 7/14

Primal Scream 7/14

Ruby Spider 7/14

Passionate Returns 7/14

Purple de Oro 7/14

Santa’s Pants 7/14

Lady Fingers 7/14

Red Riddle 7/14

Pardon Me 7/14

Prairie Blue Eyes 7/14

Route 66 7/14

Orange Flurry 7/14

Strutter’s Ball 7/14

Mini Pearl 7/14

Purple Mystery (hmmmmmm- Strutter’s Ball, perhaps?) 7/14

Wineberry Candy 7/14

Prairie Wildfire 7/14

That’s like almost 40 new cultivars since I left 9 days ago! Overwhelmed doesn’t say it with another trip coming up. I have no clue on bloom rate, but the cold, wet spring mostly seems to have helped.

Reruns:

Yellow Punch 7/14

Comanche Princess 7/14

Return a Smile 7/14

The Colorado Kid 7/14

Papa Long Legs 7/14

Land of Enchantment 7/14

Canyon Colors 7/14

Hopi Jewel 7/14

Ojo de Dios 7/14

Echo Canyon 7/14

Indian Love Call 7/14

Treasure of the Southwest 7/14

Yellow Stella 7/14

Funny Valentine 7/14

Petite Petticoats 7/14

Purple Many Faces 7/14

All American Chief 7/14

Ok, that’s enough. Battery is dead. Several Finales while gone: Saratoga Springtime, Dream Keeper, Chama Valley.

If you are going to miss the start of peak bloom, Utah is a great place to do it. Also amazing colors.

Vaca Day Lilies

July 6, 2019Leave a comment

Today, we started our weeklong camping road trip through southern Utah. So, I’ll miss 5 days of blooms. But, I think there will be plenty left when I return next week.

Premieres: