Fire Flowers of the Corona

July 5, 2020Leave a comment

A different kind of 4th of July. I slept in – no parade. Then, after taking photos of the 28 cultivators in bloom, I decided it was too hot to take the dogs downtown. So, I puttered around the yard a little. Then, came the weather warning on my phone – big thunderstorm. I quickly finished lunch on the porch and brought the dogs in.

As the storm passed, I worked on my daylily business. I mean – I found an Oh Erica for my yard!!!! One daylily nursery had one listed as display only (not for sale) – but that must mean they have some if they aren’t for sale, right? Turns out, right. He was willing to sell me a couple of fans this fall. I’ll also be adding Dr Doom for a memory I have with my daughter.

Once the business was done, I headed out to pot some of the succulents that I have been rooting. I use orchid pots and fill the holes with decorative moss. It is cute and provides a lot of ventilation. Except, I ordered the moss a month ago and I can’t find where I put it. I had enough left over from last time for today’s project.

The thunderheads continued to pass over, which means non of my yard work that involves power tools got done. Other than daylily business, plotting my roadtrip, updating my GPS, and baking a silly 4th cake, I got nothing done. But, maybe that is balance.

I had a few premiers today – Let’s start with an alltime favorite Ned Roberts spider – Aztec Firebird. I love this one – it is so colorful – really stands out in the garden for all who pass by.

Passionate Returns is back for another year. She is a favorite among my Facebook followers.

And, little $5 special, Bella Boo, made an appearance. She makes a statement for a simple flower.

Ruby Spider celebrating her independence today 7.4.20

So, tomorrow, that means lots of yard work and getting ready for my trip. Maybe today is Groundhog day and we can just get stuck on a lazy day for awhile. LOL – Groundhog day in the daylily garden is my life . . . maybe if I do that or that differently next time, it will bloom.

Comanche Princess also looking like the 4th 7.4.20

Oh – one Finale from yesterday that I forgot to mention – Echo Canyon.

Happy 4th! PS – Fire Flowers are a synonym for fireworks. This year, my daylilies are the only fireworks. Hopefully, next year things are a little more normal, again. Wear your mask! Get one with daylilies on it!

Fooled Me

July 4, 2020Leave a comment

Oh, daylilies. I was so clueless when I began collecting these circa 7-8 years ago that I did dumb stuff with them. I stuck them in shade with no water. I stuck them in the hard, clay soil. I put them in pots with no water source except when I remembered the watering can. It never rains here.

The mystery daylily that I almost killed but revived from seedling size. No idea on name so this year she is Nosferatwo because she reminds me a little of Nosferatu 7.3.20

A few years ago, it hit me that all I was doing was buying daylilies, watching them bloom for one cycle followed by watching them wither away. So, I put in irrigation and cut down trees. I broke a rib burying pots so the soil was more controlled. I put in more irrigation . . . and more, and more.

Stephanie Returns brightens the yard on her second day in bloom 7.3.20

I actually think I will have a decent bloom rate this year – and I think it is all in the water. Well, not all – but it is the desert.

So, when I first xeroscaped portions of my front yard, I purchased 3 daylilies to be part of the design – Orange Vols, Lady Fingers and a cultivator named Fooled Me. The first couple of years, they all did fine. Then, Fooled Me started to fade. No bloom, shrinking (last bloom 2015). I know that spot gets dry. Two years ago, I put it in a buried put in the same place . . . it got bigger but no bloom. This year, with the added drip sprinkler, it bloomed – today, for the first time since 2015 -IT BLOOMED!!! I may know how to make daylilies fade, but I am also getting good at year-to-year resuscitation. NEVER GIVE UP!

Other premiers today were Chokecherry Mountain – a Robert’s spider that reminds me a lot of Talon.

And, my favorite early “Southwest name” daylily, Route 66. Roadtrip memories flood my mind when I see her. Love her classic colors.

Soco Gap in the gap between two big yuccas 7.3.20

Soco Gap – a big plant that was a bonus back when the Southwest garden was an experiment. I plunked the little fans in between two medium sized Yuccas thinking she was small. Well, she is a decent sized cultivator and the cactus have grown, too. No way I can dig her out and put her in a pot – but the Yuccas are likely pretty protective of her!

Little Purple de Oro also had a premier bloom. IDK how I ended up with her and she is likely one of my least favorites. I keep waiting to fall in love.

Early Bird Cardinal with her flag colored background 7.3.20

Tomorrow is the 4th and I hope for a big show in the yard because they will be my fireworks during the coronavirus year.

Novel

July 3, 20201 Comment

So many people wonder why I am so into daylilies. Afterall, they only last one day. I have orchids, but I am growing pretty bored and letting them go – maybe because the blooms last so long that, after a while, you stop noticing.

Novel experience (as long as it is positive) boosts human wellbeing. We get a dopamine rush when we see something new! Novel experiences boost our memory and improve our longevity. I’m a creative – I need novel experiences to feel alive.

It is funny, because life was in a horrible rut before the novel coronavirus entered my life. Suddenly, the world turned upside-down. My onground job went online. My whole routine changed. Life was novel. Not to say that a novel virus (one that is a whole new experience to the human immune system) is good for us because it is not a positive kind of experience.

So, yea, each bud opens and last a day (two in cold weather). But, if you get enough buds on enough plants, it plays this beautiful melody that is unique each and everyday.

I had 40 today. I’m beat going through photos, but had some great premiers. My strange and handsome Talon gave me a premier bloom for 2020 today.

And, Cherokee Star, who chose not to bloom last year, returned for a 2020 premier today. She looks like velvet.

Speaking of happiness, Happy Hopi showed up today for another bloom year. She has the most interesting shape – definitely NOT a trumpet.

Indian Giver opened her first bud of the year today – a fun bonus daylily in the Southwest garden.

The front garden is coming to life a little more with some fun color – Prairie Wildfire showed up and looks ready for July 4th in Red, White and Blue.

Black Eyed Susan also came into view today – she adds some new color to my Stella pot.

And, in my family garden, my Stephanie Returns returned. Maybe, someday she will return into my life. For now, the flower reminds me of her beautiful spirit.

Daylily Savings Time should mean we only need 4 hours of sleep so we have enough time for the peak. I guess there can be too much novelty. I read we need to balance it with daily routine . . . except, each bloom lasts only one day.

Mystery Solved

July 2, 20202 Comments

When I put in my Southwest daylily garden, I filled it with a lot of Ned Roberts spiders and other names that sounded like the Southwest in some way. I put most of the garden in about 4 years ago. I ordered from several different daylily hybridizers/gardens across the country. I planted them and labelled them.

Since then, I have dug most of them back up and put them in buried pots. I got new labels a couple of times – now they are metal. I made a map about 3 years ago – and it is pretty reliable except there are doubles of a couple and that doesn’t make sense because of how I organized them when I planted them.

That brings me to today’s premier blooms. The mystery daylily that is a double of Kachina Dancer (bloomed yesterday) but in a different row and is clearly a different bloom – but same name on the label. So, what is it? Well, I also ordered Kiva Dancer about that time and looking at pictures from the web, I think that I just mislabeled the daylily. Kachina instead of Kiva. Anyway – she bloomed last year and I had the wrong name because Kachina Dancer had never bloomed before yesterday. That’s a long story, but Kiva Dancer (I think) had her first 2020 bloom this year.

We started with yellow trumpets and today brought some showier yellow daylilies. Holy Sombrero is a very showy, big, ruffly bloom.

And, one of my older daylilies that is loving the place in the garden that I moved it a couple summers ago premiered today – Cheddar Cheese. I have a picture I painted of her in my room – one of my first paintings.

Last, but never least, was a premier on Heron’s Cove. It was cold last night, so many of my blooms didn’t open right today. Hers is a little frumpy.

Here is a picture of Oh Erica from the American Daylily Society page

I have a request of my readers. I am looking for a daylily named Erica for my family section of the garden. I have both grandkids, my oldest daughter, my mom, my grandma . . . but I need to find one named Erica, like my youngest daughter. I like one called Oh, Erica by a hybridizer in Indiana named Bart Beck – but I can’t find contact. I also like “Erica’s Awake”. Anyway – if my readers know of any Erica named daylilies or how to contact Bart Beck – please leave a comment.

It’s tomorrow. I am going to bed.

Daylilies of Corona: June Blooms

July 1, 2020Leave a comment

Last year, I posted all my blooms each week on Sunday since it is too much to do daily. This year, I am going to try to do a recap at the end of the month. So, for June 2020, we had the following 50:

Humungous Red Spiders

July 1, 2020Leave a comment

Humungous red spiders surviving in a drought. Something the opposite of itsy bitsy spiders in the rain. Plus, these spiders are daylilies.

I only had two premiers today, and 30 total blooms. The first premier is one of the daylilies that my pup, Kachina, is named after. Yep, I was planting my daylilies when I rescued her. Her name was Tina . . . so Kachina fit perfectly. Honestly, I think this is the only bloom I have ever had on this particular cultivator in 4 years since I planted. So, that is a real premier bloom.

The second big spider was one of my early mail order daylilies. I think it reminded me of Ruby Spider. This is probably one of the biggest blooms in my collection if you measure petal-end to petal-end.

The wind blew in cold and a touch of rain. It took forever for a lot of the blooms to open and they always look funky when that happens. But, the two big, old red spiders were wide awake.

I’m up to 50 cultivators that have bloomed now. That is 30% and it isn’t July yet. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Pink Spiders, Red Flags, and Things that Go Bump in the Night

June 30, 2020Leave a comment

Today was another red flag day with a fair amount of wind. Nothing like we have had a few times this spring – but decidedly dry and breezy. And, as the clouds do so often in drought years, the grey clouds seem to tease as they drift by, only leaving a few drops of moisture behind.

The premiers today were mostly pink spiders. And, pink Ned Roberts spiders, at that. Now, trying to photograph a spider daylily with wind gusts up to 30 MPH is interesting. I am like a dentist trying to tell the wind to hold it’s breath until I snap the picture. My patient is non-compliant.

First premier pink spider was Rocky Mountain Pals. This daylily has a sweet story of being dedicated to the hybridizer’s cancer treatment team. I told the story to a co-worker today because she is battling cancer.

Next, big old Pink Rain Dance catches my eye. She is a huge bloom and such a great pastel pink. I can only guess Ned Roberts named her during a drought year in the Southwest.

Funky named Pink Enchilada was also in my pack of pink premier spiders. Another big. floppy spider from my Roberts collection. I suppose they are all cousins, or something.

My last premier is an older daylily that deserves some credit for a bit of near blue – which didn’t happen much during the time she was hybridized. Prairie Blue Eyes opened her eyes for the first time in 2020 today.

I recounted scapes tonight and I think it is about 130 now. So, potentially a decent bloom rate. I can’t believe I’ll miss 6 days of it – but I will savor coming home to see the color.

As for things that go bump in the night – it is probably just my cats playing with their toys at 2 AM.

Mediocre

June 29, 2020Leave a comment

Maybe it is because last year we had the rain and we were officially not in a drought that makes this year seem mediocre. I don’t mean bad . . . I just mean a pretty good drought year. But, an exceptional drought year just the same.

My irrigation water basically comes from a system that feeds off the Gunnison – This is Blue Lake Reservoir, where we camped, and it looks pretty full so far.

There are a few cultivators that didn’t bloom last year that usually are reliable – I think it was the freezing rain that stopped them. This year, Navajo Rodeo and Papa Longlegs sit looking like tall grass. Maybe I need to get the new pots going this fall – maybe the tree roots are taking over, again. I mean – the tree is thirsty, too.

I had some premiers today – perhaps I should start with Santa Claus – because Santa’s Pants showed up today.

Wineberry Candy also had a premier bloom. She doesn’t fit my name theme at all, but I wanted a new daylily the day I saw her.

Speaking of name themes – another from my family garden had a premier today. Catherine Irene – named for my mom. She is a pretty little mini.

And, Early Bird Cardinal showed up for the first time. When I put the sprinkler (drip) system in a week ago, I wondered if I was on-time because her buds were so dry. But, they seem much happier with a little more water. Sadly, my porch drip system battery died and I didn’t notice – I lost some buds off of primal scream. Darn drought. We need monsoons.

And, one finale while I was gone yesterday – Dream Keeper. My spring bloomers are hibernating. Seems too soon.

It was a fun weekend camping and I need to hit the hay. Tomorrow, another day of novel pretty blooms to explore. Good night!

Be Like A Daylily

June 27, 2020Leave a comment

As I scribe this, I sit in my tent near Blue Mesa Lake in Colorado. The wind finally stopped. It’ll be cool tonight, low 40s.

Maybe the reason I like camping is the raw exposure to nature. It’s how my daylilies live. And, they don’t have sleeping bags for the cold nights or tents to protect they from the wind. No wonder drought years (50% of the time?) Take their toll on bud count and bloom rate.

I had some great premiers today. All American Chief was a bonus plant I got 6 years ago that finally bloomed last year. It reminds me of Ruby Spider.

Cheyenne Eyes is a pretty Robert’s spider with an interesting color combo.

Comanche Princess also has a premiere. I live her curly spider legs.

My other pot that says Happy Returns had a bloom. I think it’s a little more yellow that the other pot I have on them.

It’s 10. I can barely keep my eyes open. I’m usually up until after midnight. The melatonin of watching a sunset, maybe feeling the temp drop. We respond to nature’s signals just like the daylilies.

Happy Birthday, Erica. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease.

First of the Lasts

June 26, 2020Leave a comment

Today marks almost 3 weeks since the first bloom of 2020. I’ve had about 31 cultivators bloom so far. Not quite 20% of my daylilies.

Today brought several new faces to the group – so the daylily epidemic is upon us. Hopi Jewel is a fun cultivator with an interesting shape. She was a bonus daylily for one of my Southwestern daylily name orders.

I did well with Robert’s spider daylily premier blooms. Echo Canyon came to visit for the first time of 2020. Such a lanky spider.

Coral Taco also joined us today for the premier of 2020. She is another lanky Roberts cultivator.

Chaco Canyon, a little less lanky spider from the Roberts group also showed up. I love the place Chaco Canyon. I wonder if I would favor these daylilies less if they had names that didn’t bring to mind my roadtrips?

Mini Pearl from my family name section also gave us a premier today. She was purchased because my grandma was named Mini Pearl.

Now, for my finales (OMG – the summer always goes too fast):

I missed that Mildred Mitchell had a finale bloom yesterday. She was short lived this year – only one scape. I think my near blues need to be repotted in fresh soil, again. Bluegrass Music appears to be taking the year off.

Saratoga Springtime also had her finale bloom. Springtime is gone, afterall. She gets a lot of attention because she has the yard to herself for a couple weeks. Well, she and the plainer yellow trumpets and Dream Keeper.

Tomorrow, another day, another camping trip. When it is January, I think about summer and wonder how the he## I fit it all in. Mostly, no sleep . . . well, a little but not enough.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Category: spider daylilies