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?

The Last of the Spiders

August 8, 20221 Comment

WOW! I am do far behind blogging this time. July 26 was almost 2 weeks ago. The old porch is painted and my autoimmune thyroid is kicking me in the butt a little.

I’ll start with the last of the Ned Roberts spiders for this blog. How about that?

Adios Albuquerque is a nice, mid-late spider that reminds me of many New Mexico road trips.

The very next day, Cripple Creek bloomed. Named for the Colorado gold mining town.

Skinwalker, Kachina Firecracker, and Navajo Curls arrived on 7.29. Great array of color. Love the late spiders.

On the 30th came Purple Thunderbird and Fox Ears. Fox Ears hasn’t bloomed in a couple of years so I am especially excited to see her back.

August 2nd brought the last of my Ned spiders to have a first bloom this year. My beloved Purple Corn Dancer. She always closes out the season in my yard. She is the last first of all my blooms.

I’m adding a couple of later bloomers next year (and 3 new Ned Roberts spiders). No more than 200 in my yard because of size and water. I’m also adding a little Coneflower garden as a fur kid memorial garden. I got most of it in yesterday. Both Echinacia and Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan family) should add a little fall interest to the yard.

I’ll be back with more! Peak daylily season with a major DIY project. Add autoimmune thyroid and a new business venture downtown. So much for retirement! Lol.

Staying engaged after the peak

August 4, 20213 Comments

I’m back, but only to catch up on finales since Sunday. Once school starts next week, it seems like the daylilies fade in my mind a little. But, this year I am semi-retired so hoping to stay a bit engaged. Last year, I did that huge 70+ buried pot repotting. That was 4 weekends of work and nearly ran into freeze. So, I suppose you could call that engaged.

This year’s project is to re-organize some of my less favorite/poor bloomers with some new cultivators. I just purchased Singing in the Sunshine, Irish Handshake, Ghost Ranch (more fans because I only have one), Off to See the Wizard, Memories of Oz, Sea Panther, Ruby Slippers, Blue Flirt, Wildwood Flower (mine died a couple years ago), and (maybe) another fan of Coyote Laughs (I am not sure the one I have is actually Coyote Laughs). That is 9 or 10 more, but I will be selling some of mine that I am eliminating. I also may do a big pot of leftovers – I have one that does great! I am amazed because it is soooo crowded.

Chaco Canyon – Finale 8.4. Bloomed from 6.27 to today – good year for this one!

I have several with only a few (if that) buds left. I think the closing daylilies this year will be Purple Corn Dancer, Navajo Curls, Purple Thunderbird and Adios Albuquerque. Will they last until September? Will there be an August surprise scape on a non-bloomer?

Sixty-Six Spiderman Daylilies for 2020

August 9, 2020Leave a comment

Hi all – When it is Saturday and it hasn’t been the fun day that I planned. COVID had driven the world mad – and they seem to all be mad at me. So, how about a little Ned Robert’s daylily therapy? I fell in love with Ned’s southwestern named daylilies after finding Kokopelli on Lily Auction 5 years ago. I have a collection of 70 ish now. I am including a few from 2019 if they didn’t bloom this year. Comment with your favorite! Direct from Montrose, Colorado . . .

Adios, Albuquerque

May 15, 2020May 15, 20202 Comments

This year, there was no spring break road trip – adios, Albuquerque. Adios to the best week of the year. Adios to the canyons of the Southwest. The only novel adventure this year is named Corona – and I don’t mean the arch in Utah.

Petroglyph National Monument HQ – 2014

Albuquerque is about 6-8 hours down US Hwy 550. In fact, that highway starts in Montrose and ends in Albuquerque.

Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque, NM – 2014

When I think of Albuquerque, I think of my 2014 road trip with my new dog, Maizzy, and my new Honda Fit, Mini Pearl. I had plans for Chaco Canyon and for Route 66, and what lie in between was a mystery – my choice of which way to turn on the open road. The first couple of years, I didn’t get reservations until the day I left the previous motel. More dogs = more planning.

Petroglyph National Monument – 2014

I don’t like cities, so I was zooming as quickly as I could from US Hwy 550 to I-40 (Route 66) when I noticed a sign for Petroglyph National Monument. I was like – “Well, that sounds interesting”, so off I went. There was a dog friendly section where we hiked until mid afternoon.

Maizzy – my non-desert dog in the desert at Petroglyph National Monument

Road trips through the Southwest are geology on wheels. I found these petroglyphs stunning because they were on volcanic rock and not red sandstone like I am use to. This one looks like Charlie Brown with a baseball cap to me.

Charlie Brown Petroglyph and Petroglyph National Monument

From there, we headed west on I-40. I saw signs for El Malpias National Monument, so we stopped there for a short scenic drive. It was like a combo of volcanic rock and red sandstone. I realized they what I realize most everyday of every road trip – that I play too long and run out of time before I want to stop.

El Malpias National Monument – 2014

The other cool place near Albuquerque is Salinas Mission Pueblos National Monument. We didn’t run into these 2016. That was another serendipity where we were on a stretch of highway with nothing to do between point A and point B – then there was this photo on the wall of ruins – and I had to find them.

Maizzy at Salinas Mission Pueblo Ruins – 2016

Last year, our trip took us through that area, again – so I went with all three dogs. I love the big old mission buildings as a background for my small dogs.

Kachina, Sazi, and Maizzy at Salinas Mission Pueblo Ruins National Monument – 2019

These trips to me are Albuquerque – unique in culture and landscape. Adios Albuquerque was added to my daylily garden in 2016, I think. After these trips that are forever engraved in my memory. I put it in my Southwest garden with (mostly) other Ned Roberts spiders.

Adios Albuquerque daylily – 2019

The garden was put in where there was only rock garden – on the easement between the sidewalk and the street. I have no back yard, because it is a split lot – so I actually have almost all of these daylilies in buried pots in case the water main ever busts there.

Adios Albuquerque daylily – 2019

I like the bloom – it is subtle. Albuquerque was Ned’s home until he moved to Colorado for treatment – at least that is my understanding. He, no doubt, loved the New Mexico culture. It is different from Colorado . . . it must have been hard for him to say Adios, Albuquerque. Fortunately, I have his daylilies to take me on a road trip on the year of the pandemic.

Adios Albuquerque daylily 2019

Land of Enchantment

August 24, 2019August 24, 2019Leave a comment

I love New Mexico. It is, indeed, lives up to its motto of being the Land of Enchantment. I have a fair number of daylilies named after New Mexico places. More than any other State with the exception of Colorado. Probably largely because Spiderman, Ned Roberts, (my favorite hybridizer) lived in Albuquerque for several years.

Land of Enchantment 2019

We traveled through New Mexico on our April Southwest road trip this year. We saw badlands, flea markets, monuments, ruins, and white sands. It was awesome . . . at least until norovirus hit and wrecked havoc on the last 4 days of a 9 day trip. But, I was well until we were in Arizona and headed back toward the 4-corners.

Chaco Canyon 2019

We will be down in the 4-corners area for Labor Day. I am looking forward to it . . . I should say we were also near there on our summer road trip, but not in New Mexico.

Chama Valley 2019

I have actually visited places in New Mexico because I have daylilies with that name. Like Ghost Ranch – totally put it on the map because of my daylily.

Ghost Ranch 2019

Chaco Canyon I visited long before my daylily collection – It is such a sacred place with the roughest 20 something mile road in the world. But worth it.

Santa Fe Christmas 2019

Santa Fe is a pretty yuppie town (is that still a word?) Artists abound and it is kind of pricy, but we were near there a few years ago passing through New Mexico.

Truchas Sunrise – 2019

Truchas, New Mexico is about halfway between Santa Fe and Taos. I actually contemplated driving there just because of my daylily, but didn’t like the traffic of Santa Fe.

Star over Milagro 2019

I’ve never been to Milagro – but it isn’t too far from the Salinas Pueblo Mission Ruins south of Albuquerque that we have visited a couple of times. Next time, maybe I will plan to go watch stars over Milagro.

Moon over Chimayo

Chimayo, New Mexico is east of Espanola, where my favorite Aunt Pearl once lived. The road trips have taken us close to Chimayo . . . maybe next time.

Navajo Grey Hills 2019

Navajo Grey Hills is likely named after Two Grey Hills Trading Post. This is a place I have driven through between Shiprock and Window Rock on the Navajo reservation. Honestly, it must have been before one of my daylilies was named after the place because I had to look up where the name came from. Again . . . future destination.

Adios Albuquerque 2019

I have been to Albuquerque many times. I don’t like cities – but there are also some cool smaller towns and attractions near Albuquerque. I like Petroglyph National Monument! US Highway 550 starts in my hometown of Montrose, CO and ends just north of Albuquerque – 305 miles from my door (+/-). Chaco Canyon is along that route. I often take the backroads, though.

So, tonight I am using internet explorer to blog. Still glitchy (my photos keep disappearing) but faster than Edge. Ugh . . . I may just have to switch out of S Mode and go back to Chrome. This would be murder during peak season.

Flowers for Maia

August 23, 2019August 23, 20192 Comments

Today is my granddaughter, Maia’s, birthday. I limit my words on the anniversary of her birth. Honestly, there are no words for all I feel about her

Adios Albuquerque 8.22

I will say I had a nice bouquet for her today. And, I wanted to see if my computer would run smoother on WordPress tonight. The blog post I did yesterday crashes the app on my phone . . . I don’t know why.

Fox Ears 8.22

Anyway – enjoy Maia’s flowers. The featured photo is Maya Cha Cha – not in bloom today but a great tribute to my beautiful granddaughter.

Frans Hals 8.22

PS – Blogging is a bit easier with this new Lenova 300e tonight – but there is still something funky about Microsoft Edge and WordPress. Is it just me?

Heirloom Heaven 8.22

Mama Cuna 8.22

Purple Corn Dancer 8.22

Cripple Creek 8.22

Shape Shifter 8.22

Ruby Stella 8.22

Faster!

August 22, 2019August 23, 2019Leave a comment

My new little 2 in 1 laptop showed-up. Same brand and size as my last one – different model. Five years since I updated. It is faster – and my last computer got glitchy and finally lost its wifi driver. Plus it moved miscellaneous files to my memory card with the last update. This model was less expensive – by a lot. But, sick dogs, car wrecks and travel meant a budget model.

I need to get on and save stuff other places. You know, like my daylily software. I hope this Windows S mode will allow me to do that. Honestly, I hate new technology like I hate new hiking shoes. You have to break them in before they are comfortable.

Autumn Jewels 8.21

So, back to daylily land . . . nearly 11 today. Photo editing is faster, but I am several days behind, again, due to no computer access

I teach all day tomorrow . . . until evening. So, for now, enjoy the photos.

Cripple Creek 8.21

Oh, PS – Blogging was a tad rough. I don’t like the way Microsoft Edge and WordPress are interacting. Maybe it is just my learning curve. I did name my new computer Zuni Thunderbird after my favorite daylily. I always name my computers . . . but never after a daylily.

Golden Eclipse 8.21

Navajo Curls 8.21

Purple Corn Dancer 8.21

Purple Grasshopper 8.21

Purple Thunderbird 8.21

Royal Palace Prince 8.21

Treasure of the Southwest 8.21

Best of Intentions

August 15, 2019August 15, 2019Leave a comment

I had the best intentions of writing a blog about my New Mexico named daylilies tonight – it’s too late. I had the best of intentions getting to bed on time last night – until the police scene unfolded outside my bedroom window at 10PM (right next to my Southwest daylily garden . . . was that really a SWAT truck?) I had so many good intentions about a smooth start to the semester and some of those have been overruled by life.

Tonight, I must get to bed. Another very full day tomorrow. I had intentions of slowing down . . . yea, right. I work in rural America. Someday, I’ll get ‘er done. I’ll retire and play with daylilies between road trips.

Adios Albuquerque 8/14

So, tonight I leave you with my favorite picture of Adios Albuquerque – the sun was perfect for the 7 PM shot. The 7 AM shot missed the mark. The lead photo is Treasure of the Southwest with a nice sun angle, too. Now, I intend to sleep. Wish me luck.

50 Startling Southwest Spider Daylilies!

August 1, 20191 Comment

Only 40 something daylilies today and no Premiers. So, it leaves time to talk about some of my daylily categories. I have talked a lot about my Ned Roberts spiders. I originally started collecting them after seeing Kokopelli on the Lily Auction – I love the Southwest and had to have her (I got the bid)! From there, I added more = lots more. At first, it was all fully Southwest names. Then, I gathered some animal and insect names to my Ned collection. And, some stellar names. IDK, is Dancing Maiden a name from the Southwest?

So, tonight, I will show you my purely Southwest named daylilies – the obvious names from the Southwest. But, first, Mildred Mitchell had an extra petal today – a genetic flaw that made her look pretty cool.

OK – Here are my Southwest Ned Roberts spiders. (These are the ones that have bloomed the last two years. Mostly this year, except Kokopelli did not bloom this year – which is unusual).