Shift Happens

August 24, 2017August 24, 2017Leave a comment

I am so excited to be ALMOST done with the buried daylily pots. I have 48 done (in the Southwestern garden), 4 to go. Well, if you don’t count the 20+ that I am not potting this year. I have to tell you that potting the front garden and potting the Southwest garden are day and night different. One is an easy dig, pull weeds out, put in a pot, and easy dig to replace the pot. The Southwestern garden is hard dig with root clippers, shovel, trowel. I feel like a surgeon doing open heart surgery of something! Seriously. I dig enough heavy clay dirt and roots out of each hole to nearly fill one of the big Home Depot buckets (times 48). Then, I bag it and have to dispose of it when done. Fitting in nursery pots is harder than decorative pots because they are not tapered. My carpal tunnel gets so crazy it feels like I am getting shocked.

I am hoping to see new growth on the transplants soon. It seems a bit slow. I will fertilize once I finish the last 4 pots. This weekend . . . finished. This has been the biggest garden project of my life, especially if you count the veggie garden.

Anyway, I had four cool visitors today.

Anasazi had a bit of a double bloom.

Heirloom Heaven bloomed her last bloom of 2017.

Passionate Returns continues to be awesome. I honestly had no idea I would like these blooms so much! Love the shape and color.

And, good old Pink and Cream, my big box re-bloomer still putting out new scapes.

The kids have returned to the bus stop on my running route. Soon, there will be daylily-less days. I still hope to have a few through the first freeze. We are only 2-3 weeks away from putting the Amaryllis and Poinsettias into hibernation for winter bloom. When the spring comes again, we will see if the pots really made a difference. Shift Happens.

Eclipse!

August 22, 2017Leave a comment

Today brought the solar eclipse . . . and the first ever Anasazi bloom in my yard! There is a connection between the Anasazi (Ancient Pueblo Indians) and total solar eclipses. The eclipse of 1097 likely mplayed a part in the Ancient Pueblos leaving the Four Corners area. It was one of many celestial events that may have made this civilization decide that they were being given messages to leave.

I saw a video this AM of a Navajo talking about how the eclipse is seen as spiritual by their tribe. They see it as a time of new beginnings . . . a time to make resolutions. Like New Year, he said. My resolution is a big long pause on some things in my life that were not good for my spirit. I love them too much to ever do harm to them . . . or to ignore harm being done. That is a BIG resolution for me. I am glad I won’t have to do that for another 100 years 🙂

I wish I had realized how the sun reflects in the drops on the petals of the daylilies. I missed my 100-year chance to capture the eclipse within one of the daylilies in my yard. This photo was taken several minutes before the peak. If you look closely in the background, you can see some crescents in the shadows of the tree leaves. It was weirdly dark . . . but I never thought of focusing on the drops. Dang!

I nursed Anasazi from a 3.50 cent fan to a blooming size pot . . . it took 2 years. She is in a pot, of course. I smile for my progress. I had Heirloom Heaven and Cherokee Star also today. Somewhat sad to say this will be my last new bloom for the year . . . unless I get a surprise.

Summer Icicles in the Desert

July 31, 2017Leave a comment

The daylily potting project in the front yard nears completion. I am exhausted. Four more today. Silly me, I promised myself a new daylily if I got this far. LOL. I like to go about now and find the late bloomers 🙂 I think once my bloom rate is up, I won’t want to go. It is just too much like the day after Christmas when the daylilies stop blooming.

So, Desert Icicle bloomed today. Another Ned Robert’s spider. I think I’ll have some Neds tomorrow, too, I think.

Oh, and Anasazi, that I have had for 2 years, is putting out a scape. It is an early bloomer, so I wonder if it is really Anasazi. I guess we will see in a couple weeks or so. Despite the low bud count, I have made some progress with some of them. Mostly the potted ones 🙂

In addition to the potting project, I separated a fan of both Canyon Colors and Mesa Verde and put them in the Southwest Garden. I am now declaring that garden full!! With the garden fence (to slow down the solar light thief), it is hard to work in there. There are a fair number of roots out there, too. Trees, mostly. I am going to be putting some of the strugglers in pots, but without bottoms. Maybe try a couple in real pots, too. They need room without competition. Pioneering.

Weekends are always too short. Camping next weekend. The following, I need to get the roots dug for my work friends. I got a couple yesterday. But, I still need to wash the roots.

Sometimes, I feel guilty about this hobby. It soaks up a lot of money when I do major projects. But, you know, I could be a skier or something. It is really the only hobby (at this scale) that I have ever had. Tomorrow, I am guessing there will be more pictures to take.

The Longest Day

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017Leave a comment

I love solstice because I like long days. And, today was long with paid work and yard work. My split shift was spent in my Southwestern garden. I have two in bloom today, Papa Long Legs and Kokopelli. (Kokopelli is immediately below and Papa Long Legs is the second photo on this page). A spider and an Anasazi pipe player. Funny names.

The strugglers got some attention. In fact, turning hard adobe earth into a garden requires more attention than photographs of the fruits of the labors. I have two brand new ones that have shrunken into small fans. Like seedlings. I think sometimes Southern daylilies go into shock with the soil, lack of rain, and dry air. I lost a couple last year, and I have 4 currently in ICU, one in critical condition.

My new ICU approach is to cut the bottom out of a cheap plastic pot and use it as a buried container . . . bottomless. Sort of a hybrid situation. I am hoping it aids soil retention and keeps the soil more acidic, at least until they get started. I also installed a sprinkler hose on the side that gets less water. Boy, do I loose a lot of water with the regular sprinkler, and there are so many barriers between the sprinkler and some parts of the garden. There is clearly one side where the plants are more anemic, and I think it is a water difference. I guess we will see.

As for tomorrow, I think Jungle Queen will make a debut. She came in the same order as Kokopelli – practice bidding on the auction. It is interesting to look back and see what was in bloom this day last year. Lots the same. But, some of the Southern daylilies that I put in last spring bloomed pretty early due to being from another zone. Not sure if they will bloom this year. And, old timers like Early Bird Cardinal were putting on a show last year, but this year the scapes are still developing. At the same time, I think I have more scapes total this year. Bigger plants (mostly). Lots of time and effort in making the ground more fertile in the past 12 months.

Kokopelli brings the summer!

June 21, 2017Leave a comment

Kokopelli is a Hopi word meaning wooden backed. The Kokopelli is truly a legend of the Southwest. Lots of folklore. . . the character who changes winter to spring. And today, Solstice, brings the blooms. The equinox and solstice were both amazingly powerful in the Anasazi culture. Back on the equinox, Kokopelli was one of my first daylilies to show its fans.

With my love of the Southwest and spider daylilies, a bloom with this name surely caught my eye. My first purchase on the lily auction. The start of my Southwest garden. Still a gamble of a biology project.

I am in awe at how perfect this first bloom looks. Last year’s first blooms were a little scraggly. I put it in in Fall 2015, the same year I started my doctorate. I guess we are both more established now.

Not sure on new faces in the garden tomorrow. I think next up is Jungle Queen. Sometime this week.

Mesa Verde

June 26, 2016June 26, 2016Leave a comment

I love Mesa Verde. It’s just a couple of hours south of where I live. It’s made of the Colorado Plateau, just like my daylily garden. I love the history and the culture. I love the colors enough that I painted my kitchen in Southwestern colors. And, so, when I found a daylily with that name, I knew it had to move to my garden. Today, it bloomed for the first time, taking me back to the Anasazi ruins that I love to explore. Check out the color change from sun (orange) to shade (pink) tones.

Mesa Verde in the sun – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Mesa Verde in the shade – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The other blooms today were all repeats. Chief Four Fingers (the one I thought was mislabled) is looking more and more like it should, less one finger. I asked on the American Hemerocallis Society Facebook page today and it blooms with four “fingers” 80% of the time. It is probably still settling into my garden, they said. Conserving energy for new roots, I would guess. Below are today’s bloom compared with the internet photo. Yes, it is looking closer this time!

Chief Four Fingers web photo

Chief Four (or Three) Fingers in my yard – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Hopi Jewel was in flower, again. I really like the color combo in this one.

Hopi Jewel – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Early Bird Cardinal is flying high today with two pretty blooms. I got the cardinal flag in the background this time!

Early Bird Cardinal – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, I am taking about 50 photos a day now. What will happen when I have a dozen in bloom? I am also looking at buying a book on flower photography . . . although I am not sure that will decrease the number of photos that I am snapping. Thank heaven for memory cards . . . remember film and developing?

Kokopelli: Changing Winter to Spring

June 25, 20161 Comment

I have always found the legend of the kokopelli inspirational. Flute players who bring bags of seeds to change winter to spring. I think one of the most inspiring depictions of kokopelli are the benches in the kivas at Lowry Anasazi Ruins just south of where I live in Colorado. The ruins are always stunning because of these kokopelli benches.

Kokopelli – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, is it any wonder that on one of my first trips to the Lily Auction last fall that a bloomer named Kokopelli caught my eye. I blogged a couple weeks ago about my first auction experience . . . and my goal was to bring Kokopelli to my yard. Another bonus was that the grower was in Santa Barbara, my mom’s adulthood hometown. It seemed right. So right, as a matter of fact, that I began collecting the Ned Roberts southwestern named daylilies with that purchase. And, today, my first Kokopelli bloom arrives.

Another bloom that drew me in last fall, as I began to hone in on my southwest themed daylilies, was Wild Horses. This bloom just kept drawing me back, over and over. In the end, I purchased this one at an end of the year sale (from a San Francisco area grower – my dad’s childhood home region). There is something about the shapes and colors that makes me want to visit the wild mustangs.

Wild Horses – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Today’s other blooms include Black Ice, Chama Valley (named for a place in New Mexico), and little Happy Returns. So from here out sit back and relax. The daylily popcorn is popping. There should be more new ones tomorrow. I am hoping for Mesa Verde!

Black Ice – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Chama Valley – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Happy Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Ta ta until tomorrow!

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Anasazi