Happy Colorado Day!

August 2, 2018Leave a comment

Well, August has arrived. It was dark when I walked my dogs after work, but I worked almost an hour late. I am glad for fewer pictures because big changes at work mean more days where I work later than normal. It will be an improvement once it gets settled.

It’s Colorado’s birthday – so a good day to celebrate with a bouquet of daylilies! The photo at the top is my Ned Roberts Purple Thunderbird. And, below are the finales:

Finales (I forgot Classy Lady yesterday):

Classy Lady 7.31

Baja 8.1

Marque Moon 8.1

Last Sunday in July

July 30, 2018Leave a comment

Wow – It will be August next weekend. The daylily peak has come and gone. The cultivators were in the teens today . . . a massive drop off from 2-3 weeks ago. It is funny how the first 3 weeks of June are slow progress, then it explodes, then it goes to just a few here and there for months.

Today, we had one new cultivator. Heirloom Heaven bloomed for the first time in 2018. She is an adorable late-blooming mini. She is my last unbloomed scape on a cultivator that hasn’t bloomed yet. This could be it. It seems like I usually get some August scapes . . . not many, but a handful. I don’t know with this drought, though.

Heirloom Heaven 7.29

And, I had a rude awakening last night – because Mount Echo Sunrise doesn’t look anything like Mount Echo Sunrise. I looked at her tag, and she has two. The other one says Moon over Chimayo . . . and she looks like that one. So, I assume . . .

Moon over Chimayo 7.27

Finales:

Lullabye Baby 7.29

Roll Call 7/23-29:

Adios Albuquerque 7.26

Anasazi 7.27

Apache Uprising 7.25

Aztec Firebird 7.27

Baja 7.25

Bela Lugosi 7.24

Blue Beat 7.25

Bluegrass Music 7.24

Bold Tiger 7.23

Cheddar Cheese 7.24

Cherokee Star 7.28

Chorus Line 7.26

Classy Lady 7.27

Comanche Princess 7.28

Dream Catcher (with Navajo Curls) 7.27

El Desperado 7.24

Fox Ears 7.25

Heron’s Cove 7.27

Hesperus 7.25

Indian Love Call 7.24

Indian Sky 7.24

Lady Fingers 7.25

Lime Frost 7.26

Longlesson Show-off 7.23

Marque Moon 7.24

Mildred Mitchell 7.23

Mini Pearl 7.29

Navajo Curls 7.24

Navajo Rodeo 7.23

Nearly Wild 7.28

Nosferatu 7.26

Orange Vols 7.24

Passionate Returns 7.29

Pick of the Litter 7.23

Pink and Cream 7.29

Pizza Crust 7.28

Prairie Blue Eyes 7.28

Prelude to Love 7.25

Purple Corn Dancer 7.26

Purple de Oro 7.24

Purple Moonrise 7.27

Purple Thunderbird 7.26

Raspberry Propeller 7.28

Rosie’s Red 7.23

Route 66 7.26

Royal Palace Prince 7.27

Ruby Stella 7.28

South Seas 7.27

Stephanie Returns 7.23

Tiger Kitten 7.27

Twirling Pinata 7.24

Yellow Punch 7.26

56 for the week . . . that is all! I bet we are down to half of that by next week.

Desperado

July 23, 2018July 23, 20181 Comment

It is roll-call day! But, first, a dedication. It is camping weekend and I was listening to a song “Desperado” on my ipod. I have always identified with the song. So, I will put El Desperado as our lead photo today.

Desperado – The Eagles

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
You been out ridin’ fences for so long now
Oh, you’re a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin’ you
Can hurt you somehow

Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She’ll beat you if she’s able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet

Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can’t get

Desperado, oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that’s just some people talkin’
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

Don’t your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won’t snow and the sun won’t shine
It’s hard to tell the night time from the day
You’re losin’ all your highs and lows
Ain’t it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin’, but there’s a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you (let somebody love you)
You better let somebody love you before it’s too late

OK – so new to the garden for the first time in 2018 today is Pizza Crust. I get a little hungry looking at her because I am stuck with low cholesterol pizza that doesn’t have much crust.

Pizza Crust 7.22

Finales:

Thin Man 7.22

Route 66 7.18

Fairytale Pink 7.22

Nurse’s Stethoscope 7.18

Here goes Roll-Call for the week of 7/16-7/22:

Adios Albuquerque 7.19

Anasazi 7.17

Aztec Firebird 7.17

Baja 7.18

Bela Lugosi 7.19

Black-Eyed Susan 7.16

Blue Beat 7.20

Bluegrass Music 7.16

Bold Tiger 7.17

Canyon Colors 7.15

Catherine Irene 7.16

Cheddar Cheese 7.22

Cherokee Star 7.17

Chorus Line 7.18

Classy Lady 7.18

Comanche Princess 7.17

Dream Catcher 7.18

El Desperado 7.19

Fox Ears 7.19

Happy Hopi 7.17

Heavenly Curls 7.17

Heron’s Cove 7.17

Hesperus 7.17

Indian Sky 7.16

Isaac 7.16

Jungle Queen 7.16

Just Plum Happy 7.17

Lacy Doily 7.20

Lady Fingers 7.18

Lime Frost 7.15

Longlesson Showoff 7.18

Lullabye Baby 7.22

Mama Cuna 7.17

Marque Moon 7.20

Mellon Balls 7.17

Mildred Mitchell 7.18

Mini Pearl 7.19

Mount Echo Sunrise 7.16

Navajo Rodeo 7.16

Nearly Wild 7.18

Nosferatu 7.18

Papa Longlegs 7.17

Passionate Returns 7.20

Pick of the Litter 7.17

Pink and Cream 7.18

Prairie Blue Eyes 7.17

Prairie Wildfire 7.16

Prelude to Love 7.18

Purple Corn Dancer 7.20

Purple de Oro 7.17

Purple Grasshopper 7.17

Purple Moonrise 7.17

Purple Thunderbird 7.18

Raspberry Propeller 7.20

Red Hot Returns 7.17

Red Riddle 7.18

Return a Smile 7.16

Rosie’s Red 7.20

Route 66 7.18

Royal Palace Prince 7.20

Ruby Spider 7.17

Ruby Stella 7.22

Skinwalker 7.19

Soco Gap 7.16

South Seas 7.22

Stephanie Returns 7.17

Strutter’s Ball 7.18

Taco Twister 7.19

Colorado Kid 7.22

Tiger Kitten 7.20

Treasure of the Southwest 7.20

Twirling Pinata 7.20

Wineberry Candy 7.16

Yellow Punch 7.22

New Faces, Finales, and Roll Call

July 16, 2018July 16, 20181 Comment

It is time for Sunday roll call. But first, a couple cool new Roberts Spiders. Meet Mount Echo Sunrise – She is a big spider that reminds me of Dream Catcher. This is her first-ever bloom in my yard – I put her in a couple years ago.

Then there is Sante Fe Christmas – And she looks like a Christmas bow. Red, green with curly petals. I really love her – too bad she lost her other buds. Despite the improved bloom rate, the drought has taken a toll.

Next up – Finales. Of course, Santa Fe Christmas is a finale today 😦

Primal Scream is another finale.

Primal Scream 7.10

Jungle Queen had finale blooms on both pots I have of her.

Jungle Queen 7.12

Iktomi is another finale. I have enjoyed seeing the patterns in her offspring.

Iktomi 7.9

Happy Hopi gave a finale bloom today. I really enjoyed her big, bold, blonde blooms.

Happy Hopi 7.12

Now, on to our roll call. These are the blooms from 7/9 through today. But, first, we have about 12 with unbloomed scapes remaining and mid-50s with no bloom/no scape. We are at 107 cultivators (+/-). Add 12, and we get close to 120. I am still hoping for 130 total this year.

Adios Albuquerque 7.10

Alabama Jubilee 7.11

Anasazi 7.13

Aztec Firebird 7.14

Baja 7.14

Bela Lugosi 7.9

Black Arrowhead 7.10

Black Eyed Susan 7.14

Black Ice 7.10

Blue Beat 7.11

Bluegrass Music 7.11

Canyon Colors 7.15

Catherine Irene 7.15

Chaco Canyon 7.12

Cheddar Cheese 7.12

Cheyenne Eyes 7.8

Chorus Line 7.13

Classy Lady 7.14

Comanche Princess 7.11

Dark Mystery 7.12

Desert Icicle 7.15

Dream Catcher 7.15

Early Bird Cardinal 7.10

El Desperado 7.13

Fairytale Pink 7.14

Funny Valentine 7.10

Heavenly Curls 7.12

Heron’s Cove 7.13

Hesperus 7.15

Holy Sombrero 7.10

Indian Sky 7.15

Inwood 7.12

Isaac 7.12

Just Plum Happy 7.10

Kachina Firecracker 7.12

Lacy Doily 7.10

Lady Fingers 7.12

Laughing Feather 7.9

Lime Frost 7.15

Longlesson Showoff 7.13

Lullabye Baby 7.14

Mama Cuna 7.13

Marque Moon 7.15

Mellon Balls 7.11

Mesa Verde 7.13

Mildred Mitchell 7.15

Mini Pearl 7.15

Navajo Rodeo 7.13

Nosferatu 7.15

Nurse’s Stethoscope 7.11

Papa Longlegs 7.15

Passionate Returns 7.10

Petite Petticoats 7.10

Pick of the Litter 7.14

Pink and Cream 7.11

Pink Rain Dance 7.11

Prairie Blue Eyes 7.10

Prairie Wildfire 7.11

Prelude to Love 7.15

Purple de Oro 7.14

Purple Grasshopper 7.11

Purple Mystic 7.11

Raspberry Propeller 7.14

Red Hot Returns 7.15

Red Riddle 7.10

Return a Smile 7.10

Route 66 7.13

Ruby Spider 7.14

Ruby Stella 7.15

Shape Shifter 7.13

Skinwalker 7.10

Soco Gap 7.14

South Seas 7.14

Stella de Oro 7.13

Stephanie Returns 7.14

Strutter’s Ball 7.11

Taco Twister 7.11

Talon 7.11

The Colorado Kid 7.10

Thin Man 7.15

Treasure of the Southwest 7.13

Wild Horses 7.11

Wineberry Candy 7.12

Yellow Punch 7.13

Zuni Thunderbird 7.13

Celestial Daylilies

July 13, 2018Leave a comment

Today was a celestial day in the garden. Heavenly Curls bloomed for the first time since 2016. I added her as a bonus plant in 2015. She did not bloom in 2017. She is clearly happier in the buried pot – very nice bloom this year. She has the most awesome shape of any of my curly daylilies! And, more than a couple buds (so far). Still no rain, so I am seeing a few buds dry up around the garden despite my endless watering.

Joining Heavenly Curls in the heavens is Marque Moon with a first bloom for 2018. Mr. Moon has been around the yard for several years – I have 2 pots, actually. I purchased a second one on sale, forgetting that it was one I already had. I don’t mind some doubles . . . if I ever want to add more varieties, I can give one of the pots away.

Lastly, one of my favorite red daylilies bloomed for the first time this year – Baja. This is the deepest, velvet red color – such a proud daylily.

I had a total of 49 blooms today. The Southwest Garden is past peak. The Mural and Rainbarrel Gardens are also past peak. Pooh Corner is peaking now. And, the Walkway Garden is close to peak or peaking. That means things will be slowing down shortly. Sort of bitter/sweet to me. It is too busy for a few weeks, but there is an excitement in a bunch of new blooms every day.

Speaking of the Southwest Garden and peak – that garden is largely my Ned Roberts Southwest name spider daylilies. I have 65 total of Ned’s Southwest cultivators – all but a couple in that garden. 34 have bloomed so far. That is a 52% bloom rate so far. I think we may see 3-6 more – so maybe around 60% this year. Not perfect, but we have had 25 bloom this year that never bloomed in my yard before. That means last year’s bloom rate was only around 15%. Not perfect, but quadrupled. Always more work to do to improve the outcomes.

Other blooms today were Aztec Firebird, Happy Hopi, Purple Grasshopper, Kachina Firecracker, Soco Gap, Papa Longlegs, Navajo Rodeo, Dream Catcher, Wineberry Candy, Cheddar Cheese, Dark Mystery, Lady Fingers, Canyon Colors, Heron’s Cove, El Desperado, Purple de Oro, Mildred Mitchell, Stephanie Returns, Isaac, Mini Pearl, South Seas, Red Hot Returns, Chaco Canyon, Inwood, Fox Ears, Wild Horses, Prairie Blue Eyes, Hesperus, Route 66, Yellow Punch, Pink and Cream, Jungle Queen, Indian Sky, Prelude to Love, Mellon Balls, Chorus Line, Lullaby Baby, Early Bird Cardinal, Return a Smile, Ruby Spider, Primal Scream, Lacy Doiley, Passionate Returns, Red Hot Returns, Black-Eyed Susan, Lady Fingers, Bela Lugosi, Comanche Princess.

What will tomorrow bring? I am not sure there will be anything new. Maybe? I think I said I would like to get to 130 blooms for the year to hit 75% bloom rate. We have now had 105 blooms and are at 60%. That means we need 25 more . . . and that is through fall. And that means that it will slow down soon. Thank heavens!

Drizzle

July 29, 2017July 29, 2017Leave a comment

It’s Friday! So, after work, I dashed out to continue the daylily potting project. Ran out of potting soil after the first two, so ran to Home Depot. Came home and was working on another two when the rain started. It is a nice rain . . . drizzle, but enough to cool things off and wet the garden.

No new faces today. Tiger Kitten lost his only bud 😦 For tomorrow, I think maybe Nearly Wild might bloom. At any rate, I decided to make a collage like I did every day last year during the peak. I don’t have enough time do to that this year, but wanted something to show for the last of the big bloom days of July.

The rain on Wednesday bought mushrooms to my Southwest garden . . . guessing the mushroom compost come to life. Weird, in the desert.

Tomorrow, the journey continues. I wanted to be camping, but decided to plan 3 camping trips for August this weekend AND STICK TO IT!!!! But, for now, I am making good progress on the daylily potting. And, not camping in the rain. I have so much to do before freeze and Amazon is slow with my second order of pots. Oh, well, like the daylily, all we really have is this moment.

I caved and got a Stella

July 30, 20161 Comment

I am a creative . . . so, I always have to do things in a new and different way. I have nothing against Stella de Oro, except that everyone has one if they own daylilies. Stellas are pretty generic daylilies. Simple, yellow trumpets. But, they bloom and bloom and bloom. So, I decided to add one to my collection. Mind you, I put one in several years ago before I was this into daylilies, and it disappeared. I killed a Stella!!!

The blooms are down in number, so I will go back to posting individual photos. Return A Smile was back with her small scape of reblooms.

Marque Moon was smiling down from the heavens. I love the detail in the edges.

South Seas was still rocking the blooms! (Mine looked better than the nursery ones I saw today.)

Pretty little Autumn Jewels was back. She did not produce a big scape this year, so this may be its last bloom. But, given she was a spring joiner and a root, it’s pretty good!

And, hallelujah my Skinwalker finally put out a decent bloom. Hoping it settles in and does better in the future.

Baja is such a sweet and velvet looking bloom. It reminds me of red velvet dresses that my girls wore for a photo shoot when they were little.

I will close by saying that this is the time of year that I get scape fever. I go to the nursery and find ones with lots of scapes left. The advantage of nursery bought plants is they are ready to go. I added South Seas, El Desperado, and Marque Moon at about this time last year. They are some of my most thriving cultivators this year. The downside is less variety and cost.

No matter, there is a smile for every bloom. This keeps my spirits up (and keeps me in broaden and build) as I look for my next career opportunity.

Return a Smile :-)

July 29, 2016July 29, 2016Leave a comment

Today, no new blooms. I am impressed, however, that Return a Smile returned. It’s the one I divided into the front garden last year. It has never rebloomed in the container. That is cool. The old gal has grit.

Return a Smile: Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

In my positive psychology course, we are talking about how we tend to mimic the faces of those who we make eye-to-eye contact with. Smiling does usually get returned. And, they are calling this a form of love. So, I will credit my daylily for reminding me of that lesson today.

I decided to update my collage of Roberts daylilies that bloomed this year, as I think Ghost Ranch may be the last. I am still hopeful for late bloomers, but no scapes yet. This can always be updated. If I get 80% next year, It will be 40 or so cultivators.

Ned Roberts Spiders as of 7/29/2016 L to R: Top Row – Winds of Love, Black Ice, Aztec Firebird, Chief Four Fingers, Desert Icicle. Center: Skinwalker. Bottom Row: Ghost Ranch, Kokopelli, Dream Catcher, Zuni Thunderbird, Dream Keeper.

And, here is the collage of today’s blooms. Gratitude . . . Love, joy, and gratitude. A garden of positive emotion.

7/29/16 L to R: Top Row: Fine Time Lucille, Lullaby Baby, Dream Catcher, Baja, Return a Smile. Bottom Row: Orange Vols, El Desperado, Ghost Ranch, Marque Moon, Prelude to Love.

Put the Lime in the Coconut!

July 24, 2016July 24, 2016Leave a comment

My computer just blitzed my first post – all but the last caption done. I think I could use a little lime in the coconut right now. At any rate, that song was going through my head this AM when I started looking at my garden. I think it was the sight of Lime Frost surrounded by two near-white daylilies, Marque Moon and Lullaby Baby. I guess the song was about a cure for morning sickness??? (Well, that is not my problem, although I treated it a lot during my midwifery practice years.) The new bloom, Melon Balls, sort of added to the fruity theme. This was a gift plant – and it looks like melon balls floating in my drink!

Melon Balls – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

That was the only new bloom today. The other one of that I am highlighting today is Mesa Verde. This cultivator has been blooming for a full month – and I have over 80 pictures of these gorgeous blooms. Unfortunately, today is the last bud unless she gets new life later in the summer. Every time I snap the shutter, I wonder how I will ever paint this on a Christmas present? Oh, I will. And, it will be a challenge to capture the full aura of this blossom.

Mesa Verde – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The other highlight today is Zuni Thunderbird, one of my Ned Roberts babies. This one started with insect damaged blooms and I was less than impressed. But, the blooms have straightened out and the spots are mostly gone. I love the curls! This will be on a present, too, me thinks. (PS – Sounds like my tropical drink is up on the Colorado Plateau somewhere today!)

Zuni Thunderbird – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, for the collage today, I tried to get similar poses where the flower anatomy would allow me. Lucky 13 today. Now, off to do the work of a farmer and work on flower pot drainage.

L to R: Top Row – Lady Fingers, Zuni Thunderbird, Baja, Aztec Firebird, Dream Catcher. Second Row – Fooled Me, Lime Frost, Lullaby Baby, Marque Moon, South Seas. Bottom Row – Return a Smile, Mesa Verde, Melon Balls.

First Frost! (and 26 daylilies)

July 23, 2016July 23, 2016Leave a comment

No, it’s really 88 degrees. It would be warmer if the monsoon clouds weren’t providing some shade. No real rain yet, but cooler than the last few weeks. In fact, cool enough for frost. Well, Lime Frost.

When I arranged daylilies last summer, I put plant labels and entered each location in my software. However, it doesn’t really sink in what is where until they bloom and then you remember to color. So, when I was checking for buds last night, I was surprised that Lime Frost looked full-term. This is booked as a very late season bloomer, but it is still mid-July. Oh, well, we had Desert Icicles so welcome to our delusion of cold weather.

Lime Frost – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Another brand new face is Autumn Jewel. This was a gift plant – this spring. A later gift plant, even. I love the bloom. It is a relative of El Desperado. It’s slated as another late bloomer. But, here it is anyway.

Autumn Jewel – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Fine Time Lucille is another brand new face today. I ordered her last summer when I was first learning the online order thing. The name sold this one . . . I have been humming the song all day.

Fine Time Lucille (with Primal Scream) – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Skinwalker showed up in my Southwestern garden today . . . these first blooms are sometimes a little rough looking. Hoping for more soon from this one!

Skinwalker – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Of mention is that Electric Lizard, having been fertilized, put in another pale bloom. I now wonder if it has too much sun. I am getting some more fans at a summer sale, as I think it would look better a little fuller.

Electric Lizard – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, here is the collage with all 26 blooms. I tried for rainbow order, as I had both a near-blue and a green in bloom today.

From L to R: Top Row – Baja, Indian Love Call, Ruby Spider, Thin Man, Soco Gap. Second Row – Orange Vols, Primal Scream, Aztec Firebird, South Seas. Third Row – Mini Pearl, Mayan Poppy, Pick of the Litter. Fourth Row – Skinwalker, Electric Lizard, Dream Catcher, Lullaby Baby. Fifth Row – Lime Frost. Sixth Row – Blue Beat. Seventh Row – Stephanie Returns, Prairie Blue Eyes, Return A Smile, Fine Time Lucille. Eighth Row – Blackthorne, Zuni Thunderbird, Purple de Oro, Autumn Jewel.

As peak lingers, I begin to think of next year. I want to do more work with the Southwest garden. Maybe some compost or manure around each plant. Loosen the soil around the roots and add the amendments. That area has been sterile of plants so long, it probably could use some bio additives. Pots, yes, some need to be relocated. Others need pebbles in the bottoms. It will be fun moving them inside the porch this winter – the evergreens. I have had 57 different cultivators bloom so far this year. Next year, 100 by this time! Let’s do it!

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Baja