Spring is in the air on the Colorado Plateau. Not just any spring. A dry spring with little rain and record highs in March. So, IDK yet what this means for the bloom rate. Drought years are never predictable but usually it is an early peak with fewer cultivators blooming and fewer blooms.
I am here today to finish up last year’s blog. I seriously dropped the ball because I took on a volunteer community job in the middle of bloom season and camping season. The blog got put at the bottom of this retired nurse-midwifes triage list.
It looks like my last real blog was July 19th, 2025. Let’s see what bloomed later last year.
Adios Albuquerque 7/29-8/20Aztec Firebird 7/19-7/30Cowardly Lion of OZ – 7/28-7/29Cripple Creek 8/8-8/14Dancing Maiden 7.28-8/9Desert Icicle 8/1-8/10Dream Catcher – 7/28-7/29Frans Hals 7/28-8/7Kachina Firecracker 7/28-8/5Navajo Curls – 8/1-8/5Purple Thunderbird 8/2-8/21Shape Shifter 7/19-8/17Spirit of the Morning – 8/1-8/12Western Sandstone – 7/20-7/28
For the 2026 line-up, those daylilies are high because we were hot in March, but we haven’t had a hell of a lot of rain to support them. It is at the stage now where pots need to be weeded, irrigation schedules need to be regular, and old leaves need to be removed from the garden. It’s time I put down the computer and get busy in the yard!
Since I know I have a lot of daylily lovers who pull up this page, I thought I would mention that I have some hand-painted terra cotta pots that are ideal for small succulents and houseplants. They are available through my Etsy shop, and I will put the photos with listing links below. I started painting these because I got so depressed after daylily season ended. I decided I could still look at daylily blooms every day!
Select tiny pots (2.5 inch) with Route 66, Cheddar Cheese, Primal Scream and Nosferatu
Later this summer, I will be bringing back my daylily coasters. These are hand-painted from my own photos. I use upcycled tiles that are heat sealed so you have a daylily for your coffee (or whatever you drink) every day. I will also have my signed prints from my daylily paintings. The tiles and prints will feature my southwestern-named daylilies, specifically. Which one do you think I should start with?
Chief Four Fingers Painted Tile
I will be warming up the blog as those daylilies grow – so please subscribe to follow my high desert daylilies through the season.
The weather has turned from spring to summer since my last post a couple weeks ago! It is in the mid to upper 90s this week. The scapes are sprouting fast and furious. I have around 100 cultivators with scapes now. I’m never sure how the daylilies will respond to drought, but I am optimistic that my bloom rate will be decent. My water bill, not so much! (I am city water dependent. It’s not cheap because we don’t get much help from Mother Nature.)
I have two cultivators that just came into bloom today. Jungle Queen and Wild Horses. Sounds like the title of a good sci-fi novel. I asked AI and got the photo below. I kind of like it. Maybe I need to use some fun AI photos of daylily names in the blog this year!
What AI says Jungle Queen and Wild Horses look like!
Here are the actual blooms. Both of these are cultivators that were early to my collection and neither bloomed last year. Good to see them back.
Jungle QueenWild Horses
My Maylily was Saratoga Springtime. I don’t usually have a Maylily, so worth a mention that the blooms started earlier than usual.
My other early bloomers are Dream Keeper and Stella de Oro. Both are still actively blooming. I always say when Saratoga Springtime gets done, that is when the popcorn starts to pop.
Daylily popcorn!
It’s getting too hot to be outside during the day. Maybe I will have more time to post between camping and community involvement! This year brings new civic priorities but I will do my best to keep you all updated on what is going on in my Western Colorado daylily garden!
My pups, Cimarron, Kachina, and Kokopelli, enjoying camping season at Ridgway, CO last week.
The daylilies dwindle and I am back to creating new art! Each day still starts with a walk through the blooming daylilies to get photos. It is just a lot easier (and less spectacular) when there are only a couple blooming. And, my Art from the Hartt is back in production because I need colorful adventures to survive!
To encourage my rebloomers, I used liquid fertilizer yesterday and today. I gave about 1/3rd of the pots some organic fertilizer in their water. The rest got Miracle Grow spray today. This should help the plants fill out and rejuvenate before they go dormant.
Kachina FirecrackerNavajo CurlsNOID Ned Roberts SpiderPurple Corn DancerRaven WoodsongRosie’s RedSimmering ElephantsSkinwalker
I think part of my problem this year is that I didn’t do any fall care. I also need to put more soil in a few pots this fall – plus I plan time-released fertilizer next month. The weather is cooling off and we have some rain the next several days, so I picked the spray type since it is still summer.
Until the Last Daylily Blooms Art Sale Prices Drop Again This Week
On the 20th of August, my Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale prices drop to 35% off select items in my Etsy Shop. These prices drop to 40% off is I still have a daylily in bloom on September 20th. My sale ends within 72 hours of my last daylily bloom! Don’t wait!
What is on sale starting August 20th?
Most of my hypertufa art is included in the August 20-Sept 19th sale prices. This includes pots, leaf castings, leaf castings and pet memorials!!!
All of my hand painted tile clocks. There are stunning pour paint on tile and wood styles (various sizes) and landscape clocks. I even have one daylily clock.
My daylily wall art is part of the sale. Hand painted daylily wood panels and signed prints to help you see daylilies 365 days a year!
My daylily terra cotta pots are on sale. These are an adorable way to show your daylily love with a year around houseplant or succulent.
I wanted to spend a minute on the adorable hypertufa pumpkins that I just made. These stunning fall art pieces would look awesome in the yard for Halloween or on the table for Thanksgiving. I have several in process – so more designs will be added to Etsy soon! Great for garden lovers who want some fall color in their lives! Learn more about the pumpkins on my art blog – Art from the Hartt.
More Sale Merchandise Planned for September
I have more autumn themed art that I will add to the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale IN A MONTH on September 20th – if my daylilies are still blooming. The art is so new it isn’t listed (of finished) yet! I have everything from paw art to candle holders to succulent planters coming to the sale if those daylilies keep blooming! Sneak preview below.
I will run the sale through September 2nd regardless to give the rebloomers a little time. If I end the sale and get a very late scape – we will restart the sale where we left off!
Don’t Forget to Enter the Give Away TODAY!
I also have the give-away of $35 if you email a guess on the day the last daylily will bloom. Entries are due by midnight September 2nd. Email me at cathy@artfromthehartt.com with your guess (the day my last daylily blooms for 2024) and put daylily in the topic to enter. More info on the contest here – click.
Colorado Kid Daylilies 