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Finally caught-up taking photos off my camera. Never let that go for a week or two this time of year – you play heck catching-up. So, I thought I would get the blog fully up-to date by sharing our July 1-3 premier blooms for this year. Enjoy. Hopefully, tomorrow I start get back in daily sync. The good news is I got my art cove all cleaned, decluttered and added some fun stuff. That means the daylily paintings are coming – for sale through my business Art and Nature From the Hartt http://artandnaturefromthehartt.com
That’s 18 more in 3 days (wholly cow)! That brings our total to 70 that have bloomed so far. Happy 4th – hope to post the morning daylilies tomorrow.
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.
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.
Painting of Kokopelli by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
And, so it is. Yesterday, I painted Kokopelli. One of my early bloomers is now always in bloom in my house. It settles my nerves. Lots going on in my life – but I slept like a baby.
I woke up to a pretty bloom from Red Hot Returns. Nice way to start the day.
Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Today, Heirloom Heaven bloomed for the first time. This little one was one of my first root plantings last year.
Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
It is a miniature, at least this first bloom cycle. Here it is with my petite finger:
Heirloom Heaven with my finger for proportion
Other blooms were my orange/yellow combos. Frans Hals:
Frans Hals – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
And, Orange Flurry:
Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Oh, and Stella, of course:
Yella Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Today also brought the first of a couple fall plantings. I got one called Painted Petroglyph on fall sale at Shady Rest Gardens. It is not a Robert’s cultivator, but it still belongs in my Southwest garden. It is beautiful. Live long and prosper little one. I also replaced Navajo Rodeo – love the fall sales! I added a few more fans of Electric Lizard, as mine are still anemic.
I didn’t order much this fall, but the daylilies keep me going. I am getting two new Roberts blooms, too. Twirling Pinata and Glen Eyrie. My daughter lives in Colorado Springs, so I couldn’t resist the second one. (Many of the Roberts cultivators were hybridized right there!) I love fall plantings because, by spring they act like they have been here forever! I think I will hit 80 cultivators that bloomed this summer. That’s just over 50%. Keep on mulching!
Oh, and keep on painting. I finally finished Chief Four Fingers in the wee hours.
Perhaps it is the blog. Or, perhaps it is painting with my granddaughter a few days ago. And, maybe it is because I want to keep peak season alive all year. At any rate, I broke out the paintbrush in an attempt to keep my last Zuni Thunderbird alive forever. It was fun. And, it’s been 9 months since I painted one of my cultivators. That’s too long. So, I got my fix.
Zuni Thunderbird – Painting by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Frans Hals appeared for the first time since 2014. I like this older daylily so much that I bought one online only to discover that I had one in my yard from the years when I wasn’t quite this addicted. I like bi-tone daylilies – I think that they are stunning.
Frans Hals – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Other blooms today in my thinning garden included my last Marque Moon:
Marque Moon – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Pizza Crust:
Pizza Crust – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Apache Uprising among the Prickley Pear:
Apache Uprising with Prickley Pear Cactus – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
And, Orange Flurry:
Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
My mind is shifting to fall. I’ll be a doctor in a little over a month. I hope that there is a bloom on the day I give my presentation. That would rock. If there isn’t, I will still wake up to my favorite blossoms.
Savoring is the art of being in the moment and totally immersing ourselves into an experience. It means no multi-tasking or thinking about chores. It also includes planning for experiences, as well as reminiscing about the past good times.
So, today my yard takes on all of the above. Here are my in the moment blooms:
Apache Uprising:
Apache Unrising – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Royal Palace Prince:
Royal Palace Prince – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Fairy Tale Pink:
Fairy Tale Pink – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Marque Moon:
Marque Moon – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Orange Flurry:
Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Stella do Oro:
Stella de Oro – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
In savoring the 2016 daylily season, I write this blog. Last night, I actually looked through every post I made this summer. It will be so cool to read back on things this winter, while I am painting these beauties. I have tile paintings of Inwood, Cheddar Cheese and Route 66 in my room. I said I didn’t want to ever have a day of the year where I didn’t wake up to daylily blooms. And, so it is. I cannot wait to add a few paintings of my new Ned Roberts Spiders.
And, that is a perfect segway into savoring through planning. I have a few interventions for my Ned Roberts garden to start this month. Things to empower more blooms next year. Last night, I also found a Ned Roberts spider that is pretty rare on the auction, and put in a bid (it’s under $10). I got my potted ones planted yesterday . . . the ones that were only temporarily in pots. And, I fertilized. It’s all part of beginning to savor next season.
The seasons of savoring daylilies:
Spring: Looking for the baby fans, cleaning out beds, watering on nice days, fertilize a little, early bloomers show-up!
Summer: Bloom fest! Photography and active blogging. Savor each colorful bloom. Also, water, weeds, insects, and dead-heading.
Fall: Savor the late bloomers. Take time to smell each one. Begin preparing beds for fall. Fall planting. Begin to consider which cultivators will make the best paintings.
Winter: Break out the paints! Be creative – what new ways can daylilies be painted objects that I see every day during the cold, bleak months? Paint daylilies on pumpkins. Hey, what about daylily ornaments? (I just thought of that one and need to consider how I might accomplish that before Christmas.) I love the daylily solar lights in my garden. More for this winter, too. Oh, the list goes on. And, hey, what about searching for a few rare daylilies to add to my garden in the spring? Look, winter is the busiest season of savoring of all!
Going back to the drawing board is both literal and figurative for me this day. And, when you are a creative, drawing boards can help generate positive emotion.
When I buy daylilies with southwestern names, I usually am attracted to names like Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon – places where I have been. With Ghost Ranch, I put the cart before the horse. Or, the daylily before the trip.
Oh, the name sounded southwestern, and it is a Ned Roberts bloom, so I Googled it. Much to my surprise, this place called Ghost Ranch was just over in my neighbor, New Mexico. At first, I saw it said no dogs. But, I did call the morning we were driving through that area on the road trip. Dogs, sure! Just bring a leash.
This is a beautiful place that is the subject of Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings. It is clearly on the Colorado Plateau – I knew as soon as saw the rock structures. The only downside was that we got there during the beginning of a good size windstorm, so hiking was not as fun and the light was rather muted. At any rate, here is Ghost Ranch on Ghost Ranch . . . my drawing board.
Ghost Ranch was the only new bloom today. I had 10 different cultivators today. Nice little smiles, each. My last Blue Beat, though. See you next year! No, wait. See you when I break out the Christmas present paint.
From R to L: Top Row – Classy Lady, Fine Time Lucille, Desert Icicle, Blue Beat, South Seas. Row Two: Primal Scream, Lullaby Baby, Ghost Ranch, Marque Moon, Mini Pearl.
Ah, now I think, perhaps, the season of blooms is slowing down a bit. At least as far as having a new cultivator every day or so. But, hey, today I had several plants with three or four blooms at once.
But, hold on! I did have a new girl today. Her name is Classy Lady. She was one of my fall auction purchases, along with Electric Lizard, Kokopelli, and Quilt Patch. It looks like Quilt Patch will be my only non-bloomer this year. I like this bloom – it has a shape like a gymnast. And, a nice color to match.
Classy Lady – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Now, for my multiples – Marque Moon, Zuni Thunderbird, and South Seas. The only down side is they burn buds fast this way.
Marque Moon – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Zuni Thunderbird – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
South Seas – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
And, today brought another visit from the monarch butterfly. This time, she chose the Mexican Daylily (Shellflower). I got several photos – the center of the collage is my favorite.
From L to R: Top Row – Chorus Line, Lullaby Baby, Pick of the Litter, Lime Frost. Row Two: Classy Lady, Mexican Daylily with Monarch Butterfly, Thin Man. Bottom Row: South Seas, Marque Moon, Stephanie Returns, Zuni Thunderbird.
Thank you, garden, for the therapy. Great positive emotion to get me through a Monday. Only 5 months until Christmas. I have a ton of painting to do this year 😉
I walked out the door to over twice as many blooms as yesterday. Twenty-one! So, we are continuing to climb to the apex of the season. Interesting that in this bouquet that there are no new cultivators. So, what to talk about? Perhaps what the sun does to color in daylilies. I am no hybridizer, but I was a printer at one point much earlier in my life. I learned about color then . . . additive and subtractive.
It is my understanding that daylilies don’t have genes to make blue. So, the near blue flowers are a mosaic. Additive color is what I use when I paint my blooms. It is easy compared to subtractive color . . . which is done with light and filters. If I was issuing a somewhat educated guess, I would say this must be a subtractive process.
So, here is my stunning Blue Beat before the rays of sun hit it directly:
Blue Beat – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
And here it is just 5-10 minutes later, as the first rays of sun found its pedals: ( It shifts from blue, green, and light pink to peach, yellow, and purple). I would love to hear a hybridizer’s take on this!
Blue Beat – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
I had a lot of cool spiders today – Ruby Spider, Thin Man, Aztec Firebird, Zuni Thunderbird, and Desert Icicle. Here is one with Ruby and the Thin Man.
Ruby Spider with Thin Man in the distance – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
Also, three out of five in my family garden are blooming today: Here are all three: Isaac (grandson), Mini Pearl (Minnie Pearl – grandma), and Stephanie (daughter). The colors are nice together. Maya Poppy (for granddaughter, Maia) is going to blend right in. Hopefully, soon. Catherine Irene, momma’s namesake, looks like it is waiting for now.
All in the Family from L to R: Isaac, Mini Pearl, and Stephanie Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt
So, here are today’s 21. Busiest day of 2016 so far. At least until I start trying to paint all of these for Christmas presents! Oh, help!
In alphabetical order from L to R: Top Row – Aztec Firebird, Blue Beat, Desert Icicle, Early Bird Cardinal, Isaac. Row Two – Lady Fingers, Mesa Verde, Mini Pearl, Pick of the Litter, Prelude to Love, Purple de Oro. Row Three – Razzamatazz, Return a Smile, Route 66, Ruby Spider, Soco Gap, South Seas. Bottom Row – Stephanie Returns, Thin Man, VooDoo Dancer and Zuni Thunderbird.
So, I am ready for a nap!
Colorado Kid Daylilies 