Tag: Daylily photography

Tacos, Firebirds, and Skinwalkers: Come see what is new in my drought ridden daylily garden!

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Droughts, Wildfires, and Daylilies

Droughts and wildfires go together, daylilies not so much. The smoke has cleared (mostly) from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Fire (<10 miles away), and they have the fire 15% contained. My last blog post talks more about the fire. Some rain has fallen on my garden since the last post, too. The drought continues, though. Keep reading to enjoy my daylilies from the past week!

Colorado Drought Monitor for this week.

Monitoring and Maintaining My Resilient Daylilies

I am surprised my daylilies have done as well as they have this year with the heat and drought. I have somewhere around 190 cultivators. I badly need to do inventory, maps, and labels this year. I love the Flower daylily software, but I struggle to keep it updated. I seem to lose a lot of the newer ones from other climates over the first winter/spring – but I am not even sure what I have lost until I do inventory because some lost tags.

Black Canyon South Rim Fire – Watch Duty from today. About 15% contained.

Honestly, though, I am limited by time and water. I may replace some cultivators if I lose them, but I won’t be adding many more to my total. I’m at capacity. I am growing ditch lilies in the desert drought. I love daylilies, and they are survivors! My time goes into keeping those I have alive and healthy. And, my money goes into city water. I can’t imagine trying to hybridize or sell in my situation.

New Blooms and Current Bloom Rate

I have had a total of 139 cultivators bloom this season (out of around 190). That is a 73% bloom rate. Last year, we only got to the mid-sixties, so I am thrilled. And, the season isn’t over. In the high desert, 80% is a huge win. I need to fertilize, but without the monsoon moisture and cooler temps, I am waiting until next month. With daylilies in pots, I find applying liquid fertilizer improves bloom rate for the following year because the plant is more resilient.

Here are my “first bloom for 2025” cultivators since my last post:

Apache Uprising first bloom 7.17
Autumn Jewels first bloom 7.13
Aztec Firebird first bloom 7.19
Black Arrowhead first bloom 7.15
Carlotta first bloom 7.18
Coburg Fright Wig first bloom 7.14
Coral Taco first bloom 7.15
El Desperado first bloom 7.19
Fox Ears first bloom 7.16
Ghost Ranch first bloom 7.15
Golden Eclipse first bloom 7.15
Heirloom Heaven first bloom 7.18
Indian Sky first bloom 7.14
Just Plum Happy first bloom 7.15
Navajo Grey Hills first bloom 7.15
NOID Ned Roberts (possible Skin Walker or Winds of Love) first bloom 7.17
Orange Vols first bloom 7.15
Route 66 first bloom 7.16
Royal Palace Prince first bloom 7.16
Shape Shifter first bloom 7.19
Skinwalker first bloom 7.16
Taco Twister first bloom 7.13
Zuni Thunderbird 7.18

The bloom peak is now over the top and past the plateau. However, I still have 30-40 cultivators in bloom daily, with 2-3 new ones most days. My beloved Ned Roberts’ southwest names spiders are just now peaking! Life gets extremely busy during daylily season, especially with my business and volunteer work.

Which is your favorite daylily from this post? For me, Zuni Thunderbird has always been a favorite! This computer is even named Zuni Thunderbird after the daylily.

Keep flourishing, Cathy H

Capturing Exquisite Daylily Photography: Tools and Techniques

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Hot Fun!

It’s the time of the season for heat. The monsoons have evaporated for the last week or two. It’s 94 today, suppose to be 100 on Sunday. I wonder what the temp spike will do for my cultivators but also look forward to a mountain get-away from the heat wave next week.

Nurse’s Stethoscope

Buttered Popcorn, Anyone?

It’s odd to only have one first-of-the-season bloom on a day like today. But, perhaps a good day to think about Buttered Popcorn. Or maybe it is just that it is 5:30 already and I am getting hungry. Too hot to walk the dogs for an hour or so. Dinner is a ways off. Buttered popcorn – YES! Can I DoorDash that? LOL.

Buttered Popcorn

Daylily Photography Processes and Improvements

I am curious what other daylily photographers are using for their photos. I use to use my Canon Powershot and had no complaints. Except, I had to download the photos and edit them to upload them to my online drive. As my daylily collection grew, my time for photo editing shrunk.

All American Chief

I then shifted to my Kindle for a year or two because of the large screen for focus. It worked OK, but was an awkward size and getting the photos to the online drive was still a pain.

Papa Longlegs

Now, I use my Samsung Galaxy A52. The camera is decent. I honestly don’t see much difference between it and the Canon for my purposes, and I think it is better than the Kindle. It’s easy to upload to my online drive, share to social media, and even blog from my phone (although I prefer my PC for blogging.) Since I use my photos as a tracking method and daylily art reference, I find it adequate and time-efficient. I’m not after super high-quality photographic images to sell.

Pandora’s Box

I would love to hear from other daylily bloggers and photographers about their camera and daily photo process.

Add a Splash of Color to Your Space!

Speaking of daylily art – my original paintings and art prints are on sale ALL SUMMER at my Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale on Etsy. This one of Chief Four Fingers is one of my favorites. The original was acrylic on tile, giving this painting a unique texture. The signed prints look adorable in an 8X8 frame and add a splash of color to any space! Click this link or the photo to go to the Etsy listing! Only $9 currently!!!

Chief Four Fingers daylily signed print.

Daylily Photography: Capturing Every Bloom and Seeking Tracking System

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Today’s Fresh Faces for 2024

July is cooking! I had 6 first of the season blooms today. It is well past yellow trumpet season and the color variety is amazing. Here are today’s new blooms: Better Off Blue, Coral Taco, Echo Canyon, Nurse’s Stethoscope, Talon, and Titan Skye.

Better Off Blue
Coral Taco
Echo Canyon
Nurse’s Stethoscope
Talon
Titan Skye

Which of these do you think would make the best coaster or mini clock? Please add to comments.

A Day in the Life of a Daylily Hobbyist in July

My days during prime daylily season aren’t particularly entertaining, but they are very different than the other 10-11 months of the year. As always, the day starts with the dogs and a jog. But, somewhere in there, I go out with my cellphone and photograph a bloom from every cultivator that has one. I use to use my Canon Powershot, but as my collection grew my time shrunk. Each photo is edited and uploaded to my online photo drive. By noon-thirty, my phone battery is dying.

After that, I post to Facebook (my personal page) and then make a reel of all the first blooms of the season for Instagram. Then, I share that reel to my business IG, FB, Threads, and my story. My phone is now charging and the clock saying early afternoon..

And, then it’s time for the blog. Except for today, because I stopped to make an extra Instagram video about my Until the Last Daylily Blooms Art Sale on Etsy. So, I opened Canva to start designing a short reel and there went another hour. It does take longer because I am trying to integrate my art business, Art from the Hartt. I don’t sell daylilies because of the need for a nursery license, but I do sell daylily art. So, I do whatever I can do to support myself with my garden.

OK, so now it’s 4 o’something and it’s time for the blog. What can I choose for a topic? Something simple, because it’s late and I still have chores to do. I haven’t touched my art.

Daily Daylily Photography

So, let’s talk about daylily photography. Why do I take a photo of every cultivator that’s blooming every day? Maybe I am just an anal retentive retired nurse who is use to taking vital signs every shift. Only through monitoring the norm can we spot trouble coming. Maybe because I am an artist and I use my photography to make art – the more photos I have, the better chance of capturing cool things like this Nurse’s Stethoscope daylily painting. Maybe it is because the sun is so intense in the high desert that my blooms are melted by early afternoon and I’m not ready to let go.

Looking for a Daily Bloom Tracking System

What I am looking for is an app or software where I can track which cultivators are in bloom every day. I don’t need more hybridization software because I love PlantStep. I want a chart of what is in bloom each day. Ah, this is the anal retentive nurse coming out. But really – I would like to ask my readers if they know of a charting system where I can input the daylily names and put a checkmark each day (like a calendar) that it blooms – then run a report at the end. It would be cool to have a photo of each – but you would only need 1 photo for the year.

I monitor a lot by photographing each day, but I can’t use the data as well as I could with a better system of daily daylily tracking. I appreciate any ideas from readers!

Until The Last Daylily Blooms Art Sale on Etsy

What happens to all those photos? Mostly, they are stored. The inspirational ones, however, can become art! Daylily art was my first dive into painting many years ago and I still adore making art from my daylilies.

I have lots of wall art, clocks, cards, and painted pots available for sale this summer – literally until my last daylily blooms. Last year, that was the day before Halloween. So, while the sale lists an end date in November, it will actually end at midnight 24 hours after my last daylily blooms. If we are lucky enough to be blooming in late October, my art is 50% off! The Instagram (above) has the sale dates and percentages off. Please visit my Etsy store and check it out.

Open My Eyes on October 27th, 2023. She bloomed again the 29th and the bloom was hit with freezing rain. She lost her other buds.

PS – The time is now 5:55 PM and I am about to hit publish.

The Science of Flower Power: Dopamine and Daylilies

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Dopamine and Daylilies: Do Your Blooms Make You Happier?

Have you ever wondered why we are so drawn to daylilies and gardens in general? This is the time of year when I wake up, remember it’s daylily season, and can’t wait to go out to the garden. Now that the empty pots are filled, it’s even better. A lot of positive emotion – feelings of awe, gratitude, and curiosity abound. Daylilies are like velcro, drawing me out to see what is new.

There have been lots of studies looking at flowers and wellbeing. This linked article gives a great synopsis of the research. I need to remember to use my sense of smell more when I am out there, though.

All American Chief

I think daylilies are extra special because the garden has new blooms daily. So, going beyond color, fragrance, and our internal connection to nature, our brains adapt to our surroundings very quickly. My begonias with beautiful leaves or the stunning blooms on my orchids increase my sense of wellbeing. But, day 2 is a little less than day 1 . . . each day, my brain adapts and stops reacting as strongly to the beauty. Less dopamine.

Primal Scream

Adaptation is the same mechanism that makes vacations “lifelong memories” and raises in salary not such a “lifelong” joy. The good part about adaptation is that it can boost resilience. If I get bad news, the news usually seems less bad the next day. Give me 120 days after even devastating news, and like most people, I’m probably back to my baseline happiness. After 120 days of the orchid or begonia, I am probably pretty unaffected by their presence.

Orchid Moonrise

With daylilies, every day is a new day with different colors and blooms. I think that is why I love daylily season. And, even though blogging about it is work, it does help me savor the joy of the flowers each day. It forces me to take notice of my surroundings.

Pandora’s Box

PS – My doctoral work in nursing revolved around the science of positive psychology and optimism. Positive psychology is one of my favorite garden tools!

Daily Daylily Update from My Garden

I didn’t work in the yard today other than to take photos of my bloomers. Did you know I take a photo of each blooming cultivator every day? Then, I file the photos by name and make an Instagram reel for both my pages. Then, I write the blog. So, every day is a daylily day this time of year – unless it is a camping day.

Inwood

I did have two first blooms for 2024: Inwood and Thin Man. Both beautiful blooms, keeping a dozen other blooming cultivators company. Inwood is an older cultivator and reliable bloomer. Thin Man reminds me of a droopy Ruby Spider.

Thin Man

As for scapes, I’m at 90 +/-. I decided today that I have no yardstick (so to speak) to keep track of scapes (or cultivators with scapes) like I do blooms. So, is 90 scapes above, below, or at the mean? Hmmmm. I need a better reference. I do know that several early bloomers don’t have scapes, which makes me nervous because it’s almost July. Does anyone else out there count scapes? Any good systems for tracking these each year?

Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale on Etsy

One of the items I have for sale this summer is this Ruby Spider plant pot. I painted it in several layers so that the paint has a textured feel. The background is a very flat chalk paint on terra cotta, while the flower is bright acrylic. The 6-inch size is perfect for many houseplants. It comes with a saucer, also done in chalk paint. The red and teal are a stunning color combo. And, it is 25% off until my last daylily blooms for 2024. Click this link or the photo below to visit the listing. That’s only about $20 and includes postage!

Ruby Spider 6 inch plant pot

My Favorite!

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This day started before the sun.  Trying to photograph daylilies right after the sun rises is futile – or at least not productive.  I had 30 in bloom on this first day of faculty meetings.  I had to finish photos this evening because daylilies look sad when the bud is only a little open.

PurpleCornDancer8.8.1.jpg

Anyway – This is a short blog because I am tired and tomorrow is another 5:30 wake-up.  I am a late bloomer, so my bud is only half-open when I get to work.  But . . . I have to blog because my favorite daylily showed-up today!  Purple Corn Dancer was my premier today.  I don’t know why I like that bloom so much, but I do.  So, tonight let the Corn Dancer enjoy center stage.  I’ll see you tomorrow!

Focus

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I was downloading photos from my camera tonight and had to laugh that the first 5 or 6 were horribly out-of-focus.  Must have been Monday!  The first photo is Mini Pearl – I was trying to catch a bee on her.  No luck, but the focus is kinda cool.  (Little Cadet – in focus.)

LittleCadet2.7.24.jpg

Daylilies give a focus to my life for several months every year.  Not the only focus, but a creative focus.  Now, work is more structured and less creative.  I crave my time with the colors.  One woman walked by yesterday and says she choose this route so she can see which lily blooms next.  Yea, me too! (Black Eyed Susan is putting on a good show.)

BlackEyedSusan2.7.24.jpg

Nothing new in bloom today – and not much cued-up.  I’m featuring my golden blooms with eyes today, I guess.   The season winds down a bit, and I am sad by the number of blooms I did not see this year.  Fol de Rol dropped its bud.  Why?  It is hard to be a farmer.  (Indian Sky paints the front lawn today.)

IndianSky4.7.24.jpg

I did order pots – lotsa pots – from Amazon.  Digging and transplanting kills much of a chance for reblooms.  But, making the plants stronger this season will build blooms for the next.  And, that’s my focus.  PS – Two of the three featured blooms today are in pots!

A Little Piece of Heaven in my Yard

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Today, Heirloom Heaven bloomed for the first time.  This little one was one of my first root plantings last year.

 

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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:

 

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Heirloom Heaven with my finger for proportion

 

Other blooms were my orange/yellow combos.  Frans Hals:

 

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Frans Hals – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

And, Orange Flurry:

 

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Orange Flurry – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Oh, and Stella, of course:

 

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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.

PaintingChief4Fingers2.8.16

 

First Frost! (and 26 daylilies)

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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.

 

LimeFrost4.7.22

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.

 

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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.

 

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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!

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

Collage 2016-07-22 17_35_45

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!

The Monarch Has Landed!

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Today, I continue the wait for news.  I worry some, and know that my daylilies will pull me back into the moment. I step outside, with camera in hand (and a queezy stomach) to admire my days blooms.  I work it from the porch to the west edge of the walkway garden.  Then out to check some of my pots and the xeriscaped area before going out to check on my Southwest named Ned Roberts garden.  I am almost done, but decide to stop for one more shot of South Seas next to Primal Scream.  Routine.

And, then, I spot it . . . a large Monarch butterfly on Thin Man.  I quickly take my PowerShot out of close-up mode and attempt to focus on the distant flower.  The Monarch was flower-hopping.  From one to the next.  I got a few good shots . . .  in others, she seemed intent in hiding from me.  Here are my favorites.

 

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Monarch on an old Orange Vols bloom – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

 

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Monarch in the South Seas – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

 

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Monarch on the Orange Vols – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

The only new bloom for 2016 today is Baja.  For some reason, this is one of my favorites each year.

 

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Baja – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C  Hartt

 

Of note, my other Primal Scream bloomed.  The one that was labeled Primal Scream (and not Desert Flame).  This was one of my <$5 fall sale daylilies.  It struggled with insects when I planted it.  I was unsure if it would come back in the spring, let alone bloom.  But, her it is.  The bloom is smaller than on the new nursery-bought plant that I thought was Desert Flame.  But it is a different location and year one for a smaller fan.  What do you think, same flower?  (Today’s bloom is on the left.)

Today’s collage is by garden area.  The top blooms are in my walkway garden.  The middle ones are in the xeriscaped area of my front lawn.  And, the last ones are in my Southwest named daylily (mostly Ned Roberts) to the West of my house.  Sadly, I believe we have seen the last Ruby Spider for the year 😦

 

Collage 2016-07-20 16_29_06

From L to R: Top Row: Mini Pearl, Chorus Line,  Prelude to Love, Primal Scream.  Second Row – Baja, South Seas, Thin Man.  Third Row – Indian Love Call, Lady Fingers, Fooled Me.  Bottom Row – Dream Catcher, Zuni Thunderbird, Aztec Firebird.

 

I wonder what blooms today’s monsoon will bring tomorrow?  Hopefully blooms of news!