Sleeping In

August 10, 2018Leave a comment

The season winds down, and I find myself hitting my snooze a couple extra times. The work of the daylilies has gotten to be a lot less intensive. It has positives and negatives. Here are today’s bloomers:

Finales:

Nearly Wild 8.9

Pizza Crust 8.9

The rest from 8.9:

Purple Corn Dancer

Pink and Cream

Dream Catcher 8.9

For fun, let’s look at the Walkway Garden cultivators that bloomed last year, but didn’t bloom this year. I wonder why? Drought? Adapting to pots? Neighboring plants got bigger and blocked sunlight?

Little Cadet 2017

Best Seller 2017

Chama Valley

Fine Time Lucille 8.9

Fol de Rol 2017

Pardon Me 2017

Western Sandstone 2017

Tis the season to check these pots and see if they need dividing. Then, there are the ones that have never bloomed in my yard – ever. I think 1 more year and some may get recycled. It seems only fair to give them another year in the pots to see. They are Happy Happy, Scorpio, Coberg Fright Wig, Navajo Blanket, Sanctuary in the Sky, Fringe Benefit, Carlotta, and Quilt Patch.

I wish I had the energy that I did last year because time is getting shorter. Sometimes I wish camping season and daylily season did not run concurrently. I read my blog from last year, and I was burying pots every spare second. Now, it feels like too much to add dirt to the bottoms of the pots that have settled. And, I do need to dig up a couple in the Southwest garden and put in pots. Dividing is easier in pots, though. I guess it is my year not to bloom. Droughts happen, and sometimes it isn’t about water.

The Last Dozen Daylilies

August 9, 2018August 9, 2018Leave a comment

Today, we got a late burst of activity in the daylily garden. A nice dozen showed up today. Given I only have 11 with buds left, I believe it is the last dozen. And, we had several finales. Now comes the time that I contemplate what to do with the ones that have never bloomed. Do I toss them and put divisions of some of my more reliable ones in their place? Or give them another year? Or a little of both?

Finales:

El Desperado 8.8 – blooming since 7.10

Cherokee Star 8.8 – blooming since 7.16

Orange Vols 8.8 – blooming since 7.23

Other bloomers today:

Pink and Cream 8.8

Mini Pearl 8.8

Indian Sky 8.8

Heirloom Heaven 8.8

Blue Beat 8.8

Dream Catcher 8.8

Navajo Curls 8.8

Purple Corn Dancer 8.8

Royal Palace Prince 8.8

The next dozen will be next June. I start to plan poinsettia and amaryllis forcing . . . oh, one of my amaryllises is putting up a scape right now. The ugly daylily.

Oops . . . I forgot!

August 8, 2018Leave a comment

OK – I forgot my plan was to post all my bloomers from every day and eliminate roll call. Oh, well, that is not the worst of it – I forgot to pay my bills in July and didn’t realize until last night. Seriously, this exhaustion is something else! I have NEVER in my life forgotten to pay bills every month. Oh, well – get through work one day at a time and do what I can to take care of myself. Flower therapy helps, but also takes time. Life balance is a balance indeed. PS – So far, the lights are still on 🙂

So, here are the bloomers from yesterday and today . . . except the finales that were featured yesterday. First, today’s finales.

Finales:

Comanche Princess – in bloom since 6.17!!!

Bloomers:

Mini Pearl 8.6

Purple Corn Dancer 8.6

Pink and Cream 8.6 and 8.7

Dream Catcher 8.6 and 8.7

Ruby Stella 8.6

Navajo Curls 8.7

Tiger Kitten 8.7

Orange Vols 8.7

A Celebration of Spiders! (Ned Roberts)

August 7, 2018Leave a comment

The days grow August-quiet. It seems a dream that I had nearly 60 blooms per day just a month ago. So, today, we will do finales. And, then, a roll-call of my Ned Roberts spiders.

Finales:

Chorus Line 8.5

Rosie’s Red 8.6

So, maybe if I do the Ned Roberts spider roll-call it will entice one more into bloom this year. My Ghost Ranch is a fall bloom, but I am having a rough time getting her to thrive here. Maybe some fish fertilizer? Our temps are still above average with little rain.

Ned Roberts Spiders for 2018 Season:

Adios Albuquerque

Apache Bandana

Aztec Firebird

Black Arrowhead

Black Ice

Chaco Canyon

Cheyenne Eyes

Chokecherry Mountain

Comanche Princess

Desert Icicle

Dream Catcher

Dream Keeper

Fox Ears

Happy Hopi

Iktomi

Kachina Firecracker

Kokopelli

Laughing Feather

Mama Cuna

Moon Over Chimayo

Navajo Curls

Navajo Rodeo

Papa Longlegs

Pink Rain Dance

Pueblo Dancer is her label, but she doesn’t look like that one. So???

Purple Corn Dancer

Purple Grasshopper

Purple Many Faces

Purple Moonrise

Purple Thunderbird

Raspberry Propeller

Raven Woodsong

Rocky Mountain Pals

Santa Fe Christmas

Shape Shifter

Skinwalker

Taco Twister

Talon

Twirling Pinata

Wild Rose Fandango

Zuni Eye

Zuni Thunderbird

Out of interest, here are my Ned Roberts spiders that bloomed last year but did not bloom this year:

Coral Taco 2017

Glen Eyrie

Pink Enchilada 2017

And, we had a few in 2016 that have not bloomed again:

Chief Four Fingers 2016

Ghost Ranch

Winds of Love 2016

I have around 64 of Ned’s spiders in my garden. I had 42 bloom this year or about 65%. Last year, I had 13 (about 20%) bloom. Marked improvement. All total, to date, I have had 48 (or 75%) bloom. That is a long way from 100%. But, marked improvement. I think some of the ones that bloomed in 2016 were put in that year (still flourishing from the nursery), struggled last year in the clay soil, and are recovering (growing new roots) this year in their pots. I am sure that the drought had an impact, as well.

So, for fun, here are the ones I have that have never bloomed (photos from the web):

Apache Beacon

Coyote Laughs

Cricket Call

Cripple Creek

Dancing Maiden

Echo Canyon

Feather Woman

Golden Eclipse

Kachina Dancer

Kiva Dancer

Land of Enchantment

Maya Cha Cha

Medicine Feather

Mount Echo Sunrise

Navajo Grey Hills

Ojo de Dios

Orchid Moonrise

The Real Pueblo Dancer

Spirit of the Morning

Star over Milagro

Truchas Sunrise

Wildwood Flower

We made improvements, but we have aways to go. That’s life

The First Sunday of August

August 6, 2018Leave a comment

It was camping weekend, which is good because I need the stress relief. Work is too busy and I am too exhausted. So, I returned to an encore – Stella de Oro has been out of bloom for 3 weeks and she is back. I will just leave her in the roll call. Our last roll call of 2018. We had 37 in bloom this week. We had 56 last week and I predicted half as many this week. Actually – more like 2/3rds. When you look at all the finales this week (see photos below), I will make the same prediction for next week. That’s about 18 for the week. We don’t have many scapes yet, and the ones mostly only have a bloom or two left. Heirloom Heaven, Indian Sky, Pink and Cream, Dream Catcher, and Purple Corn Dancer have some life left in them. I am hoping Passionate Returns, Stephanie Returns, Ruby Stella and Red Hot Returns all return.

Here Goes Roll Call 7/31-8/5:

Anasazi 7.30 – has had finale bloom

Apache Uprising 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Baja 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Blue Beat 8.2

Cherokee Star 8.2

Chorus Line 8.5

Classy Lady 7.31 – Has had finale bloom

Comanche Princess 8.2

Dream Catcher 7.30

El Desperado 8.5

Fox Ears 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Heirloom Heaven 8.2

Heron’s Cove 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Hesperus 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Indian Love Call 8.2 – Has had finale bloom

Indian Sky 8.5

Lady Fingers 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Marque Moon 8.1 – Has had finale bloom

Mini Pearl 8.3

Moon Over Chimayo 8.1 – Has had finale bloom

Navajo Curls 8.1

Nearly Wild 7.31

Orange Vols 8.3

Passionate Returns 7.31 – Has had finale bloom

Pink and Cream 8.1

Pizza Crust 7.30

Prairie Blue Eyes 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Purple Corn Dancer 8.5

Purple Thunderbird 8.1 – Has had finale bloom

Rosie’s Red 8.3

Royal Palace Prince 7.30

Ruby Stella 8.3

South Seas 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Stella 8.5 – Encore bloom today

Tiger Kitten 8.3

Twirling Pinata 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Yellow Punch 7.31 – Has had finale bloom

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

It’s in the Genes!

July 12, 2018Leave a comment

Whew – the peak slowed just a bit today. No new blooms tonight. That is not to say that I didn’t have 50 blooms in my yard today . . . and we will have some new faces tomorrow. Today, I traveled out of town to meet my surgeon for a consult, so it was good to have less photo pressure!

So, a bit of a side trip tonight – let’s look at some genetics for my Ned Roberts spiders.

According to the Lakota, Iktomi is a spider trickster spirit and hero. I liked the name, so had to have the cultivator in my Southwest Garden. Iktomi is the parent of several of my other daylilies. Let’s see if we can see the family resemblance.

Here is Iktomi:

Iktomi 2018

Apache Bandana is a child of Iktomi:

Apache Bandana 2018

Chaco Canyon is another kid:

Chaco Canyon 2018

Dream Keeper has Iktomi and Dream Catcher as parents:

Dream Keeper 2018

Black Arrowhead is another offspring:

Black Arrowhead 2018

Laughing Feather is also in the sibling mix:

Laughing Feather 2018

I think the resemblance is kind of cool – they all have the midrib strips, although Dream Keeper looks more like Dream Catcher than Iktomi to me. What do you think?

Dream Catcher 2018

OK – Here is another one. Remember our Chokecherry Mountain?

Chokecherry Mountain 2018

Well, she is the offspring of Talon . . . do you see it?

Talon 2018

Sort of interesting to see side-by-side. Of course, I am a midwife. I don’t think I would ever want to try to hybridize, though. Never say never. I really like the look of all my Ned Roberts spiders . . . I wish I had his creativity.

Oh, and I have a confession. I got confused on labels – the photos I posted of Echo Canyon are really Kachina Firecracker. So sorry! She has the stripes but is not a child of Iktomi.

Kachina Firecracker 2018

OK – so bloomers today were: South Seas, Papa Longlegs, Comanche Princess, Navajo Rodeo, Taco Twister, Desert Icicle, Aztec Firebird, Purple Grasshopper, Pink Rain Dance, Soco Gap, Cheyenne Eyes, Talon, Mesa Verde, Canyon Colors, Heron’s Cove, Purple de Oro, Cheddar Cheese, Nosferatu, Purple Mystique, Prairie Blue Eyes, Wineberry Candy, Bluegrass Music, Blue Beat, The Colorado Kid, Mildred Mitchell, Mellow Balls, Chorus Line, Return a Smile, Longlesson Show-off, Passionate Returns, Anasazi, Indian Sky, Lady Fingers, Black Eyed Susan, Pick of the Litter, Prairie Wildfire, Stephanie Returns, Yellow Punch, Pink and Cream, Ruby Stella, Nurse’s Stethoscope, Strutter’s Ball, Wild Horses. I think that is it . . . tomorrow, more new faces!

It’s The Peak – Sunday Roll Call

July 9, 2018July 9, 2018Leave a comment

Well, I tried to post on Friday night, but no internet. Saturday, some internet, but my phone is crashing all of the apps since the last android update. Yes, right in the middle of peak season.

So, here are the new faces from Friday

Skinwalker 7.6.18

Echo Canyon 7.6

Iktomi 7.6

Chorus Line

Blue Beat 7.6

Bella Lugosi 7.6

And here are Sunday’s additions:

Lacy Doily 7.8

Nosferatu 7.8

Red Hot Returns 7.8

South Seas 7.8

So, that is 10 new additions since my last post – and I missed a couple of new faces while camping yesterday, but they will have another chance. For now, let me finish roll call. All daylilies that bloomed between 7/2 and today – here we go. Which is your favorite?