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?

Alabama Jubilee 7.3

Aztec Firebird 7.8

Black Arrowhead 7.2

Black Eyed Susan 7.6

Black Ice 7.5

Bluegrass Music 7.3

Canyon Colors 7.5

Catherine Irene 7.6

Chaco Canyon 7.5

Cheyenne Eyes 7.6

Chokecherry Mountain 7.3

Comanche Princess 7.6

Dark Mystery 7.5

Dream Catcher 7.5

Early Bird Cardinal 7.3

Electric Lizard 7.6

Funny Valentine 7.8

Happy Hopi 7.6

Happy Returns 7.3

Heron’s Cove 7.5

Holy Sombrero 7.5

Hopi Jewel 7.3

Indian Giver 7.3

Inwood 7.6

Isaac 7.5

Jungle Queen 7.8

Just Plum Happy 7.3

Lady Fingers 7.5

Laughing Feather 7.2

Longlesson Show-off 7.6

Lullaby Baby 7.8

Mellon Balls 7.5

Mesa Verde 7.4

Mildred Mitchell 7.5

Mini Pearl 7.5

Navajo Rodeo 7.8

Nurse’s Stethoscope 7.8

PaPa Longlegs 7.6

Passionate Returns 7.6

Petite Petticoats 7.3

Pick of the Litter 7.5

Pink and Cream 7.6

Pink Raindance 7.4

Prairie Blue Eyes 7.5

Prairie Wildfire 7.6

Prelude to Love 7.5

Primal Scream 7.4

Purple de Oro 7.6

Purple Grasshopper 7.4

Purple Many Faces 7.5

Purple Mystique 7.5

Raven Woodsong 7.4

Red Riddle 7.5

Return a Smile 7.6

Route 66 7.4

Ruby Spider 7.8

Ruby Stella 7.5

Shape Shifter 7.6

Soco Gap 7.5

Stella 7.5

Stephanie Returns 7.5

Strutter’s Ball 7.5

Taco Twister 7.6

Talon 7.8

The Colorado Kid 7.6

Thin Man 7.5

Treasure of the Southwest 7.4

Wild Horses 7.5

Wild Rose Fandango 7.4

Wineberry Candy 7.4

Yellow Punch 7.6

Zuni Thunderbird 7.4

Exponential!

July 3, 2018Leave a comment

Daylily peak is just around the corner . . . many ripe buds in the Walkway Garden now. Honestly, it is a bit daunting to photograph them all and do this job when I worked 12 hours today. First of the month is busy, especially when there is a holiday involved.

I noticed My Memories on Facebook today with some interest. Last year, I posted 19 cultivators in bloom this day. In 2016, it was three. In 2015 and 2014, it was one. 2014 was the first year that I posted photos daily to Facebook. Today, it was 35! It is like an exponential deal, a little. I think this year is enough to let me know I have enough! I have had 67 cultivators this year – 38% bloom rate. The total bloom rate for all of 2017 was 47%. To get to that number we need 79 cultivators. That is 12 more. I guestimated it would happen on July 4th. That’s 12 more in 2 days. Might happen . . . let’s see.

So, today we added 3 to our total. The first one is my biggest daylily of all – Dream Catcher. She was one of my 3 pilot daylilies in the Southwest Garden. I am not sure why she loves her spot so much, but she is big and puts on quite a show. She is another Ned Roberts spider – and related to Dream Keeper!

The Walkway Garden is my oldest daylily garden – and some of the faces have been around for several years. Prelude to Love is one of them. I know exactly where her spot is and what she looks like.

The last one for this July 2nd is Isaac. He is in the family garden – for my grandson, Isaac. A pretty yellow flower that is a bit different shape than the standard trumpet – and bigger. I was hoping for more than one scape. Oh well, last year I only had one bud. This flower brings hope that someday Isaac might be part of my life. It will take more than hope alone to make this dream come true. For today, I have a special flower.

Tomorrow, I am off to the lab early for a bunch of tests. But, first, I will try to photograph a whole bunch of blooms that I am pretty sure will be waiting for me.

Today’s other blooms were Happy Hopi, Hopi Jewel, Black Arrowhead, Black Ice, Comanche Princess, Papa Long Legs, Canyon Colors, Bluegrass Music, The Colorado Kid, Primal Scream, Red Riddle, Purple Mystique, Prairie Blue Eyes, Lady Fingers, Route 66, Pink and Cream, Yellow Punch, Ruby Stella, Jungle Queen, Nurse’s Stethoscope, Inwood, Strutter’s Ball, Return a Smile, Ruby Spider, Funny Valentine, Chaco Canyon, Wild Horses, Soco Gap, Dark Mystery, Happy Returns, Apache Bandana, Laughing Feather, Pueblo Dancer, Cheyenne Eyes, Wineberry Candy, Mini Pearl. I think that is it. Too many to keep track of. And, tomorrow could be worse!

Grit

August 3, 2017Leave a comment

Today was split shift . . . a day of grit to get more daylilies protected from the soil and roots in my home ground. I gotta tell you, I am ready to be done. And, yet, I have barely started in the Southwest garden. Ugh, that clay soil is definitely part of the problem in the area where the daylilies are not thriving as much. I put my first two full pots out there, buried. The challenge is to make sure the sprinkler hose hits them. Some others are in bottomless pots, and some in the black nursery containers, mostly without bottoms. We will see what works. It is possible that what works is just digging deeper in that clay and replacing it with real soil. But, the pots keep the unwanted roots out. Grit.

So, I had no new blooms. Decided to play with my photo editor. So, here is Indian Sky from today in colored chalk.

Also, I am resharing my Ned Roberts spider collage because I forgot Glen Eyrie. I guess 19 out of 69 could be worse. Almost 30%. But, that clay has to get split up to improve things. Next year, I would like to hit 40. Keep on digging. Grit! Except, this weekend I have a date with my tent.

Left to Right: Top Row – Adios Albuquerque, Aztec Firebird, Black Ice, Chaco Canyon, Chief Four Fingers, Coral Taco. Middle Row: Desert Icicle, Dream Catcher, Dream Keeper, Ghost Ranch, Glen Eyrie, Kokopelli, Papa Longlegs. Bottom Row – Pink Enchilada, Pueblo Dancer, Rasberry Propeller, Skinwalker, Twirling Pinata, Zuni Thunderbird

Web of Spiders

August 2, 2017August 2, 2017Leave a comment

Today, I think I got my last NEW Ned Roberts bloom for the year. The new one is Coral Taco. The challenge is taking a photo of a flower doing yoga. Yes, both me and the flower!

I started collecting Ned’s spiders a couple years ago when I saw one named Kokopelli on the auction. I cannot believe how little I knew about daylilies then!!! Anyway, once I figured out they were hybridized close to home and there were lots of Southwestern and Colorado names, I had to have more. And, most have not ever bloomed yet, although this year most of them grew big and healthy.

From L to R: Top Row: Adios Albuquerque, Aztec Firebird, Black Ice, Chaco Canyon, Chief Four Fingers. Middle Row: Coral Taco, Desert Icicle, Dream Catcher, Dream Keeper, Ghost Ranch, Kokopelli. Bottom Row: Papa Longlegs, Pink Enchilada, Pueblo Dancer, Skinwalker, Raspberry Propeller (not a Southwestern name), Twirling Pinata, Zuni Thunderbird.

It is sort of disappointing that several that bloomed last year did not bloom this year. My Southwest garden was where a pine was planted until they uprooted it for a new sewer a decade or more ago. A pine in the middle of a rock garden. So, I work on water and soil. There is clearly a part of the patch with bigger plants and a part with strugglers. And, so I am working on that, too. Maybe a tree trim???

Despite the disappointment of wanting more bloom, I was impressed when I put these all together in one collage. I cannot wait to see them all!!! I think I have around 50 total.

I think there will be a break for several days before any more new blooms. So, like these cool spiders, I will be thinking of themes to highlight certain daylilies.

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.

Roadtrip!

July 8, 2017July 8, 2017Leave a comment

Today’s new blooms remind me of my annual road trip to the southwest. First, an old friend that is ailing a little this year, Route 66. I am hoping my driveway drip system kicks this one back in because I think I will only get 2 blooms this year, and this one is very undersized.

The second one is absolutely gorgeous: Dream Catcher. It bloomed last year, but this year the blooms seem bigger and more iridescent. It totally looks like the dream catchers that the Navajo sell at the roadside stands along the highway. And, if this is in the middle of my Southwest Garden, then there is hope for more blooms next year. In fact, Adios Albuquerque is sending up a scape!!!

My garden has been my road trip this week. I am so grateful for a hobby with so much positive emotion. Gardens are a great place to heal and escape the obsessions that create imbalance all around me now. I am obsessed with my blooms.

I had 23 in bloom today. So, the peak is close. I am a little bummed to have to leave for a business trip in the middle of it. I hope I don’t miss too much. I wish I could have a webcam on each of my daylilies.

Tomorrow – pretty sure there will be new faces. Who knows? That is the joy of daylily season.

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.

Winding down . . . a little

July 28, 2016Leave a comment

The daylily peak has come, and gone, for another year. With my intense focus on savoring it during this summer of my doctorate, I am almost glad. Heavy on the almost. As with all things, we assimilate over time. If I did not get my daylily withdraw pains from November through March (yes, fans count!), I would not have time to think creatively about daylilies in a new way. Last year, I made tile coasters, tiled tables, self-watering jars, and solar lit mason jars all with the images of my daylily heavy summer.

Dream Catcher – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

If I have any regrets about this year, it is not the yard improvements that I have made. It is that some of my regulars did not bloom . . . or had much-reduced bloom. I am not sure why . . . well, probably water and sunshine. I am sure I played into it by putting pots in places that were too shady or not pre-watering enough in the spring. But, there is something bigger, because two of my three clumps of flamingo grass also did not bloom. Strange.

El Desperado – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

I’ve already made changes in the last couple of weeks. Amended soils, moved pots, changed watering systems. It’s a long quality improvement cycle until next spring. Oh, how I wish daylilies could talk. That said, I have a few sending up scapes for later blooms – one that last bloomed 2 years ago. At any rate, last count I have had 64 of 135 bloom this year. That’s 47%. I have 4 more with scapes that have not bloomed yet. If they all survive, I will hit 50. That’s good, but leaves room for some quality improvement to make sure all my new additions this year can flourish. Look out, 2017!

From L to R: Top Row – El Desperado, Dream Catcher. Second Row – Marque Moon, Lime Frost, South Seas. Third Row – Primal Scream, Soco Gap, Melon Balls.

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.

Peaks and Troughs

July 23, 2016Leave a comment

In medicine, we draw peak and trough levels after giving some meds. It tells us where the medication reaches its highest and lowest levels. So, yesterday, I got my daylily peak with 26 cultivators in bloom. It’s a high therapeutic level. For me, anyway.

Today, the level dropped off a bit. Only 9. So, I am highlighting my Mexican Daylily (Shell Flower) in the background. Those bulb blooms look like blown glass. Really nice complementary flowers in my yard.

From L to R: Top Row – Aztec Firebird, Soco Gap, Dream Catcher. Row Two – Purple De Oro, Prelude to Love, South Seas, Orange Vols. Bottom Row – Blue Beat, Chorusline.

So, some statistics – I have 135 cultivators living in my yard. Fifty-seven of those have bloomed this year, 78 wait in the wings. Most of the new garden will wait until next year, although I am approaching a bloom rate of 20% out there. Who knows what will happen when you turn a rock pile into a garden?

I have some in pots that did less well – much less well – than average. I am not sure what happened to Cheddar Cheese, but all it’s buds fell off. Nosferatu did not bloom, nor did Funny Valentine. Inwood put forth 3 blooms and Strutter’s Ball, only one. Next spring, more water earlier in the season. Because, next year, my goal is 80% bloom rate. Or, bust!

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Dream Catcher