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.

A Time to Every Purpose

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016Leave a comment

Today, Ruby Stella bloomed. She only has two buds left and freeze is headed our way soon. I was thinking of firsts and lasts today. My first daylily bloomed in March . . . in zone 6A. Indian Sky was accidentally forced on my porch and produced two blooms. She did not rebloom this year.

Indian Sky – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

My first in-yard bloom was another container that was forced a bit early from winter on the porch – Electric Lizard.

Electric Lizard – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

My first planted in the dirt daylily to bloom was Dream Keeper (6/13) – this is my daughter’s choice for a painting for her birthday.

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

And, the last . . . Miss Ruby Stella from today. Last, but not least.

Ruby Stella – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

They spanned seven months . . . maybe we make it to October? Then, eight.

The other thing I hope spans a lot of months are the new labels. What a project to make these for every daylily, not just the 50 or so southwestern garden ones that I blogged about earlier this month. They have held up, so I am giving it a shot. I just want labels that last more than a month or two. So, we will see. Fingers crossed.

PS – I did become a Doctor of Nursing Practice. And, then I went on a camping road trip through SE Utah. New job starts next week. Time to get cracking with some winter strong labels!

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.

Jungle Queens and Voodoo Dancers, Oh My

July 3, 2016Leave a comment

The storm is passing, slowly but surely. It should start warming up by the end of the week. However, it wasn’t a bad daylily day. A Jungle Queen and a Voo Dancer showed up! Now, that is something to blog about.

Jungle Queen was amongst my first Lily Auction purchases. It was the day I needed to figure out how to win stuff so that I would get Kokopelli when the bidding closed. After losing on an earlier Ned Roberts daylily, I was determined to figure out the system. Jungle Queen caught my eye . . . and now she lives in my garden.

Jungle Queen – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

VooDoo dancer is one I purchased locally this year to go in a beautiful Mexican pot that my daughter bought me when they came to visit for Memorial Day. It should be a double bloom, so still adapting to its new surroundings. I’m hoping to see doubles soon! It is really pretty in the picture . . . more purple, too. I’ll put the web picture below. Hopefully, it wasn’t mislabeled 😦

Two of my Ned Roberts spiders are in bloom today. For fun, I put together a collage of all the blooms I have had from his creations to date. Five so far. I have 40+ Neds in my yard – so 10%. The larger ones (Chief FOUR Fingers and Kokopelli) are from today. This is the first FOUR finger bloom on the Chief! The smaller ones are Black Ice, Dream Keeper, and Winds of Love.

Ned Roberts collection to date – Photos by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Other bloomers were Ruby Spider, who adds visual splendor to both the front and side garden today. In front, it was a little red, white, and blue. And, on the porch garden, it was a pose with a friend (Return a Smile – I think).

Early Bird Cardinal landed again, too.

Early Bird Cardinal – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

I have had 18 different blooms so far this year. It is a start! Tomorrow, I am betting on Canyon Colors. Can’t wait to see it!

Focus on Daylilies

June 20, 2016June 20, 20162 Comments

I went camping this weekend. It’s my semester break from my doctoral program. However, I am teaching a class and implementing my project. So, it was a quick get away. I came home to find that I had missed Chief Four Fingers and Early Bird Cardinal’s first blooms. However, Happy Returns had two blossoms to greet me.

As always, I ran out with my Canon Powershot and my Kindle to get a shot. After that, I went in to download my vacation pictures. On the same card are my first camera versions of the photos that I have shared here. I thought would do a couple of comparisons.

Below is my first bloom, Electric Lizard. The first one is by Kindle, the second with the Powershot.

13445552_1216938351680388_9197977821710453742_n

Electric Lizard Daylily taken with Amazon Kindle

Electric Lizard taken with Canon Powershot

Below is Dream Keeper, first by Kindle and then by Powershot:

Dream Keeper taken with Amazon Kindle

Dream Keeper taken with Canon Powershot

I paint my Christmas gifts from the photos, so detail and color are important. Still, I am on a student budget until I return to work. So these are my options. The Kindle does a decent job for something that I can post immediately. However, the Canon sure has crisper detail.

I welcome any thoughts experiences readers have had with photographing these beauties. I am hopeful for another bloom or two very soon.

Sweet Dreams!

June 13, 2016June 13, 2016Leave a comment

I am one of those daylily addicts who tore up part of my old rock garden to put in a themed daylily garden. Most of the residents are Ned Roberts daylilies with southwestern names. But, thanks to the daylily farmers who send bonuses (many with the southwestern theme, too), I have a few others in that area.

Anytime you rip up rocks and plant something there (after 50+ years), it is a bit of an experiment. The sun exposure is best there, that is why I picked that spot. The tree that used to be there was taken down for a new sewer system a decade ago. I made a little garden with yucca and a lilac, and so that is the history. Last year, I put three Roberts daylilies out in that small area. They came back (fall planting) looking great. Now there is a whole list of Roberts blooms “to be” out there. And I hold my breath that a few inches of good soil, water crystals, a permanent sprinkler, and mulch will make that habitable.

Today, it happened – the first bloom. Dream Keeper. I got up early to take photos and went back to bed (as I was up til after 2 AM doing homework). I love these spiders, so delicate. I love how the peddles twist and turn. And, hey, this one looks like its photo. Here is Dream Keeper from my yard. I purchased this one from Blueridge Daylilies. They send healthy big plants!

And, here is the one from the web. Mine actually looks a little more vibrant!

So, I take a deep breath that my new babies are happy out there. I don’t think I’ll have another bloom for a few days. But, in someways it is nice because I can savor each one.

For anyone looking for Ned Roberts southwestern cultivators, here is a list of growers who I purchased from the last couple of years (in no particular order):

Blueridge Daylilies/Blooming Auction
Crossview Gardens
Daylily Diva
Earthly Treasures
The Lily Auction (Brooks, Connie Horner, Floota, Amy Garden, Parklane)
Smokey’s Garden
Oak Hill Nursery
Shady Rest Gardens

First bloom

June 11, 2016June 11, 2016Leave a comment

Today came the first bloom. Electric Lizard opened it’s bud as the first daylily for the season, 2016. It is a pale and anemic bloom . . . just like Indian Sky was when it bloomed in March. For some reason, both evergreens bloomed early despite scraggly foliage. It is still pretty, it just looks very different from its online photo.

I could be upset of disappointed. Mostly, though, I am curious about how to be a successful daylily gardener. It fascinates me how the color can be so off. So, I asked the American Hemerocallis Association Facebook page. One of the nice hybridizers inquired about fertilizer and gave me suggestions. He also said this one is a hybrid from Ohio, even though it is evergreen, so it could probably be left outside in the winter.

OK, so I am curious about differences in climate between Western Colorado and Ohio. I found a website where I can compare Denver to Dayton. The main thing I see there is that Ohio gets more moisture and isn’t quite as cold, on average. Oh course, Denver is on the other side of the Rockies, so I am unsure how true the comparison is to my garden. More than those items, I wonder about how our crazy Rocky Mountain springs impact the more delicate daylilies. It will be 75 one day and 25 the next, over and over. I am sure that is what got two of my evergreens this spring. That is what makes this Western Slope gardening so interesting. (I bet the soil is way different, too!)

So, of course, the dilemma is to leave it out or not leave it out next winter? First, though, I have got to treat the anemia. If I can get it to flourish (I adopted it in the fall last year so it is still a baby), then I would consider leaving it out. At any rate, tomorrow I will get some slow release fertilizer for the two spindly ones and watch for the next bloom.

What is next? I am not sure but Happy Returns is an early bird. Mesa Verde, Dream Keeper, Kokopelli (and a couple of others in the new garden), Early Bird Cardinal, etc. all have some decent sized buds forming. Lots of scapes out there. Oh, and The Colorado Kid! I can’t wait to see how close the colors on that are to the logo on this blog. I don’t think any will open tomorrow . . . but soon, very soon.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Dream Keeper