Momma’s Bouquet

August 25, 2019Leave a comment

My mom would be 102 years old this day. That makes me sound older than I am. Mom waited to have kids. It is also the anniversary of the job offer for my current job. This job is a great match for my strengths, but not for my senior energy. I am likely too liberal minded to be an early morning person – my coworkers do much better. Yes, circadian rhythm does relate to our liberal vs conservative brain. I am middle-of-the-road, slightly liberal. And, yea, political views are only one small part of how this part of our brain impacts our work. Liberals do better starting and ending their days later than conservatives.

Frans Hals 8.24

At any rate, I didn’t celebrate today – other than a few more air plants. My yard looks neglected. I worked all summer and camped every other weekend. I have been keeping up with daylily photos (sort of), but not much else.

Purple Corn Dancer 8.24

Today’s chore was installing a drip system in the front garden. Daylilies, squash, poinsettias – they get too dry. When I worked from home, I could run out and water. Don’t get me wrong – I am glad to be less isolated. But, my yard suffers especially when summer isn’t a pause.

Carlotta 8.24

I went to the nursery for a plant for a coworker – a surprise. I grabbed a couple of air plants – my new addiction. I like them because they are small and less needy than my orchids. I was into water culture orchids – but with not being home, it is hard to keep up with all the water changes. The air plants are small – and I plan to get more into succulents as my current plants thin.

Purple Thunderbird 8.24

So, the coleus were half price – I have some in with my daylilies that are on the side of the driveway but not in all the pots. So, I grabbed 3 of those. They are actually nice companion plants for daylilies. I got some fall colors. Then, of course, I have to decide if I bring them in when it gets cold. Probably – one big pot. I can take cuttings and replant outside next spring. Sure . . . if I have time.

Navajo Curls 8.24

Putting in the drip system meant giving the daylilies a haircut. I cut a lot of stuff back – like those blue bells. I have about 27 drippers in and 17 to go. For now, I need to this sleep, precious sleep. Goodnight, momma. I lost you too young and miss you every day.

Purple Grasshopper 8.24

Oh, BTW – I tried the block editor for WordPress on Internet Explorer – It was awful! A few more days of testing S mode before I likely go to regular Windows 10.

Ruby Stella 8.24

One last note – the featured photo is from earlier this year. Catherine Irene – the same name as my mom.

Flowers for Maia

August 23, 2019August 23, 20192 Comments

Today is my granddaughter, Maia’s, birthday. I limit my words on the anniversary of her birth. Honestly, there are no words for all I feel about her

Adios Albuquerque 8.22

I will say I had a nice bouquet for her today. And, I wanted to see if my computer would run smoother on WordPress tonight. The blog post I did yesterday crashes the app on my phone . . . I don’t know why.

Fox Ears 8.22

Anyway – enjoy Maia’s flowers. The featured photo is Maya Cha Cha – not in bloom today but a great tribute to my beautiful granddaughter.

Frans Hals 8.22

PS – Blogging is a bit easier with this new Lenova 300e tonight – but there is still something funky about Microsoft Edge and WordPress. Is it just me?

Heirloom Heaven 8.22

Mama Cuna 8.22

Purple Corn Dancer 8.22

Cripple Creek 8.22

Shape Shifter 8.22

Ruby Stella 8.22

Tired

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019Leave a comment

It’s crazy – I had 13 cultivators in bloom today. Hello . . . It’s August 20th. The weather is now acting like desert weather. Hot and dry. It was in the 90s today.

Purple Corn Dancer 8.20

It’s been a year tomorrow since my surgery. After that, I could not be in the sun for a few months, so the blog just stopped . . . Until the poinsettias bloomed. I only had Purple Corn Dancer in bloom, anyway. Healing was a journey.

Purple Thunderbird 8.20

I never know what to think this time of year. Tired of the heat but dreading the cold, dark seasons ahead. Tired of my camera but don’t want to miss the late bloomers. Hate to see camping season end but ready for some mellow hikes around home. I think my daylilies are in a similar place with life right now – still blooming but longing for a rest.

Cripple Creek 8.20

PS – I ordered my new 2 in one laptop. My old one was tired, too.

Shape Shifter 8.20

Purple Grasshopper 8.20

Indian Sky 8.20

Orange Flurry 8.20

El Desperado 8.20

Chaco Canyon 8.20

Coberg Fright Wig 8.20

Ruby Stella 8.20

Frans Hals 8.20

Chaos and Routine

August 20, 2019Leave a comment

The school year feels like it has started. The new faculty are awesome. Eventually, the routine will settle in, but the chaos takes time to run its course.

Indian Sky 8.19

And, as that happens, the daylilies thin. I have maybe 18 cultivators with buds. Probably about 100 buds. It’s hot, some of them are too thirsty. I lost a few this week.

Shape Shifter 8.19

I start to think about fall chores. Should I put a drip system in the front garden? I need to fix some things in the Southwest garden.

Purple Grasshopper 8.19

By the time the final grades come in, we will be talking about Santa Claus. And, my poor poinsettias. Why aren’t they growing faster. I usually start forcing the first ones about now. I have 2 of 6 that are blooming size. Maybe I need to up their water? Why did 2 grow big?

Frans Hals 8.19

And, my amaryllis have bloomed more this summer than last winter. I had 4 blooms this summer, though my seeds haven’t sprouted.

Navajo Curls 8.19

Fall and winter start to occupy my mind. Air plant decorating . . . They look cool in with cactus, which gives me all sorts of ideas.

Cripple Creek 8.19

For now, I need to focus on this week. Looks like I need a new computer. Sigh. I’m hoping Santa can still afford to bring me a new camera for Christmas.

Heirloom Heaven 8.19

The Shrunken Days of August

August 10, 2019Leave a comment

My eyes are so tired that they drip with tears. I woke up before dawn, but dawn is getting later. And, my sprinklers now go off after dark in the evening even though I have not reset the time. Work starts earlier and ends later. Things always seem chaotic at the start of a school year. I am tireder than is healthy – it impacts my wellbeing. I can’t push the envelope the way I use to. Neither can the sun — it begins its rest cycle. I feel a bit sad because I don’t like the cold, dark side of the year. Mostly, though, I feel tired.

So, I had two Premiers today that I want to talk about before sleep. Frans Hals is one of my early mail order daylilies. It has been moved around the yard a few times. I thought this was the most beautiful daylily I had ever seen – this and Best Seller. I believe they were in my first batch of roots. Now, it looks kind of ordinary. Still, a nice late bloomer.

Frans Hals 8/9

And, my apologies to Chaco Canyon and Kachina Dancer. I got them mixed up. The one that bloomed earlier is Kachina Dancer. Chaco Canyon was divided and I thought her division had put out some small flowers – but it was Kachina Dancer. My main Chaco lost a scape to a storm in the spring – but managed to send out a re-bloom spike that opened today. Clearly, a different flower.

Chaco Canyon 8/9

Kachina Dancer – July, 2019

Thirty-two today. I have broken records nearly every day for a month. As the days shrink, so will the daylilies. Perhaps we all need a rest.

Oh – and my Apple Blossom Amaryllis baby bulbs (mom was pregnant about 3 years ago) finally bloomed! Merry Christmas – Winter Solstice is coming.

Apple Blossom Amaryllis 8/9

Big Box Punch

June 13, 2017Leave a comment

Today came my first Yellow Punch bloom. One of my Flower Power daylilies from my weekend trip to Lowes.

I’m not much of a big box shopper, but I do appreciate rebloomers. Stellas are the best! So, I was curious about what big box did with Stella. I wish I could find out the parentage. Monrovia just says it’s new this year. (It looks lots like Pink and Cream that I got at the same time. Hmmm.)

I do see mother Stella. It also reminds me of my Frans Hals, which is an older daylily. Hard to know. Many after it’s less new??? (Below: Stella and Frans Hals)

A Good Day . . . in the Daylilies

August 22, 2016Leave a comment

Today started with an email from one of my resilience websites. I have seen this before – but it is still as beautiful. I wish I had the patience for time-lapse of these blooms. If you want to feel a little positive emotion and wonder, give this a few minutes.

So, here are my weekend miracles. Frans Hals:

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

Orange Flurry:

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

Red Hot Returns:

Red Hot Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Stella:

Golden Stella de Oro – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Not bad for late August. PS – I could have sworn that Heirloom Heaven bloomed yesterday but no photos – I must have missed it somehow.

Today brought a light application of Mir-Acid. (Miracle Grow for acid loving plants). My soil here is so basic that it won’t change. The base in the soil quickly neutralizes the acid. The iron is bound at that pH, so it can’t be absorbed. Anemic daylilies. Mulch, manure, peat moss, acidifiers can all help. They probably won’t change the pH for long (if at all), but they do boost the availability of nutrients. The joy of living in an ancient sea bed. It’s trial and error. I am grateful for the lessons of my garden. It makes me feel like a hands-on healer, again. A good day.

Tiptoe Through the 2016 Daylilies with Me!

August 21, 2016Leave a comment

I may be dating myself, but I will never forget Tiny Tim singing Tiptoe through the Tulips on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in. When I decided to make this compilation of all my 2016 cultivators (all have bloomed, although some still have scapes/buds), it was a little like tiptoeing through my garden. The song came to mind. I would like to redo this with the day of the first and last bloom (in blooming order) sometime this winter when it is minus something and I need a daylily fix. It serves a purpose of not just lifting the spirit, but providing a timeline for predicting future years. So, here is the movie.

PS – My blooms today were Red Hot Returns, Frans Hals, Heirloom Heaven, and Orange Flurry. Mostly, though, my work was fertilizing pots and moving one daylily to a sunnier spot. I was just reading up on it, and I do think I need to give these guys some nutrition twice a year. It is the desert, after all. I need this foliage to be a bit less anemic when the spring comes around, again. It is all a learning curve.

Live Life Like a Daylily, One Day at a Time

August 19, 2016August 19, 2016Leave a comment

One of the things that I like best about daylilies is that they are in the moment. And, when the moment is over, they move on. They don’t hold on to the past, like we humans do. So, today they are my mentors.

Today I had four bloomers. Perhaps this is a sign of optimism from my little friends. I had little Heirloom Heaven:

Heirloom Heaven – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Frans Hals:

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

Orange Flurry:

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

Finally, Stella de Oro:

Stella de Oro – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

I love the late fall-colored blooms, but I have got to tell you that I find new roots almost equal in their awesomeness. I mean, you get some stuff in the mail that looks like wilted root veggies and you trim them back and plant them. And, within days, they start becoming daylilies. They are so optimistic about the future!

These are the Painted Petroglyph roots that I planted on Tuesday and they already have new green growth. I’ll try to take another photo next week for comparison. Next to the roots is a web photo of the cultivator in bloom. I cannot wait for spring.

A Little Piece of Heaven in my Yard

August 17, 2016Leave a comment

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.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Frans Hals

Momma’s Bouquet

Flowers for Maia

Tired

Chaos and Routine

The Shrunken Days of August

Big Box Punch

A Good Day . . . in the Daylilies

Tiptoe Through the 2016 Daylilies with Me!

Live Life Like a Daylily, One Day at a Time

A Little Piece of Heaven in my Yard