Bold TigerLittle GrapettePardon MeMoon Over ChimayoGlen Eyrie
Today, I had 5 new bloomers. I am just going to cut to the chase and post their photos: Bold Tiger, Pardon Me, Little Grapette,Moon Over Chimayo, and Glen Eyrie. The bottom row are my latest two Ned Roberts spiders. (I’m up to 15/70 in Neds that have bloomed.) Tomorrow, I may have more time to share my gardening life with you. For now, enjoy the pictures!
Midseason Monday brings only 2 first blooms for 2024 to the yard. The first is an older daylily, Prairie Blue Eyes. Even though she is a classic, Prairie Blue Eyes has a nice blue hue around the eye zone.
Prairie Blue Eyes
The second is one I got as a bonus called Nona’s Garnet Spider. She is a 90s girl. Nona is a petite spider that adds a nice red accent in my front path garden.
Nona’s Garnet Spider
It was a nice break in the flurry of midseason today. I had other things to get done today. Finding balance during peak season is always a challenge, and I don’t think I am at peak. This year may be more like a prolonged plateau until Fall.
To my fellow bloggers out there, what are your thoughts on AI? I have been using the Word Press AI feature for headlines and my stats seem to be up, but it also feels a little distant or impersonal. That said, it does save a little time. The excerpt is another time-saver, but again feels impersonal. I feel like the 3rd person.
I usually use Grammarly, but it hasn’t been running for a few days for some reason. I like the feedback it gives, generally speaking. I used it for my doctorate, also, and found it helpful – although it argues with the AI I use for my Etsy listings. I SMH with the bots arguing about grammar but using AI does seem to be increasing my Etsy traffic.
Bloggers – if you are using AI, do you think it is helping with traffic? If yes – why and how much???
I will be adding some new pieces before the summer is over. I plan to do some daylily paintings over a marbled acrylic pour background. I will be talking more about my process in the next few weeks!
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.
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.
When I logged off on Sunday, I didn’t think it would be almost a week before I got a chance to write another blog. The heat is on!!! Camping, the 4th of July, and lots of daylilies have happened since I last posted.
And, this summer is slow. Some of the early bloomers no-showed. I am currently in the low 100s with plants that have scapes, are in bloom, or have finished blooming. Forty one out of 198 have bloomed so far this season. That’s 21%. So, it’s either going to be a wild late summer peak or a boring season. Likely somewhere in-between.
Until the Last Daylily Blooms + Hypertufa Planter Sale on Etsy
Just a quick reminder that all of my Etsy shop daylily artwork – wall art, clocks, pots, paintings – is on sale “Until the Last Daylily Blooms” in my yard. If you follow this blog, you know the photos and paintings are original Colorado artwork. On July 21st, this discount goes from 25% to 30% off. On August 20th to goes from 30% to 35% off. In September it will jump to 40% off. Will I still have blooms in mid to late October? IDK but if I do, my art will be 45% off. How low can you go??? Don’t miss the bus!!! Click here or on the photo below for the specific listing – and be sure to check out all my sale items.
Original wood panel painting of Skinwalker daylily from my Etsy Shop.
I also make hypertufa (a mix of Portland cement, sphagnum moss, and vermiculate) planters that are 25% off on Etsy during July. My planters are too small for daylilies, but I know many of us adore a wide variety of flora. Hypertufa is porous, similar to terra cotta. So, it lets the roots breath. It has thick walls for stability and can be left outdoors in winter. I do put mine in a protected area (shed) for winter due to freeze, thaw. All of my handmade hypertufa pots are put in a vinegar bath for several days to assure that the pH is favorable to plants of all types. Planters can be used indoors or outdoors. I also make some fun art with hypertufa that is also on sale during July. Click here or on the photo to go to the listing – be sure to check out my other hypertufa pots and art that is on sale during July. Love this one of the cat petroglyph at Petrified Forest
Mellow day in the daylily garden after the rain last night. I should be camping but I postponed a day due to more rain predicted tonight. I didn’t have any first blooms for 2024 today.
Catherine Irene in bloom in my garden today.
My scape count is hanging in the 80s, although it is slowly increasing. When I say scape count, I really mean that I am counting plants with scapes, not total scapes in the yard. Some plants have several scapes, but they only count as one plant. My Southwestern Named Daylily Garden is just not moving much. The first year I had a bloom rate of maybe 20% and I am a little nervous that this could be a repeat. Not even Dream Keeper showed up this spring – and she always shows up.
All American Chief in bloom today in my Southwest Roadtrip Garden.
When I have a bad year, I always wonder why. Dry winter (only shoveled once), dry spring, didn’t winter water, left the leaf mulch on the Southwestern Named Garden too long, pot soil needs more fertilizer, etc. I’ll likely be working on those pots this fall – because spring is often too late. In my climate, I find that if I can get them thriving before freeze, they come back pretty strong as long as they get moisture during the winter months.
Inwood in bloom on my patio today.
PS – Southwest Named Daylily Garden is a weird long name. How do you like Southwest Road Trip Garden? Afterall, that is the inspiration for this garden!
Next Up: Colorado Windflowers
I’m headed camping tomorrow, so no blog for a few days. Hopefully, I’ll have some nice photos of our Colorado native wildflowers when I post, again. And, I will have billions and billions of new scapes!
Last week, I got news that my favorite online daylily grower was closing. I absolutely adore Doris at Shady Rest Gardens and I am still adapting to the idea that this summer is her last ever sale. She and her husband are on to the next chapter, as I was a couple years ago. I knew I had to be one of her last customers and order something, despite my pots being pretty full currently. So, last night she posted the sale daylilies for this fall. It was like midnight-thirty and I was shopping for daylilies from my couch.
Comanche Princess in bloom today came from Shady Rest
How did I get started shopping for daylilies online? It was 2015 when I returned to school for my doctorate and somehow daylilies became my healthy escape from studies (I loved my program but needed stress management breaks). I had a few daylilies around the yard for years and found them pretty hardy here, but they weren’t really a hobby until I went back to school at age 60.
Online Doctorates and Daylilies
Before becoming a serious hobbyist, I picked up a daylily or two at the local nursery here and there. I don’t remember what spurred me to try online, but I did. I mean, if you can get a doctorate online then why not a daylily? It was a lesson that bare roots are not the same as blooming plants and I had to be patient. But the varieties were endless and they were less expensive. Because of my love of the Southwest US, I was especially attracted to the ones with names that were also Southwestern. That helped me hone in on my favorite hybridizer – Ned Roberts. He lived in the Southwest and his daylily names showed it.
Ruby Spider is originally from a local nursery and in bloom today.
It was a web search for his daylilies that led me to Doris and Shady Rest. It was like striking gold – she had so many of his daylilies for sale. Way more than I could afford. So, every year, I added a few. Now I have 74 Ned Roberts registered daylilies and a grand total of 198 different daylilies. They aren’t all from Shady Rest, but I loved getting my packages from her and they were a substantial contribution. More than a grower, Doris became my garden mentor. Fortunately, we are still friends on social media, but I will miss those packages.
What is your favorite place to shop for daylilies???
Prairie Wildfire originally came from a local nursery and is in bloom today.
Speaking of my beautiful Ned Robert’s spider daylily collection with Southwestern names – this original wood panel painting of Skinwalker is on sale until my last daylily blooms in 2024. The original wood panel is only $26.25 during the sale. And, I have signed prints of the painting that are only $9 with free shipping. If you miss daylilies in the winter, then now is the time to hang one on the wall! Click here or on the photo below to go to listing.
Skinwalker daylily – original painting or signed print
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.
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.
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?
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!
The day started off warm and sunny, so I decided to slip away and buy the daylily that I passed up the other day (Collier) because one of my pots needed more daylily. Once I got home, I wrestled the crabgrass out of my beloved Canyon Colors daylily pot and was left with 4 scrawny fans. That is why I got Collier. The colors are fairly close, so I hope they each stand out – but I won’t get any blooms from Canyon Colors this year in the pot – fortunately, I have it in another area and it has scapes.
Canyon Colors 2023 bloomCollier (web photo)
Then, I moved stuff around. I rescued Just Plumb Happy from the border garden and put her in a pot. She is also very scrawny and won’t bloom this year. I divided my Kwanso (ditch lily) and put some of it in my little front corner garden. Now, that plant is supposed to be slightly invasive (unlike its hybridized daylily offspring) but the high desert is no tropical ditch. She won’t bloom in the pot. I also put a couple fans in my native plant garden. Another day, another experiment. If she becomes invasive, I’ll regret what I did today.
Prairie Wildfire
Today’s First Blooms of the Season
I had a lot of first blooms of the season today. I’ll post my reel with all the names below. Pandora’s Box was added just a couple days ago. I have almost bought this daylily online so many times! I also want to mention All American Chief as being a favorite spider daylily today.
This is a friendly reminder about my “Until the Last Daylily Blooms” daylily art sale. How about these beautiful fun-shaped flat cards? These make great thank-you notes! Click here or on the photo to go to the listing.
If you need a small planter, I have a bunch! How about this cute red, white, and blue VW-type hippy bus for fun 4th of July decor? Click here or on the picture to go to the listing (email me if you like this specific bus because I am still in process with listing it.)
Ruby Spider, my gateway daylily (I’m a daylily addict), showed up for the first time this season. I adore these big red and yellow blooms. Several years ago, I divided her and I now have her in 3 places. She is the only one that can thrive in this clay soil of the Colorado Plateau with all the competitive plant roots.
Ruby Spider 6.26
Today was also a perfect day for a little experiment with fertilizer. Overcast, drizzly, and pretty cool. Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty rainy. By the time I was done, it was sprinkling.
This is the fertilizer I used today – I put 1/3-1/2 cup per plant. I used more for larger pots and plants that had not scaped. Fingers crossed.
Today, I used a perennial fertilizer that may help with inducing some blooms. It is a slow-release type dry fertilizer and I only used it sparingly. I put more closer to the drip system water source. I made this choice because if the soil is depleted, this might be better than a spray.
A small amount of fertilizer in each pot.
I always hold my breath a little when temps are this warm. I have turned daylily plants a stunning yellow by overdoing it with fertilizer, especially with high temps and low water. Sigh – so much for blooms. I am hoping the rain really washes this in tomorrow, but I will likely step up my irrigation for several days.
I also got more daylily photos from last year (and a few from this year) added to my software. If I put a photo of the bloom each year, then I can look back and see if something hasn’t bloomed for a couple of years. That’s a great way to know which pots may need some TLC in the fall or early spring. Or, sometimes, I move it to a different location in the yard to see if that makes a difference.
My daylily software screenshot.
I decided that, for now, I am going to focus on water and fertilizer for the strugglers. I don’t want to mess with roots for fear of stopping any bloom they may have coming – and roots don’t like to be messed with in the heat. I may purchase more coir circles or just buy landscape fabric to put over the top of the grass in the grass/weed-infested pots. Landscape fabric has the advantage of being tucked in a little around the edges, but it is a pain to cut into circles.
I always forget how much time the blog takes. And, I am trying to add backlinks, so that adds more time. Hopefully, I can finish cataloging photos tomorrow – which will help with time. However, wait until peak and keeping up with 60 blooms in one day! Yikes.
Don’t forget to visit my Etsy shop to see all the daylily art that is on sale for the summer. I also wanted to share one of my tile clocks. This one is on sale until July 5th (not part of the daylily art sale) and is called Arizona Road Trip. The vibrant red-orange center reminds me of a daylily. Click on this link or the photo below to visit the listing.
Arizona Road Trip tile clock.
I think I am going to make some pours during the peak by using the primary color of each cultivator in my yard that day. That will be pretty fun! I’ll add those to the sale! Cupboard knobs, clocks, coasters, succulent planters. Can’t wait!
What happened today was a couple first blooms for the season – Comanche Princess and a NOID that I call Dark Mystery. But that’s not all . . .
Today, I wrestled daylily pots! Nothing is as frustrating as grass and creeping bellflower in my pots! Desert daylilies need water – so I have drip systems for 90% of my daylily pots. It is like velcro for grass seeds, grassroots (despite having weed fabric under each pot), and the bellflower. Additionally, the bellflower has tuberous roots that look very much like daylily roots – but lighter in color. Left unattended, they can eventually crowd the daylily out. (Tips for keeping weeds out of pots.)
Unfortunately, chemical choices are limited because the roots of these plants intertwine with the daylily. I have had some luck with the coir rounds – but they wear out in a couple of years and are somewhat expensive in bulk.
I extract the inhabitants of the pot and slowly pull soil and roots away until I expose the daylily roots. Then, I hydro-wash the daylily to get any remaining alien roots off (hopefully) and I repot in new soil. It is a time-consuming process and the pot’s old dirt must be discarded. If you know of an easier way – please post a reply and share your expertise. It is my least favorite part about my daylilies.
Video showing daylily root system.
But, I digress. The day started with me wanting to get the high-bloom fertilizer that I talked about in the blog yesterday. I decided to daylily shop while at the nursery because I had some strugglers that needed to be replaced. I stopped at three nurseries and only one had any daylilies that I don’t already have. So, I got the fertilizer, 2 new daylilies, and some filler plants.
Video on how to fertilize daylilies.
When I got home, I freed the strugglers from their grass and moved them to a different spot to (hopefully) recuperate. I filled the pots with the new daylilies. Now, we wait. I’ll fertilize tomorrow before the storm on Thursday – and I will talk about that in my next post.
Colorado Kid Daylilies 