Land of Enchantment

August 24, 2019August 24, 2019Leave a comment

I love New Mexico. It is, indeed, lives up to its motto of being the Land of Enchantment. I have a fair number of daylilies named after New Mexico places. More than any other State with the exception of Colorado. Probably largely because Spiderman, Ned Roberts, (my favorite hybridizer) lived in Albuquerque for several years.

Land of Enchantment 2019

We traveled through New Mexico on our April Southwest road trip this year. We saw badlands, flea markets, monuments, ruins, and white sands. It was awesome . . . at least until norovirus hit and wrecked havoc on the last 4 days of a 9 day trip. But, I was well until we were in Arizona and headed back toward the 4-corners.

Chaco Canyon 2019

We will be down in the 4-corners area for Labor Day. I am looking forward to it . . . I should say we were also near there on our summer road trip, but not in New Mexico.

Chama Valley 2019

I have actually visited places in New Mexico because I have daylilies with that name. Like Ghost Ranch – totally put it on the map because of my daylily.

Ghost Ranch 2019

Chaco Canyon I visited long before my daylily collection – It is such a sacred place with the roughest 20 something mile road in the world. But worth it.

Santa Fe Christmas 2019

Santa Fe is a pretty yuppie town (is that still a word?) Artists abound and it is kind of pricy, but we were near there a few years ago passing through New Mexico.

Truchas Sunrise – 2019

Truchas, New Mexico is about halfway between Santa Fe and Taos. I actually contemplated driving there just because of my daylily, but didn’t like the traffic of Santa Fe.

Star over Milagro 2019

I’ve never been to Milagro – but it isn’t too far from the Salinas Pueblo Mission Ruins south of Albuquerque that we have visited a couple of times. Next time, maybe I will plan to go watch stars over Milagro.

Moon over Chimayo

Chimayo, New Mexico is east of Espanola, where my favorite Aunt Pearl once lived. The road trips have taken us close to Chimayo . . . maybe next time.

Navajo Grey Hills 2019

Navajo Grey Hills is likely named after Two Grey Hills Trading Post. This is a place I have driven through between Shiprock and Window Rock on the Navajo reservation. Honestly, it must have been before one of my daylilies was named after the place because I had to look up where the name came from. Again . . . future destination.

Adios Albuquerque 2019

I have been to Albuquerque many times. I don’t like cities – but there are also some cool smaller towns and attractions near Albuquerque. I like Petroglyph National Monument! US Highway 550 starts in my hometown of Montrose, CO and ends just north of Albuquerque – 305 miles from my door (+/-). Chaco Canyon is along that route. I often take the backroads, though.

So, tonight I am using internet explorer to blog. Still glitchy (my photos keep disappearing) but faster than Edge. Ugh . . . I may just have to switch out of S Mode and go back to Chrome. This would be murder during peak season.

50 Startling Southwest Spider Daylilies!

August 1, 20191 Comment

Only 40 something daylilies today and no Premiers. So, it leaves time to talk about some of my daylily categories. I have talked a lot about my Ned Roberts spiders. I originally started collecting them after seeing Kokopelli on the Lily Auction – I love the Southwest and had to have her (I got the bid)! From there, I added more = lots more. At first, it was all fully Southwest names. Then, I gathered some animal and insect names to my Ned collection. And, some stellar names. IDK, is Dancing Maiden a name from the Southwest?

So, tonight, I will show you my purely Southwest named daylilies – the obvious names from the Southwest. But, first, Mildred Mitchell had an extra petal today – a genetic flaw that made her look pretty cool.

OK – Here are my Southwest Ned Roberts spiders. (These are the ones that have bloomed the last two years. Mostly this year, except Kokopelli did not bloom this year – which is unusual).

Adios Albuquerque – 2019

Apache Bandana – 2019

Apache Beacon – 2019

Aztec Firebirds – 2019

Black Arrowhead – 2019

Chaco Canyon – 2019

Cheyenne Eyes – 2019

Chief Four Fingers – 2019

Chokecherry Mountain – 2019

Comanche Princess – 2019

Coral Taco – 2019

Desert Icicle

Dream Catcher

Echo Canyon – 2019

Feather Woman – 2019

Ghost Ranch – 2019

Glen Eyrie – 2019

Happy Hopi – 2019

Iktomi – 2019

Kachina Firecracker – 2019

Kokopelli – 2018

Land of Enchantment – 2019

Laughing Feather – 2019

Mama Cuna – 2019

Maya Cha Cha – 2019

Medicine Feather – 2019

Mount Echo Sunrise – 2019

Navajo Curls – 2018

Navajo Grey Hills – 2019

Navajo Rodeo – 2019

Ojo de Dios – 2019

Pink Enchalada – 2019

Pink Rain Dance – 2019

Purple Corndancer – 2018

Purple Many Faces – 2019

Purple Thunderbird – 2019

Santa Fe Christmas

Shape Shifter – 2019

Skinwalker – 2019

Spirit of the Morning – 2019

Star Over Milagro – 2019

Taco Twister – 2019

Talon – 2019

Truchas Sunrise – 2019

Twirling Pinata – 2018

Wild Rose Fandango – 2019

Zuni Eye – 2019

Zuni Thunderbird – 2019

Here Comes the Sun

June 30, 2019June 30, 2019Leave a comment

Well, time to stop thinking summer will never come. While I anticipate my daylilies are 2-4 weeks behind average, today there was a shift in numbers and colors.

Here are the today’s premieres:

The Colorado Kid 6/30

Comanche Princess 6/30

Canyon Colors 6/30 (first bloom 6/29)

Indian Love Call 6/30

Yellow Punch 6/30

Funny Valentine 6/30

And, here are the show stoppers who have been around for a week or three:

Saratoga Springtime 6/30

Dream Keeper 6/30

Golden Stella 6/30

Yellow Stella 6/30

I’m working on moving my history website moved to WordPress this weekend, so that’s all for the daylilies today. Oh, the cover photo is Ghost Ranch, whose one and only bud opened yesterday.

A Celebration of Spiders! (Ned Roberts)

August 7, 20183 Comments

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

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.

Switched at Birth?

June 26, 2017June 26, 2017Leave a comment

I went camping this weekend, so there was one day that I missed my blooms. I got home today at 4, and rounded the corner to my outside porch. I start counting blooms, and I spy a new one for the year. But it is totally the wrong color. It is mauve and white, I was expecting light yellow. What’s the deal?

Last year, I planted my two New Mexico named daylilies in the same pot. I labeled them (I thought). Last year, Ghost Ranch bloomed. So, one of the two plants is decidedly larger. So much so that the smaller one got its own pot to see if I can beef it up a tad. I thought Ghost Ranch was the one in the big pot. Apparently not, because the bloom looks like Chaco Canyon. It is odd, I still can’t figure it out. Chaco blooms early and Ghost Ranch is later. So, we will see. Maybe the fans are mixed now.

Anyway, remember when I said I would only post photos of new blooms? I have a few today. Please know that it was 4 PM when I got home so some of the blooms are past their prime. But, the garden explodes in color.

Here is Hopi Jewel:

Isaac:

Lady Fingers:

Prairie Wildfire:

Red Hot Returns:

Chama Valley

Tomorrow there are several possibilities for new faces. I think Wild Horses, Inwood (I missed the first bloom on Saturday), Mesa Verde, Stephanie Returns, Pink Enchilada, and Soco Gap are close. Any guesses????

Estimated Day of First Daylily: Tomorrow

June 7, 2017June 7, 2017Leave a comment

Stella in half bloomed, so I think it’s safe to say my first daylily of the year shows up tomorrow. I have to give up AM news for camera time in the garden. It’s better, the garden.

I killed my very first Stella a few years back. Then, I got into daylilies, and Stella seemed too common. But they bloom all season. So, last year, I hit the sales and got a few.

I have a growing number of scapes popping up. It’s like watching popcorn start to pop. Kokopelli, Soco Gap, Papa Long legs, Hopi Jewel, Happy Returns, Ruby Spider, Chama Valley, Strutters Ball, Wild Horses, Ghost Ranch, Funny Valentine, Inwood, Jungle Queen, Return A Smile. All have scapes. And, it’s just the beginning. I guessed Juneteenth (16th) for bloom 1. Off by 9 days. I’m good with it.

I have a lot of friends who think I’m a Lily expert. Daylilies are not really lilies. They are more closely related to Olathe Sweet Corn. And, I hope they do as well in my high desert garden.

A Little Something Different

August 3, 2016August 3, 2016Leave a comment

I went to take my daylily photos this morning and my camera did not cooperate. Dead battery. The hazard to being addicted to daylilies, I suppose. It’s my summer road trip this year, though. So, time to savor it!

Today was different because my daughter and grandkids are in town for a couple of days. Tonight, swimming. Tomorrow, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. And, so for today, a short blog.

The new kid today is one called Fairy Tale Pink. It looks more peach in the sunlight. I love the lines coming from the throat. It is a unique addition to the batch.

Fairy Tale Pink – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Today was Zuni Thunderbird’s last bloom. I fell in love with this whimsical bloom for some reason. I am definitely painting this one.

Zuni Thunderbird – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, dead battery. What’s a photographer to do? I substituted with my Kindle for the early photos and used some of the filters that I have on my photoshop app. I’ve been wanting to do that. And, the hour is late . . .

From L to R: Top Row -Fairy Tale Pink, Ghost Ranch, Mini Pearl. Row Two – Soco Gap, Marque Moon, Stella de Oro, Ruby Stella. Bottom Row – Skinwalker, South Seas, Zuni Thunderbird.

Pizza Crust for Lunch

July 31, 2016Leave a comment

Pizza crust is what I had for lunch. I shared a bite with my doggies . . . and then I found my daylily, Pizza Crust, in bloom. This is a brand new baby to my yard. I really love the mottling. The colors are neat – and it is tall enough to go perfect in a back space in my flower garden. You see, I planted the daylilies in that garden last summer, then dug out the old red concrete bed in the fall. The bed is bigger than I thought, but the grass had grown over the edge. I added bricks to the outside of the bed so that should not happen, again.

Pizza Crust – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Another new bloom today is Royal Palace Prince. It is a nice one that was a gift plant last summer. I have found that my gift plants have had a higher rate of bloom this year (in my main garden) than the ones I picked. I am guessing the hardy ones are generally the ones the sellers use as bonuses.

Royal Palace Prince – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Here are the other bloomers – the two small orange gals, Mini Pearl and Mellon Balls:

Lime Frost – I wish it was a lime Frosty:

Lime Frost – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Primal Scream:

Primal Scream – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

El Desperado:

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

Ghost Ranch:

Ghost Ranch – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Marque Moon:

Marque Moon – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Soco Gap:

Soco Gap – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, by golly, Miss Stella. I am still chuckling at the poor nursery person who was trying to be nice and explain daylilies to me. I said, “Yea, they are cool. I have 130 varieties in my yard.” Oh, the look on his face. He went immediately back to watering. Here is Stella:

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

And, my mind is now thinking of where to put the gift plants that I put in pots and they didn’t bloom. I have ideas . . . now, wait for September.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Ghost Ranch

Land of Enchantment

50 Startling Southwest Spider Daylilies!

Here Comes the Sun

A Celebration of Spiders! (Ned Roberts)

Grit

Web of Spiders

Switched at Birth?

Estimated Day of First Daylily: Tomorrow

A Little Something Different

Pizza Crust for Lunch