How Many Daylilies (or Cats or Dogs) Is Too Many?

July 10, 2024July 10, 2024Leave a comment

Cats, Dogs, Daylilies, and Addictions

As with cats or dogs, the answer to the “how many daylilies is to many” question varies depending on the situation. I know daylily growers that have acres and acres of gorgeous flowers and they have the support to keep them healthy. For me, I won’t go above 200 varieties. (Of those varieties, I had 4 new ones today: “Fringe Benefit“, Collier, Holy Sombrero, and Hesperus. I will include photos throughout the text.)

“Fringe Benefit” was on the label of this bonus daylily. She isn’t Fringe Benefit, but I call her that, anyway.

Cats

I got too many cats once. Well, not all at once. But, between 2006 and 2013, I collected 6 cats in addition to the one I started with. (The first cat, Serendipity, passed in 2013 before I added the 6th cat.) Since 2012, I have rehomed 3 (one to my grandson, two to friends) and another one, my beloved Soksabal, has passed. Almost 20 years later, I still have 2.

Cats need territories and my house isn’t that big. As I added cats and I also added behavior issues/fighting. The fighting was the main reason for rehoming. I also needed tons and tons of litter plus the associated time cleaning. And, cats smell. I am sorry, but they just do. People actually comment on it when they visit and I work hard to keep the pans clean!

Cats are reasonably inexpensive compared to dogs when it comes to vet expenses. I think I read 1 dog = 3 cats when it comes to vet bills. Cats also live forever. So, my oversupply would take years (decades) to clear had I not rehomed a few. (I am ready for no cats for a while after this group is done. Burnout plus they can’t travel. Although I miss Soksabai in the garden.)

Dogs

Now that I have transitioned to be a dog person, I won’t ever go above 14 pounds/dog or above 3 dogs at a time. I learned my lesson – and the vet/food expenses are my limiting factor with my senior/special needs rescue girls. If you are a dog lover, please check out The Three Amigas/The Traveling Pup Crew Instagram Page to follow their adventures.

Cimarron, Kachina, and Kokopelli at Monument Valley on our Southwest road trip.

How Many X Is Too Many?

So, what questions do I as myself about getting another dog/cat now?

Is there enough physical space for them to be happy? Cats in small territories are stressed!
Are there financial resources to support them to live their best life? Food, vet, etc.
Is there enough time to take on the responsibility? Feeding, walking, litter cleaning. At the point that it feels like a burden more often than a joy, then I have likely crossed a line.
Are there regulations that limit the number of pets you can have in your home?

Back to Daylilies

The same rules apply to daylilies, really.

Is there adequate physical space in the garden or yard? This means space with good soil, water and sunshine.
It costs money to grow daylilies even if you get them for free. Soil, fertilizer, etc cost money. I grow in pots because my soil is so bad and my tree roots are aggressively competitive. So, I had to purchase nearly 200 pots that are at least 12 inches in diameter. $$$. I live in the high desert so I water daily – and I live downtown on City water. Water is another cost and financial limitation.
Time is a big factor. It took hours and hours to dig 200 holes in clay soil and bury pots. The pots need winter care, soil, fertilizer, and weed management. I’m saving time on photography this year because my bloom rate is low (so far), but is that because I didn’t have time to do pot maintenance last year or to water last winter?
There are regulations – like property lines – that matter with daylilies. Or water restrictions. My Southwest Road Trip Garden is on the easement. My lot is small, there really isn’t a lot of other space for it. That’s another reason for pots, though, because the can be moved if the City has to dig. It is a limiting factor.

It you have the space, money, time and aren’t violating any laws, then daylily addiction is perfectly legal. Go for it! There is even a Confessions of a Daylily Addict group on Facebook that you can join. (Yes, I am a member.)

Help Grow This Daylily Artist!

Don’t forget to check out the daylily art in my Etsy shop that is on-sale all summer, and into the fall (hopefully) – or until my last daylily blooms. I also have sales going on houseplants, hypertufa pots/art, and volume purchases. It really appreciate those who take a minute to click the link and visit my shop. I appreciate every click!!! I use my income to help afford my travel with my rescue dogs!

A Little Steam

July 15, 2023July 15, 2023Leave a comment

Today, the daylily garden picked up a little speed with 6 “first bloom for 2023” cultivators. It feels like late June usually does. I wonder if peak will be late or if we will just ride the plateau this year.

Here are photos via Instagram. Names in order: Nona’s Garnet Spider 🕷, Passionate Returns ❤️, Heron’s Cove 🐦, Holy Sombrero 🤠, Kiva Dancer💃, and Chorus Line 💃. Potpourri of cultivators.

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A post shared by Cathy Hartt (@coloradokiddaylilies)

The next few days are supposed to be scorchers and no rain in sight.

Please visit my website Www.artfromthehartt.com

On With the Show, This is It!

July 4, 2022Leave a comment

As the garden rapidly accelerates to peek, I look around to see my lawn that needs mowing, my hedge that needs clipped. Oh, but the daylilies have been rehearsing for the show for months. How can I ignore them? I need a be 3 people in July.

Bunches of premiere blooms today. Where to start. Two new Ned Roberts spiders, Cheyenne Eyes and Navajo Rodeo.

I divided Cheyenne Eyes last fall and she struggled this spring. She produced 1 shore scape with 2 buds. At least I’ll see a couple of blooms.

Navajo Rodeo has not bloomed in at least a couple of years. Before that, she was reliable. Good to have her back.

The Colorado Kid, our blog namesake bloomed. She is one of my favorite near blues!

Holy Sombrero is a fun, huge yellow bloom. Nice bonus daylily several years ago.

Catherine Irene, same name as my momma, bloomed today.

Lullaby Baby, a sweet pastel color, was another new face.

Strutter’s Ball also showed up to the dance.

If I keep getting 5-7 new ones/day, it will quickly crescendo. A week, maybe. Lol, I’ll be camping. But, only miss 2 full days. On with the show, this is it!

July Daylily Roundup A-M

August 1, 2021August 1, 20212 Comments

The next two posts are a listing of the daylilies that have bloomed ANYTIME during July – even if they started in June. It is a large list but also a colorful one. I believe only 3 of my cultivators were totally done in June – Saratoga Springtime, Scorpio and yellow Stella de Oro.

If you like Ned Roberts cultivators, you have come to the right place because I have about 70 of them, and most (except Navajo Curls and Adios Albuquerque) that are going to bloom the year have bloomed sometime during July.

I went to the rodeo here last night, so I am all practiced-up and ready to go.

“Fringe Benefit” 6.27-7.12 (mislabeled bonus)

Glen Eyrie 7.25-7.30 (started while I was on vaca 7.19-24)

Golden Eclipse 7.16-present

Jungle Queen 7.1-7.19-24? Finished during vacation

Marque Moon 7.13-7.19 (ended 7.19-7.24 during vaca)

July Round-up N-Z – click here for more beautiful July blooms!

Please contact my business – Art and Nature from the Hartt for sales questions/availability.

Giant Yellow Monsters

July 7, 2021Leave a comment

It was a day of fewer premiers today. That was actually kind of nice – although, I had 56 total in bloom. I think 40 was my top bloom day on 7/2 last year. Maybe the peak will last a while longer this year?

Anyway – the common thread between the premiers today is that they are all BIG yellow flowers. I feel like photography robs them of their significance because it takes away the perspective. The first half of June is little, simple yellow flowers. Then comes the color diversity. And, in July, the Yellow Monsters arrive.

The three today are Happy Hopi (another Roberts spider), Holy Sombrero (an old bonus with huge ruffled blooms), and Buttered Popcorn (a new “local nursery” addition this year). Other giant yellow of July are Hesperus (waiting to bloom) and Cheddar Cheese (who is in bloom, but not today). There are some other notable yellow bloomers that are not small – Mount Echo Sunrise (fairly pale yellow), Lady Fingers, Cripple Creek, Skinwalker, Desert Icicle, Taco Twister and Navajo Curls. Maybe I will do a post on that collection once they all hatch. These aren’t trumpets – they are monsters!

Here are today’s premiers:

Size comparison – Holy Sombrero next to my cell phone.

My routine is the same – I get up and take the photos with cell and camera following the same path everyday so I don’t miss anything (too often). Then I post to Facebook from my phone. I download photos from the Powershot and write the blog. Downloading the photos is painful because I get so sleepy – like fighting drugs but I don’t that that is from my thyroid tablet – just the heat.

Finales: I believe Orchid Moonrise is at finale. I will check for others as I cut scapes this week.

Oh, I got past my painter’s block and did a small coaster of Land of Enchantment. Not my best ever, but a start. I am keeping her as a symbol of getting unstuck and being semi retired! If you are interested in purchasing a daylily tile, please reach out to cathy.hartt55@gmail.com and or follow my Facebook page (link below).

https://www.facebook.com/ArtFromTheHartt

July’s Colorful Parade

July 31, 20203 Comments

Are you ready for a beautiful July parade? Here goes – a listing of all of my daylilies that had first blooms in July. I count 81. Enjoy!

Mystery Solved

July 2, 20202 Comments

When I put in my Southwest daylily garden, I filled it with a lot of Ned Roberts spiders and other names that sounded like the Southwest in some way. I put most of the garden in about 4 years ago. I ordered from several different daylily hybridizers/gardens across the country. I planted them and labelled them.

Since then, I have dug most of them back up and put them in buried pots. I got new labels a couple of times – now they are metal. I made a map about 3 years ago – and it is pretty reliable except there are doubles of a couple and that doesn’t make sense because of how I organized them when I planted them.

That brings me to today’s premier blooms. The mystery daylily that is a double of Kachina Dancer (bloomed yesterday) but in a different row and is clearly a different bloom – but same name on the label. So, what is it? Well, I also ordered Kiva Dancer about that time and looking at pictures from the web, I think that I just mislabeled the daylily. Kachina instead of Kiva. Anyway – she bloomed last year and I had the wrong name because Kachina Dancer had never bloomed before yesterday. That’s a long story, but Kiva Dancer (I think) had her first 2020 bloom this year.

We started with yellow trumpets and today brought some showier yellow daylilies. Holy Sombrero is a very showy, big, ruffly bloom.

And, one of my older daylilies that is loving the place in the garden that I moved it a couple summers ago premiered today – Cheddar Cheese. I have a picture I painted of her in my room – one of my first paintings.

Last, but never least, was a premier on Heron’s Cove. It was cold last night, so many of my blooms didn’t open right today. Hers is a little frumpy.

Here is a picture of Oh Erica from the American Daylily Society page

I have a request of my readers. I am looking for a daylily named Erica for my family section of the garden. I have both grandkids, my oldest daughter, my mom, my grandma . . . but I need to find one named Erica, like my youngest daughter. I like one called Oh, Erica by a hybridizer in Indiana named Bart Beck – but I can’t find contact. I also like “Erica’s Awake”. Anyway – if my readers know of any Erica named daylilies or how to contact Bart Beck – please leave a comment.

It’s tomorrow. I am going to bed.

Holy Sombrero, Batman!

May 24, 2020May 24, 2020Leave a comment

Sombrero – That is a Mexican Hat! And, so tonight’s vicarious road trip through the daylilies takes us to Mexica Hat, UT.

We camped near here last summer at a place called Sand Island Petroglyphs. The Mexican Hat is just a few miles from there – Iconic Utah.

It was hot, early July. We got up early and did whatever hiking we were going to do for the day and then drove in AC the rest of the time. Having dogs on a road trip is a little like Corona virus in that you get your food to go and eat in the car with the AC rolling.

Kachina, Sazi and Maizzy at Monument Valley, UT

Bears Ears National Monument is in the area – Mexican Hat use to be part of that system.

Other favorite stops in the area are Goosenecks State Park and Moki Dugway. “Mokee” is derived from the Spanish “Moqui” meaning “small people” which referred to the Native American cultures (Navajo, Zuni, Hopi). I am naming my next dog Moki. Goes well with Sazi Ana and Kachina.

The Bears Ears themselves are cool to see – which can be done from the top of Moki Dugway and down the road a bit.

Then, there is Natural Bridges National Monument.

So, Holy Sombrero is a big, yellow daylily that I got as a bonus after ordering a bunch of Southwest named daylilies. I guess the hybridizer knew what I was doing with my garden.

The cultivator has bloomed every year without fail. Interestingly enough, it hit peak bloom when we were visiting Mexican Hat last summer. It is suppose to be taller than it is, so I have to dig in the tall daylilies to find it.

A few more scapes today. It is another drought this year and my water bill will show it soon. Hopefully the monsoons kick in. Half the year, I live outside in my yard or on a road trip. The other half, I spend doing warm things inside – well, I hike but not during the coldest days. I am so glad it is spring . . . almost summer.

I’m Back and Overwhelmed by Daylilies

July 14, 2019July 14, 20191 Comment

Life changes. This summer is so different from last year. Jobs, schedules, weather. So, I returned from Utah yesterday afternoon to an overwhelming thunderstorm that wiped out a lot of yesterday’s blooms. I decided to start fresh today, kind of. I leave for a work conference in Atlanta on Wednesday. Next Sunday, I can start my regular routine for daylily season. Lol.

So, a lot of Premier blooms (to me) today. Let’s start with my Ned Roberts spider collection:

Apache Bandana 7/14

Black Arrowhead 7/14

Chokecherry Mountain 7/14

Mount Echo Sunrise 7/14

Feather Woman 7/14

Navajo Rodeo 7/14

Rocky Mountain Pals 7/14

Talon 7/14

Zuni Thunderbird 7/14

Echo Canyon 7/14

Chief Four Fingers 7/14

Happy Hopi 7/14

Aztec Firebird 7/14

Laughing Feather 7/14

Iktomi 7/14

Pink Enchilada 7/14

Pink Rain Dance 7/14

Raspberry Propeller 7/14

And, the other Premier blooms:

Holy Sombrero 7/13

Isaac 7/14

Stephanie Returns 7/14

Catherine Irene 7/14

Pink and Cream 7/14

Early Bird Cardinal 7/14

Blue Beat 7/14

Primal Scream 7/14

Ruby Spider 7/14

Passionate Returns 7/14

Purple de Oro 7/14

Santa’s Pants 7/14

Lady Fingers 7/14

Red Riddle 7/14

Pardon Me 7/14

Prairie Blue Eyes 7/14

Route 66 7/14

Orange Flurry 7/14

Strutter’s Ball 7/14

Mini Pearl 7/14

Purple Mystery (hmmmmmm- Strutter’s Ball, perhaps?) 7/14

Wineberry Candy 7/14

Prairie Wildfire 7/14

That’s like almost 40 new cultivars since I left 9 days ago! Overwhelmed doesn’t say it with another trip coming up. I have no clue on bloom rate, but the cold, wet spring mostly seems to have helped.

Reruns:

Yellow Punch 7/14

Comanche Princess 7/14

Return a Smile 7/14

The Colorado Kid 7/14

Papa Long Legs 7/14

Land of Enchantment 7/14

Canyon Colors 7/14

Hopi Jewel 7/14

Ojo de Dios 7/14

Echo Canyon 7/14

Indian Love Call 7/14

Treasure of the Southwest 7/14

Yellow Stella 7/14

Funny Valentine 7/14

Petite Petticoats 7/14

Purple Many Faces 7/14

All American Chief 7/14

Ok, that’s enough. Battery is dead. Several Finales while gone: Saratoga Springtime, Dream Keeper, Chama Valley.

If you are going to miss the start of peak bloom, Utah is a great place to do it. Also amazing colors.

New Faces, Finales, and Roll Call

July 16, 2018July 16, 20181 Comment

It is time for Sunday roll call. But first, a couple cool new Roberts Spiders. Meet Mount Echo Sunrise – She is a big spider that reminds me of Dream Catcher. This is her first-ever bloom in my yard – I put her in a couple years ago.

Then there is Sante Fe Christmas – And she looks like a Christmas bow. Red, green with curly petals. I really love her – too bad she lost her other buds. Despite the improved bloom rate, the drought has taken a toll.

Next up – Finales. Of course, Santa Fe Christmas is a finale today 😦

Primal Scream is another finale.

Primal Scream 7.10

Jungle Queen had finale blooms on both pots I have of her.

Jungle Queen 7.12

Iktomi is another finale. I have enjoyed seeing the patterns in her offspring.

Iktomi 7.9

Happy Hopi gave a finale bloom today. I really enjoyed her big, bold, blonde blooms.

Happy Hopi 7.12

Now, on to our roll call. These are the blooms from 7/9 through today. But, first, we have about 12 with unbloomed scapes remaining and mid-50s with no bloom/no scape. We are at 107 cultivators (+/-). Add 12, and we get close to 120. I am still hoping for 130 total this year.