Raindrops Keep Falling on My Colorado Daylily Bed

July 1, 2016July 1, 2016Leave a comment

It’s July, and it is cool and rainy. My hosta may appreciate that more than my daylilies. I remember years of drought and fires tearing through my state. Instead, today seems like a good day for a nap with my puppies.

So, given the unusual rain, I went a bit overboard on the photos. I did two rounds. And, I had to go through all of them to edit. I don’t edit much. I go up a little with contrast and saturation, but not much. Mostly cropping. Still, takes time.

The two that caught my eye the most today were The Colorado Kid and Mesa Verde. I have a story about The Colorado Kid in my yard. It seems that its colors are more vibrant than a lot of growers (down south) can produce. How do I know? I posted a picture to the American Hemerocallis Facebook page. What is it? Lack of humidity, altitude, sprinkler water every two days, partial shade, temperature? I don’t know, but this blog’s mascot is eye catching. I hope my other near blues turn out this awesome!

The Colorado Kid – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Mesa Verde is one of those flowers that could use a midwife to help its buds to open. It is so ruffled that it is obviously working very hard the day before a new bloom. I love the ruffles in the rain.

Mesa Verde – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Other visitors today are a soggy Kokopelli.

Kokopelli – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And his Ned Roberts “sibling,” Winds of Love.

Winds of Love – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Hopi Jewel is back and, I love the colors in the rain.

Hopi Jewel – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Last, but not least, Early Bird Cardinal – who rates the most photos to date. (Proficient bloomer)

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

I’m not sure what the next blooms will be. It’s interesting that Lady Fingers is not blooming . . . definitely behind previous years. Maybe it is the cooler summer? Who knows? Being postdates is not the worst fate in the world.

After the Rain

June 30, 2016June 30, 2016Leave a comment

Rain is not a common thing on the Colorado Plateau. But, early this morning, the rain came. I could smell it from my bedroom window. It always looks like pearls on the petals to me.

It’s also interesting how much the backdrop for photos can change its emotional tone. When I got Ruby Spider a few years ago, it was to hide the timer for the drip system. And, I have always thought it looked majestic with the rock masonry from my house in the background. Last fall, I divided it into three Rubys because it had outgrown the planter that it shares with Return a Smile and Just Plum Happy. So, the two extra Rubys were relocated to my front walkway garden (which I converted to more of a daylily theme last summer).

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

Today, I had the first Ruby bloom in the new setting. I was taken back by the contrast with the clematis in the background. It looks a little like Christmas. I also like the one with the bluebells.

Ruby and Friends – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

No new faces today, but another mystery. When I divided up Ruby and her planter-mates last fall, the tags for Return a Smile and Just Plum Happy got (perhaps) mixed up. These two look just enough alike, that I decided I would have to wait for blooms this year to decide which was which. So, I think the photo taken today (below) is Return a Smile (although, I have changed my mind a few times).

Return a Smile – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Here are web photos of Just Plum Happy . . .

And, Return a Smile.

Any votes?

Other visitors today are Chief Four (Three) Fingers,

Chief Four (Three) Fingers – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Hopi Jewel,

Hopi Jewel – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

and Wild Horses.

Wild Horses – Photos by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

I also went out and snapped a couple more of Chama Valley last night, in less intense sun. Much better.

Chama Valley – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Enjoy your pictorial visit to my Colorado Western Slope garden. I think we will see peak bloom in a week or so. Hopefully, I won’t miss too much when I am at the National Nurse Practitioner Symposium next week. I wish my cats could take pictures.

There is a fire in the garden! No, scream!

June 29, 2016June 29, 2016Leave a comment

The Southwest (mostly) Ned Roberts spider garden has had a new kid in bloom almost every day. As I toured my gardens last evening, I noted that one labeled Desert Flame was obviously about to bloom. So, this morning, I headed out to see if it had given birth. And, there was a gorgeous orange bloom. Breath taking.

Primal Scream or Desert Flame? – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, I scurried in to attend a webinar after getting some photos. When the webinar was cancelled, I played with the photos a bit and posted the beauty to the American Hemerocallis Society page. And, immediately several posted that my bloom was no Desert Flame . . . it looks like Primal Scream. It’s one I bought locally to fill in some left over space in the new Southwestern garden. I have another new Primal Scream in the main garden. Maybe I should move them together once its blooms are done. [The ones below are web photos of Desert Flame and Primal Scream (in that order). What do you think?]

Interestingly enough, that same nursery had some unmarked daylilies. I asked what they were. They had no idea. None of the tags matched. They sold me one for half price . . . and I took their advise to pot it until it blooms. So, it sits (unbloomed) on my front porch. And, now I wonder if that will be the real Desert Flame. (PS Primal Scream is more popular/expensive, so the daylily folks think I got a good deal). I guess it is good just to savor the beauty.

Primal Scream or Desert Flame??? – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Other blooms today:

Mesa Verde – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Mesa Verde is back

Chief Four (Three) Fingers – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

As is Chief Four (Three) Fingers

Hope Jewel – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Hopi Jewel

Add old favorites, Ruby Spider

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

Chama Valley

And, Early Bird Cardinal

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

As we move into peak season, I may post photos of the new blooms as big photos. And, make a collage or two with the others. Maybe themes – like by color or garden. I don’t know. But it calls on my creativity strength. So, it will be fun. Too bad I can’t count this toward my clinical hours. It’s positive psychology related!

The Colorado Kid: Our Mascot in Bloom

June 28, 2016June 28, 2016Leave a comment

It was odd how daylily fever gripped me last summer. I was just coming off a rough spot in my career and headed back to school for my doctorate. The more I figured out online ordering, the more I got into looking for specialty daylilies. And, for a few weeks, the near blues intrigued me deeply. I ordered a few . . . (3/5 I lost in the spring). But, I had ordered a couple more later on, because I thought they had nice blue. The Colorado Kid is in my yard both because of color and name. I am infatuated by my first near blue bloom. Do not ask how many photos I took of it this AM. This is that one that is the mascot of this blog! Check out our logo. The Colorado Kid is prettier than I imagined it.

The Colorado Kid in shade – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The color is more purple in direct sunlight, but still an stunning color combination.

Colorado Kid in the sun – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Other bloomers today include Ruby Spider. I love those huge red peddles. I have painted them on so many Christmas gifts!

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

And Hopi Jewel.

Hopi Jewel – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, last but not least, Early Bird Cardinal. His eyes were not quite open yet when I snapped this before work.

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

Tomorrow, I am not sure. I think Desert Flame. I guess that gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning!

Mesa Verde

June 26, 2016June 26, 2016Leave a comment

I love Mesa Verde. It’s just a couple of hours south of where I live. It’s made of the Colorado Plateau, just like my daylily garden. I love the history and the culture. I love the colors enough that I painted my kitchen in Southwestern colors. And, so, when I found a daylily with that name, I knew it had to move to my garden. Today, it bloomed for the first time, taking me back to the Anasazi ruins that I love to explore. Check out the color change from sun (orange) to shade (pink) tones.

Mesa Verde in the sun – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Mesa Verde in the shade – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The other blooms today were all repeats. Chief Four Fingers (the one I thought was mislabled) is looking more and more like it should, less one finger. I asked on the American Hemerocallis Society Facebook page today and it blooms with four “fingers” 80% of the time. It is probably still settling into my garden, they said. Conserving energy for new roots, I would guess. Below are today’s bloom compared with the internet photo. Yes, it is looking closer this time!

Chief Four Fingers web photo

Chief Four (or Three) Fingers in my yard – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Hopi Jewel was in flower, again. I really like the color combo in this one.

Hopi Jewel – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Early Bird Cardinal is flying high today with two pretty blooms. I got the cardinal flag in the background this time!

Early Bird Cardinal – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, I am taking about 50 photos a day now. What will happen when I have a dozen in bloom? I am also looking at buying a book on flower photography . . . although I am not sure that will decrease the number of photos that I am snapping. Thank heaven for memory cards . . . remember film and developing?

Jewels of the Garden

June 22, 2016June 22, 2016Leave a comment

With the light of day, two jewels glimmered in my garden. One is my old favorite, Ruby Spider. Ruby is one of the oldest of my daylily collection. I have had her close to a decade. She was added to fill a planter box that hides my drip system controls. I used ornamental grass the first couple years, but it always died over the winter. So, why not daylilies? This one is still in the same planter (although divisions are now in the main garden) with Return a Smile and Just Plum Happy. Ruby’s bloom is so big and bright that it almost looks fake to me. I know daylily season has started when this one opens its first bloom.

Ruby Spider – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies (C. Hartt)

The other jewel in bloom today is a new daylily called Hopi Jewel. My thanks to Blue Ridge Daylilies for picking up my Southwest name theme and sending this as a gift plant. It’s in with my new Ned Roberts garden, as are a select few other aptly named non-Neds.

Hopi Jewel – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies (C. Hartt)

I must be taken with Hopi Jewel, because I took a lot of photos of her. It is a nice shape and color combination. And, maybe it is just fun to see another new face in my new garden. It took me days to clear the rocks, dig out some of the hard clay desert soil (we call it adobe soil), and fill it in with topsoil and compost. And, now it is home to over 50 new daylilies, mostly my Southwest named Neds. It is nice, though, to have a few with rounder shapes.

Hopi Jewel – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies (C. Hartt)

I keep wondering if the daylilies will spread to take over or if they will stay in their current space. The desert has the sun these guys love, but the soil is hard clay and the rain virtually non-existent. It’s not Asia. It’s not even Georgia, where many of these plants came from. According to climatemps.com, Georgia gets about 5 times as much precipitation. That’s about 25 more gallons per square foot. One good thing about my Neds is that they were hybridized in New Mexico and Colorado. Still, they do so much better in bagged soil and added water crystals.

I am at a clinical conference out-of-town during the day tomorrow. I am unsure if anything else is on the verge of a bloom, but I am going to do my best to go out and check before I leave . . . sometime between 5 and 6 AM. Unlike my lilies, I do not bloom that early!

Mystery in the Daylily Garden

June 22, 2016June 22, 2016Leave a comment

So, the first blooms are appearing in my brand new Ned Roberts (mostly) daylily garden. And, today a plant clearly labeled as Chief Four Fingers bloomed. Beautiful bloom . . . but it doesn’t look like Chief Four Fingers. The label is from the grower, so I am guessing they were busy. I don’t care too much other than hoping it is in the right row for its height. So, here is the bloom from today:

And here is what Chief Four Fingers photo looks like (note the petal count discrepancy):

And here are the other ones ordered from that grower with that order:

Mount Echo Sunrise

Purple Many Faces

Aztec Firebird

So, any guesses? My own thought is Purple Many Faces. I guess we will see what the one labeled as such looks like when it blooms. And, PS, I mean nothing negative against the grower. These are the probably the best blooming sized plants that I get from any grower. It is just sort of funny and hopefully the Chief shows up this summer.

Also making an appearance in the front garden is Early Bird Cardinal. This one blooms early and is a repeat bloomer. The show has just begun. I think Ruby Spider is getting ready to hatch! Those are the biggest, most colorful blooms in my garden . . . and I divided my main plant into three last fall. So, I should have plenty of color soon! I also think Hopi Jewel is due soon. And, if Electric Lizard is strong enough now, I think there will be a new bloom there soon. She dropped her last buds so fingers crossed that she is growing stronger. Ta Ta Til Blooms.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Hopi Jewel

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Colorado Daylily Bed

After the Rain

There is a fire in the garden! No, scream!

The Colorado Kid: Our Mascot in Bloom

Mesa Verde

Jewels of the Garden

Mystery in the Daylily Garden