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.

Singing the Blues

July 15, 2016Leave a comment

Today, all three of my near blues (with scapes) were in bloom; Blue Beat, Mildred Mitchell, and The Colorado Kid. (Sounds like a rock band.) They have all bloomed before this year, so I highlighted them in todays garden collage. I did want to share a large view of Blue Beat before the first rays of sun hit her. Very blue-looking!

Blue Beat – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The other photo I really like from today is Jungle Queen. I caught the first rays of light on her pedals.

Jungle Queen – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

I had two new blooms and neither looked as healthy as I would like. Bugs, heat, water issues, etc. Who knows? They are pretty flowers and hopefully they will have their true colors shining through very soon.

Zuni Thunderbird – a neat Ned Roberts spider that I put in the new garden last fall.

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

And, Inwood – a beautiful flower with a frompy first bloom.

Inwood – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Below are the bloomers for today.

Left to Right: Top row – South Seas, The Colorado Kid, Blue Beat, Mildred Mitchell, Soco Gap. Second Row: Inwood, Jungle Queen, Mini Pearl, Purple de Oro, Early Bird Cardinal. Bottom: Zuni Thunderbird.

Before I sign off, let me just say that I am writing this blog to share my experiences being a daylily hobbiest in the desert of Western Colorado. The soil is clay, so I have learned to amend it with good soil and water crystals. They help hold the moisture in – and I had my best garlic harvest ever after adding them to the mix. However, there can always be too much of a good thing and the crystals can harbor root rot is the drainage isn’t good, The last week, Colorado Kid has been fading. Today, I threw out the rotten dirt and cleaned up the roots. Hopefully, I didn’t over correct. It’s hard for humans to get the right balance of moisture in a place where mother nature falls short. And, that is the adventure. (RIP Navajo Rodeo – I am not sure what got you but something did 😦 )

Welcome, Pastels!

July 13, 2016July 13, 2016Leave a comment

When I think of daylilies, I often think of the huge, bright blossoms that I love. This morning, though, I found a stunning bouquet of smaller pastel blooms. They provide a nice contrast in the garden, for sure.

The lightest one is Lullaby Baby. I almost miss it every year.

Lullaby Baby – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Mini Pearl – the one named for my grandma! She is new to my yard this year.

Mini Pearl – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Then Chorus Line – an old favorite.

Chorus Line – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, this sweet Ned Robert’s bloom – Desert Icicle. Man, I could use an icicle in this Colorado desert today!

Desert Icicle – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Isaac may be a little brighter yellow than pastel, but nice small, simple blossom.

Isaac – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, Blue Beat came into the world of the Colorado Plateau today. This is a very nice near blue color – I am really pleased at the color it produced. It is a first year for this one. I would call it pastel tones, too.

Blue Beat – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The collage today has one of the pastel/small blooms next to the traditional blooms. It creates a bit of a stiped appearance.

From L to R. Top Row: Blue Beat, Jungle Queen, Chorus Line, Lady Fingers. Row Two: Lullaby Baby, Return A Smile, Desert Icicle, Ruby Spider. Bottom Row: Mini Pearl, Mildred Mitchell, Isaac, Prairie Blue Eyes.

I believe that is 37 different cultivators that have bloomed so far this year. I have 20-30 different ones with scapes right now. It looks like I may go over my 50% goal. (I have 130 +/- in my yard. I’m addicted!) I have not given up on the ones without scapes yet. I love the late bloomers!

And Feathered Canyons Everywhere

July 5, 2016July 5, 20161 Comment

I obviously love the Southwest. Anyone who knows my daylily collection knows that over 50% of my garden has a name that brings with it some Southwestern meaning. And, so today Canyon Colors bloomed. Like Mesa Verde, the colors are much warmer in full sunlight. I think I prefer the shade version.

It is a beautiful two-colored daylily. It, like Mesa Verde, is an evergreen. So, they both lived in my back porch all winter. They have matching containers of turquoise and are positioned near each other on a sunny corner of my house. I love them together! They compliment each other nicely . . . and I feel like I’m on a campout at the Four Corners.

So, I have this idea that all my Southwestern place named daylilies need to be superimposed on a photo of their place. With Canyon Colors, I decided to use a photo of Canyon de Chelly that I took on my road trip this spring. It is shaped a lot like Spider Rock, even though it is not a spider daylily.

Other new faces for the year 2016 were both old faces to my yard. I felt like old friends had returned when I saw Lady Fingers had opened her first two blooms. These may be the most eye-catching daylily in my yard.

Also, little Purple de Oro is back. I feel bad for this little one, because I have never taken time to get a good photo of it. So, today that was my mission. How did I do?

My Ned Roberts Southwestern garden (I call it the Yucca garden) was very quiet today. Soco Gap, however, is not going to wait more than 24 hours to show her colors for the first time in my yard. I can’t wait.

As promised, the other bloomers of today were put in a single collage to save blog space. They include Jungle Queen, Ruby Spider, Early Bird Cardinal, and Mesa Verde.

After tomorrow, I will miss a couple days of blooms while I travel for clinical hours for my doctorate. I am hoping to get out early and take photos before I leave. I need to get a webcam for each plant, I guess.

PS – I divided up my Funny Valentine so my daughter could have one. She lives across the Rockies in Colorado. She has a bloom today, and I am still waiting on scapes.

Jungle Queens and Voodoo Dancers, Oh My

July 3, 2016Leave a comment

The storm is passing, slowly but surely. It should start warming up by the end of the week. However, it wasn’t a bad daylily day. A Jungle Queen and a Voo Dancer showed up! Now, that is something to blog about.

Jungle Queen was amongst my first Lily Auction purchases. It was the day I needed to figure out how to win stuff so that I would get Kokopelli when the bidding closed. After losing on an earlier Ned Roberts daylily, I was determined to figure out the system. Jungle Queen caught my eye . . . and now she lives in my garden.

Jungle Queen – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

VooDoo dancer is one I purchased locally this year to go in a beautiful Mexican pot that my daughter bought me when they came to visit for Memorial Day. It should be a double bloom, so still adapting to its new surroundings. I’m hoping to see doubles soon! It is really pretty in the picture . . . more purple, too. I’ll put the web picture below. Hopefully, it wasn’t mislabeled 😦

Two of my Ned Roberts spiders are in bloom today. For fun, I put together a collage of all the blooms I have had from his creations to date. Five so far. I have 40+ Neds in my yard – so 10%. The larger ones (Chief FOUR Fingers and Kokopelli) are from today. This is the first FOUR finger bloom on the Chief! The smaller ones are Black Ice, Dream Keeper, and Winds of Love.

Ned Roberts collection to date – Photos by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Other bloomers were Ruby Spider, who adds visual splendor to both the front and side garden today. In front, it was a little red, white, and blue. And, on the porch garden, it was a pose with a friend (Return a Smile – I think).