Tag: Just Plum Happy

Yanky Doodle Daylilies

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Blooming on the 4th of July . . . four more cultivators!  That means we have already had the same number different daylilies bloom that we did all season last year.  Those buried pots help . . . this is an extreme drought and we had a better bloom rate.  Still, in adding 2018 photos to my daylily software, there are a lot we have not seen yet this year.  I don’t know if some are slow or some are recuperating from the move to the pots.  I am about to tag the non-bloomers for more bloom boost fertilizer this fall.  Still . . . this is a marked improvement because we have many, many with scapes that have not bloomed yet.  The fireworks have just begun!  Any guesses on final bloom rate?  I am going to say around 80%.  That

So, new today for the first time ever in my yard are a couple more Ned Roberts spiders.  My bloom rate with those babies is making a huge difference in the overall bloom rate. Anyway, I mentioned earlier that Zuni Thunderbird is my all-around favorite.  She has disappointed some this year.  She got off to a bad start but rebounded after bug spray.  I think it affected her buds.   That said, one of the newbies today reminds me of her – Raven Woodsong.  She has the dark colors and amazing curls that I miss in Zuni Thunderbird this year (so far).

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The other new Roberts spider is Wild Rose Fandango.  Now, she has some crazy curls and had a double bloom day one.  I like her, too.  Welcome to the yard, finally . . . year 3 for both the spiders.

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Just Plum Happy was one of my first daylilies.  She was in a planter box with Ruby Spider and Return a Smile.  She was little and she struggled.  This is first year in several that she has bloomed.  I gave her a pot of her own last year, and she even hangs from my front porch . . . sort of a special place for her now.

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Last, but not least, is Longlesson Showoff.  This was a bonus flower that bloomed for the first time last year.  She is a big daylily and brightens the Walkway Garden for several weeks.

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That is it . . . mellow 4th.  Not a ton of energy.  Was late to the parade.  Didn’t take photos.  Did go for lunch on the brewery.  Then home to water and do the blog.  Now, maybe a walk for ice cream after my sandwich leftovers.  I dreamt of my Southwest Garden – it was about huge, colorful blooms.  Actually, they really do stand out.

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Here are the Yankee Doodle Daylilies of today: Talon, Black Ice, Chokecherry Mountain, Pink Rain Dance, Zuni Thunderbird, Purple Grasshopper, Aztec Firebird, Dream Catcher, Chaco Canyon, Treasure of the Southwest, Dark Mystery, Prairie Blue Eyes, Bluegrass Music, The Colorado Kid, Mesa Verde, Mildred Mitchell, Jungle Queen, Prelude to Love, Stephanie Returns, Ruby Spider, Return a Smile, Funny Valentine, Petite Petticoats, Nurse’s Stethoscope, Passionate Returns, Primal Scream.

 

Twin Firebirds

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Today was much less overwhelming than peak day yesterday.  Every bloom was a return.  However, the bloom(s) that caught my eye were twin Aztec Firebirds. There is something about two blooms together, facing the same direction.  They look like dancers.

 

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Aztec Firebird – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The name brings to mind Aztec Ruins, an Anasazi site close by in the Four Corners.  I need to superimpose these blooms on the ruins picture from my spring Southwest road trip this spring.  They are awesome ruins, just like the blooms.

 

 

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Aztec Ruins National Monument – Photo by C. Hartt

 

Since I have no new blooms, I will highlight a couple of other Ned Roberts spiders in bloom today.  Desert Icicle is a beautiful bloom.

 

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

 

And, poor Zuni Thunderbird was invaded by thrips and looks like it has reverse measles.  I did some photo touching with it to make it presentable.  One thing about having over a hundred cultivators – you begin to learn the work of farming daylilies.

 

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

 

So, here is the collage for today.  Some really nice blooms, all in all.

 

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Left to Right: Top Row – Just Plum Happy, South Seas, Desert Icicle, Lady Fingers. Row Two: Chorus Line, Ruby Spider, Soco Gap, Lullaby Baby.  Bottom Row: Purple de Oro, Aztec Firebird, Zuni Thunderbird.

 

 

Daylilies @ Dusk

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I made it home to find 11 different daylily cultivators in bloom.  Thing is, though, it was dusk.  And, it had been a very warm day.  In the 90s.  So, my little friends were too burned to take good flash photography.  So, I went with grainy natural lighting with some photo-fix to help.

New bloom in my Ned Roberts garden is Desert Icicle.  I am hoping for a fresh one very soon!  Pretty thing.  Prarie Blue Eyes is on oldie but goodie in my yard.  Great older daylily.  And, what I think is Just Plum Happy.  I hope it is in bloom tomorrow with Return a Smile so I can confirm identity.  Other than that, I believe they are all returns this year.  Can’t wait to see what the daylight brings.

 

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Top row: Just Plum Happy, Canyon Colors, Margaret Mitchell, and Return a Smile. Second row: Lady Fingers, Purple De Oro, Desert Icicle, Early Bird Cardinal, Ruby Spider. Bottom row: Soco Gap and Prairie Blue Eyes.

 

After the Rain

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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).

 

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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.

 

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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).

 

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Return a Smile – Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

Here are web photos of Just Plum Happy . . .

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And, Return a Smile.

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Any votes?

Other visitors today are Chief Four (Three) Fingers,

 

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

 

Hopi Jewel,

 

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

 

and Wild Horses.

 

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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.

 

 

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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.