Tag: Kokopelli

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Colorado Daylily Bed

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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!

 

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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.

 

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

 

Other visitors today are a soggy Kokopelli.

 

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Kokopelli – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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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)

 

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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.

Southwest Spiders in the Garden

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I find spider daylilies mesmerizing.  Something about the shape, the twists.  Each bloom is so unique.  Not that I don’t love the traditional shapes.  But, there is something about a spider in the garden.  And, I don’t mean the insect kind that live in my rock garden this time of year.

Today, another new Ned Roberts bloom: Winds of Love.  It was a bonus plant that came with some others that I bought from the Lily Auction from a seller named Floota. At first, I thought it didn’t belong with the Southwestern named ones.  But, then, I remembered those spring desert windstorms that blow the warmer weather in each year.  You know, the ones that formed the Grand Canyon?  Well, they can be serious show stoppers if you are on a road trip.  But, what about reframing them to mean something more positive?  Cognitive behavioral therapy for weather.  So, Winds of Love is in with the other Southwestern named blooms.

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

I also played with the macros feature on my camera more today.  I got some cool close-ups of today’s blooms – all are Ned’s daylilies.  So, sit back, relax, and enjoy.  PS – I am writing this as I wait for a 5PM job interview.  It’s a bit too early to start preparing.  It’s weird to interview via the web, so I need to vacuum 🙂  Blogging about daylilies is the BEST way to stay focused in the moment. Well, next to taking photographs and painting them, that is.

Here are my three beautiful spiders of today up close and personal:

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

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 Kokopelli – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

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Black Ice – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

OK, and one more of Kokopelli from a little further back.  The first bloom had some issues with color, but this one is gorgeous!  So perfect.  Can’t wait to paint it.  I love the colors! It almost has a hint of blue between the yellow and pink . . . OK, light purple.

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Anyway, about time to prep for that interview.  I need a job after graduation so I can pay for my daylily habit 🙂  Well, actually, it is a really cool job.

That’s all folks!

Kokopelli: Changing Winter to Spring

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I have always found the legend of the kokopelli inspirational.  Flute players who bring bags of seeds to change winter to spring.  I think one of the most inspiring depictions of kokopelli are the benches in the kivas at Lowry Anasazi Ruins just south of where I live in Colorado.  The ruins are always stunning because of these kokopelli benches.

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Kokopelli – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, is it any wonder that on one of my first trips to the Lily Auction last fall that a bloomer named Kokopelli caught my eye.  I blogged a couple weeks ago about my first auction experience . . .  and my goal was to bring Kokopelli to my yard.  Another bonus was that the grower was in Santa Barbara, my mom’s adulthood hometown.  It seemed right.  So right, as a matter of fact, that I began collecting the Ned Roberts southwestern named daylilies with that purchase.  And, today, my first Kokopelli bloom arrives.

Another bloom that drew me in last fall, as I began to hone in on my southwest themed daylilies, was Wild Horses.  This bloom just kept drawing me back, over and over.  In the end, I purchased this one at an end of the year sale (from a San Francisco area grower – my dad’s childhood home region).  There is something about the shapes and colors that makes me want to visit the wild mustangs.

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

Today’s other blooms include Black Ice, Chama Valley (named for a place in New Mexico), and little Happy Returns.  So from here out sit back and relax.  The daylily popcorn is popping.  There should be more new ones tomorrow.  I am hoping for Mesa Verde!

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Black Ice – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

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

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Happy Returns – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Ta ta until tomorrow!

First bloom

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Today came the first bloom.  Electric Lizard opened it’s bud as the first daylily for the season, 2016.  It is a pale and anemic bloom . . . just like Indian Sky was when it bloomed in March.  For some reason, both evergreens bloomed early despite scraggly foliage.  It is still pretty, it just looks very different from its online photo.

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I could be upset of disappointed.  Mostly, though, I am curious about how to be a successful daylily gardener.  It fascinates me how the color can be so off.  So, I asked the American Hemerocallis Association Facebook page.  One of the nice hybridizers inquired about fertilizer and gave me suggestions.  He also said this one is a hybrid from Ohio, even though it is evergreen, so it could probably be left outside in the winter.

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OK, so I am curious about differences in climate between Western Colorado and Ohio.  I found a website where I can compare Denver to Dayton.  The main thing I see there is that Ohio gets more moisture and isn’t quite as cold, on average.  Oh course, Denver is on the other side of the Rockies, so I am unsure how true the comparison is to my garden.  More than those items, I wonder about how our crazy Rocky Mountain springs impact the more delicate daylilies.  It will be 75 one day and 25 the next, over and over.  I am sure that is what got two of my evergreens this spring.  That is what makes this Western Slope gardening so interesting.  (I bet the soil is way different, too!)

So, of course, the dilemma is to leave it out or not leave it out next winter?  First, though, I have got to treat the anemia.  If I can get it to flourish (I adopted it in the fall last year so it is still a baby), then I would consider leaving it out.  At any rate, tomorrow I will get some slow release fertilizer for the two spindly ones and watch for the next bloom.

What is next?  I am not sure but Happy Returns is an early bird.  Mesa Verde, Dream Keeper, Kokopelli (and a couple of others in the new garden), Early Bird Cardinal, etc. all have some decent sized buds forming.  Lots of scapes out there.  Oh, and The Colorado Kid!  I can’t wait to see how close the colors on that are to the logo on this blog.  I don’t think any will open tomorrow . . . but soon, very soon.