The Mascot has Arrived!

June 24, 2021Leave a comment

Today, I didn’t feel semi-retired. I had a meeting until noon and then more meetings to set up for the next few days. It’s interesting work, but likely won’t change the outcome.

I ran out quickly before the meeting started to photograph my blooms. It’s definitely daylily season. I was almost late to the web meeting.

I went out later and found my blog mascot, The Colorado Kid, had a bloom on a short scape that I missed this morning. I hate being rushed in the morning this time of year.

At any rate, several premieres to add to 2021. My drip system and repotting is resulting in mostly happy plants. There are a couple that are too crowded. I’m thinking of putting little red flags in the ones with no scapes. I’ll pull them is I see a scape. At the end, I’ll have the non bloomers marked and can make adjustments for next time.

6.23 – Lady Fingers – one of my early xeriscaping landscape plants

6.23 – Land of Enchantment is a daylily that lives up to her name.

6.23 – My blog mascot – The Colorado Kid. She looks better earlier in the day.

Red Riddle – another unmarked cultivator originally from my backyard garden.

Several more are very close. Hopefully, the hint of rain we got this evening will bring some blooms.

Sixty-Six Spiderman Daylilies for 2020

August 9, 2020Leave a comment

Hi all – When it is Saturday and it hasn’t been the fun day that I planned. COVID had driven the world mad – and they seem to all be mad at me. So, how about a little Ned Robert’s daylily therapy? I fell in love with Ned’s southwestern named daylilies after finding Kokopelli on Lily Auction 5 years ago. I have a collection of 70 ish now. I am including a few from 2019 if they didn’t bloom this year. Comment with your favorite! Direct from Montrose, Colorado . . .

Daylilies of Corona: June Blooms

July 1, 2020Leave a comment

Last year, I posted all my blooms each week on Sunday since it is too much to do daily. This year, I am going to try to do a recap at the end of the month. So, for June 2020, we had the following 50:

Be Like A Daylily

June 27, 2020Leave a comment

As I scribe this, I sit in my tent near Blue Mesa Lake in Colorado. The wind finally stopped. It’ll be cool tonight, low 40s.

Maybe the reason I like camping is the raw exposure to nature. It’s how my daylilies live. And, they don’t have sleeping bags for the cold nights or tents to protect they from the wind. No wonder drought years (50% of the time?) Take their toll on bud count and bloom rate.

I had some great premiers today. All American Chief was a bonus plant I got 6 years ago that finally bloomed last year. It reminds me of Ruby Spider.

Cheyenne Eyes is a pretty Robert’s spider with an interesting color combo.

Comanche Princess also has a premiere. I live her curly spider legs.

My other pot that says Happy Returns had a bloom. I think it’s a little more yellow that the other pot I have on them.

It’s 10. I can barely keep my eyes open. I’m usually up until after midnight. The melatonin of watching a sunset, maybe feeling the temp drop. We respond to nature’s signals just like the daylilies.

Happy Birthday, Erica. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease.

Short and Sweet

June 23, 2020Leave a comment

Tonight, my blog will be short and sweet so that I can get enough shut-eye. I will tell you that I wish my evening hadn’t been such a wreck. My old dog is still sick and needs to go into isolation and get treated again. I have to clean everything with bleach, again. If I didn’t work hard at my day job or if I had help around the house . . . tonight it seemed overwhelming.

I feel a little underwhelmed by my bud count. I still have about 110. That number has been flat for a week. Unlike Coronavirus, I hope for another spike in scapes. And, I must have broken a scape off of Heron’s Cove while working on the drip system. Ugh.

My premiers – the mascot for my blog, The Colorado Kid opened today. She is my favorite near blue.

And, simple Pink and Cream, another Stella cousin, had her premier today.

I had 12 total. Still a lot of yellow trumpets. Let’s see what the sun brings tomorrow.

Drip, Drip, Drip

June 22, 2020Leave a comment

I will say one thing positive about the pandemic is that I have spent a lot more time in my yard and patio doing projects that I have wanted to do for some time.

So, today I extended my side yard drip system to the upper part of my front flower bed. I am guessing there are 50 plants in that area – so it took a chunk of time. I was nervous to hook it up, but it works fine. My sprinkler system is great for the lawn, but not for the flower pots. It is just not enough. So . . . I will come back to drip systems in a minute.

First, I had several premiers. Mauna Loa is a pretty Ned Roberts daylily that I added last year. It is one of his older ones, but the color is still vibrant.

One of my minis, Petite Petticoats, gave me a premier bloom today, too. I seriously almost missed her in a big bucket of minis.

Purple Many Faces showed her face for the first time in 2020 today. Another colorful Roberts cultivator.

Oh, and sweet Return a Smile. She was one of my very first daylilies and always makes me smile.

So, that is it for premiers today. Likely, this week, I will shift to premiers only. I have a couple honorable mentions today. I had 4 premiers this week that didn’t open right the first time. Now, they are back with their normal beauty – Kokopelli, Land of Enchantment, Jungle Queen, and Mildred Mitchell.

OK, back to the drip system. Last year, I put one in on the front part of the bed I did today. Again, it had a lot of plants and I was new at doing drip systems other than it a short line. So, I did it the same, and needless to say, the drippers at the end did not have enough pressure.

I decided to research it and you need to put the line in a continuous circle – so both the start and end of the tube connect to the tap. Earlier this spring, I went back and fixed the front so it worked correctly. And, I am seeing a difference in the plant health – we will see on bloom rate. So far, Stella is much happier. And, my poinsettias are in heaven!

I don’t have either of the newer drippers on a timer – other than my brain. It is still a lot easier to crank the hose and do something else for 30-60 minutes that haul water to all those pots.

I am wondering if peak will happen before my trip in 2.5 weeks. I know it will be busy with blooms. I just need to get away and have an adventure.

Freedoms

June 20, 2020Leave a comment

Today, I woke-up late because I worked until midnight on a supply list for one of our new programs. It is busy on top of COVID-19 – the world of nursing academics is and will stay upside-down.

I was foggy . . . but when consciousness returned, I realized it was Juneteenth. I knew nothing about Juneteenth until I lived in Galveston and read a book by the same name. It is a day worth remembering.

We live in a world that seems shaken by so much right now. But, I am free to go out in my yard and take photos of the 13 bloomers of the day. All are different colors, and I treat each the same. I am free to write the blog. I can put just about anything I want in this blog – that is freedom. I can be a crazy daylily lady – that is freedom.

The other cool thing about today is that my Nurse’s Stethoscope daylily bloomed her premier bloom. She is the one I suggested the name for through the Daylily Society. She is named for the Show Me Your Stethoscope episode of the View. Maybe COVID-19 has helped the world understand all of the capabilities of my profession.

I had a few other premiers – I do believe the peak is beginning to build. Canyon Colors had a premier bloom today. There is so much grass in her put that she didn’t put out many scapes. I was going to replant her in March, but couldn’t get out to buy the soil before she got too big.

Indian Love Call had a nice first bloom. She is loaded with buds.

Land of Enchantment had a premier bloom that looks almost as beat-up as Kokopelli did yesterday. I think it is bud damage from the big windstorm a couple weeks ago.

It is Friday, summer solstice is tomorrow. It just feels like a significant day.

My flowers today are dedicated to those who don’t know the same freedoms that I have known. And, they are dedicated to the frontline workers during COVID-19 – my Nurse’s Stethoscope seems to say “thanks” to my colleagues.

It’s my home weekend tomorrow. A few things planned around the yard. Solstice . . . Summer Solstice. And, I get a little sad knowing that the days will start shrinking, again.

Enjoy the show below . . . almost time to limit to just premier blooms in the daily blog.

Enchantment in the Garden

May 27, 2020May 27, 2020Leave a comment

A spellbinding magic show that brings you delight and pleasure . . . that is what it means to be enchanted. New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment. I am perhaps less enchanted with New Mexico than I am Arizona because Western Colorado has areas that resemble New Mexico.

Yucca in a drift at White Sands National Monument

That said, I am enchanted by my roadtrips through New Mexico. The badlands are beautiful, and the cultural flavor is richer than Colorado – if you are into the Southwest.

The stark horizon at White Sands National Monument, NM

Last year, we saw different side of New Mexico at White Sands National Monument. It is a landscape so boring that it is enchanting. Non-colored sand with a few resilient plants poking their heads through.

This view reminds me of the ski slopes in Colorado – White Sands National Monument

The hikes are like marching through a very hilly sand box. My cats would likely like it better than my dogs, who considered it way too hot at 85 degrees. I had never seen dunes quite like these ones . . . enchanting.

Kachina, Sazi, and Maizzy feeling the heat at White Sands National Monument

So, my vicarious roadtrip daylily of the day is Land of Enchantment – another Ned Roberts spider. Last year was her first year to bloom in my yard and by golly, she does look a bit like the New Mexico State flag.

She was one of my early bloomers last year. She doesn’t have scapes yet – but I do have 15 cultivators with their weird claw hands being raised to the heavens in prep for a bloom.

I am nervous because drought years tend to bring early blooming but poor bloom rates. I try to keep up with watering, but I am not the same as a good monsoon. And, the monsoons are too late – it is really the March-May water that matters.

I did put in a new drip system out in the walkway garden and the plants are bigger. So, I guess we will wait to see how enchanting this summer is in the garden. 2020 has brought my 65th birthday, a dead furnace, a broken sewer mainline and COVID-19. I could use a little enchantment.

Land of Enchantment

August 24, 2019August 24, 2019Leave a comment

I love New Mexico. It is, indeed, lives up to its motto of being the Land of Enchantment. I have a fair number of daylilies named after New Mexico places. More than any other State with the exception of Colorado. Probably largely because Spiderman, Ned Roberts, (my favorite hybridizer) lived in Albuquerque for several years.

Land of Enchantment 2019

We traveled through New Mexico on our April Southwest road trip this year. We saw badlands, flea markets, monuments, ruins, and white sands. It was awesome . . . at least until norovirus hit and wrecked havoc on the last 4 days of a 9 day trip. But, I was well until we were in Arizona and headed back toward the 4-corners.

Chaco Canyon 2019

We will be down in the 4-corners area for Labor Day. I am looking forward to it . . . I should say we were also near there on our summer road trip, but not in New Mexico.

Chama Valley 2019

I have actually visited places in New Mexico because I have daylilies with that name. Like Ghost Ranch – totally put it on the map because of my daylily.

Ghost Ranch 2019

Chaco Canyon I visited long before my daylily collection – It is such a sacred place with the roughest 20 something mile road in the world. But worth it.

Santa Fe Christmas 2019

Santa Fe is a pretty yuppie town (is that still a word?) Artists abound and it is kind of pricy, but we were near there a few years ago passing through New Mexico.

Truchas Sunrise – 2019

Truchas, New Mexico is about halfway between Santa Fe and Taos. I actually contemplated driving there just because of my daylily, but didn’t like the traffic of Santa Fe.

Star over Milagro 2019

I’ve never been to Milagro – but it isn’t too far from the Salinas Pueblo Mission Ruins south of Albuquerque that we have visited a couple of times. Next time, maybe I will plan to go watch stars over Milagro.

Moon over Chimayo

Chimayo, New Mexico is east of Espanola, where my favorite Aunt Pearl once lived. The road trips have taken us close to Chimayo . . . maybe next time.

Navajo Grey Hills 2019

Navajo Grey Hills is likely named after Two Grey Hills Trading Post. This is a place I have driven through between Shiprock and Window Rock on the Navajo reservation. Honestly, it must have been before one of my daylilies was named after the place because I had to look up where the name came from. Again . . . future destination.

Adios Albuquerque 2019

I have been to Albuquerque many times. I don’t like cities – but there are also some cool smaller towns and attractions near Albuquerque. I like Petroglyph National Monument! US Highway 550 starts in my hometown of Montrose, CO and ends just north of Albuquerque – 305 miles from my door (+/-). Chaco Canyon is along that route. I often take the backroads, though.

So, tonight I am using internet explorer to blog. Still glitchy (my photos keep disappearing) but faster than Edge. Ugh . . . I may just have to switch out of S Mode and go back to Chrome. This would be murder during peak season.

50 Startling Southwest Spider Daylilies!

August 1, 20191 Comment

Only 40 something daylilies today and no Premiers. So, it leaves time to talk about some of my daylily categories. I have talked a lot about my Ned Roberts spiders. I originally started collecting them after seeing Kokopelli on the Lily Auction – I love the Southwest and had to have her (I got the bid)! From there, I added more = lots more. At first, it was all fully Southwest names. Then, I gathered some animal and insect names to my Ned collection. And, some stellar names. IDK, is Dancing Maiden a name from the Southwest?

So, tonight, I will show you my purely Southwest named daylilies – the obvious names from the Southwest. But, first, Mildred Mitchell had an extra petal today – a genetic flaw that made her look pretty cool.

OK – Here are my Southwest Ned Roberts spiders. (These are the ones that have bloomed the last two years. Mostly this year, except Kokopelli did not bloom this year – which is unusual).