A fairy tale, a classy lady and a skinwalker walk into a bar . . .

July 22, 2020Leave a comment

OK, maybe it is a bad time for a joke about bars. Or, not. I am, of course, really talking about my three premier blooms today.

Fairy Tale Pink was one I picked up at a local nursery several years ago because I was bored with my existing blooms. The drip system has helped her – she got so dry in past years that her buds often dried up. She is in my sprinkler blind spot.

Classy Lady . . . I think I got her on the Lily Auction with some other daylilies that I liked and wanted to get the most for my postage.

And, oh Skinwalker! This Ned Roberts spider is the biggest, lankiest spider in the garden (well, the Southwest garden, anyway). I love the colors – and the tall scapes. It reminds me of a scarecrow.

That makes 122 cultivators so far (counting the 2 I missed on vaca). That’s 71%. And, we have a few more premiers in the future. Come on, 75%!

Finales are Cheddar Cheese, Red Hot Returns, Prairie Blue Eyes and Route 66. See you all next year . . . at the bar.

It is time to start ordering the new pots for the Southwest buried garden soon. I will start by repotting the ones already in pots this fall. It is awful to dig into the clay soil and tree roots. I do not look forward to that part at all. But, it is the easement and I don’t want to risk loosing them to a busted water pipe.

The Big Parade

June 19, 2020June 19, 2020Leave a comment

I think that, in the song, 75 trombones lead the big parade. Well, in my yard, it is a handful of yellow(ish) trumpets. But, it is a big parade . . . Christmas in July.

Today was an odd day. It was cold last night – I crawled back under the covers because my bedroom window was cracked.

When it is cold the daylilies usually open later in the day. Today, it was noonish before some were open enough for photos. The problem with that is the lack of humidity in Colorado means the UV is intense. And, so some of my blooms looked frazzled by the time I could take a photo of them open.

I had three premiers today. Jungle Queen – one of my early Lily Auction adoptees – marched proudly in the parade. I have always thought her colors were some of the most stunning in my yard.

Jungle Queen with her big, showy flowers 6.18.20

The other two premiers looked like they would have been better off to stay in bed and sleep late. Oh, wait, they did. Anyway, Mildred Mitchell had beautiful near blue bloom that didn’t open until the sun got the best of it’s splendor.

Mildred Mitchell looking weathered on her premier bloom day 6.18.20

And, oh poor Kokopelli. This cultivator’s name comes from the Native American legend of a traveler, trader, and turner of seasons. I knew something was up with her bud. Maybe wind damage, maybe insects. IDK, but I hope the other buds do a little better. Kokopelli is such a favorite that this poor bloom makes me sad.

The saddest Kokopelli on the planet 6.18.20

Ojo de Dios was back, probably the star of today’s parade because the show went on despite the cool night.

Ojo de Dios shows resilience after a cold night 6.18.20

Mesa Verde had another couple of blooms. Those ruffles had a rough time wanting to open today.

Funny Valentine has nice, rich color this year.

And, the trumpets – Saratoga Springtime had a nice little clump of marchers.

Stella has grit – always putting on a show. Both Stella colors.

And, their cousin, Yellow Punch.

I wonder who will lead tomorrow’s parade?

Route 66

July 24, 2019Leave a comment

Route 66 is, of course, a famous highway that runs partially through the Southwest. We usually pass over it going and coming from our spring road trip to the desert. Route 66 is also the name of one of my favorite daylilies. It was the first place name daylily that I got and after that, I was hooked. My daylily names are like points on a road trip a lot of the time.

Route 66, Flagstaff, Arizona

Today, I had 66 cultivators blooming in my yard. I was thinking about Route 66 (she was in bloom and is the lead photo) and my own route to having 66 daylilies in bloom in one day. In 2015, I had 7. I now have 10X the number of daylilies. How did I get here? . . . well, I started at local nurseries. Then I tried one online site, then another. Eventually, I got attached to my Ned Roberts spiders and found a couple growers with good supplies of those. (I now have around 70 of his cultivators.) I also found the lily auction – which was fun but I get into trouble on that site. LOL.

Some of the daylilies I got in 2015/16 are having their first bloom this year. I think it takes them time to adapt to the desert – and last year, we had the exceptional drought. The year before that, I transplanted them into buried pots – so that was another adjustment. Anyway – it is cool to finally see some of these after tending them for a few years.

A couple of our Premiers today have been around that long and finally blooming. One is Navajo Grey Hills and another is Fringe Benefit. Navajo Grey Hills was a sought after Ned Roberts Southwest named daylily. Fringe Benefit, on the other hand, was a bonus plant that looks nothing like the Fringe Benefit I see online. But, oh well. I honestly had no idea what it looked like until today. I like both of them a lot!

So, without further ado, here are the Premiers (it’s not slowing down – So far, 133 blooms or about 74% bloom rate. Last year this date we were at 123 – and I have a lot more scapes left this year.):

“Fringe Benefit” bonus plant 7/23

Navajo Grey Hills 7/23

Fol da Rol 7/23

Lime Frost 7/23

Glen Eyrie 7/23

Adios Albuquerque 7/23

Bold Tiger 7/23

After the Rain

July 27, 2017July 27, 2017Leave a comment

The rain came and brought a new bloom – Classy Lady. She is another one I got to get a better rate on postage. I believe she was an early Lily Auction purchase. Two years in a row, she has been a one-bud-wonder. It is a great flower, though.

The peak will soon drop to a handful of blooms a day. Last year, they went into November. That’s right . . . November. My bud count has just not been predictive of rebloomers this year. I do have 5 late bloomers with scapes, some are new scapes. But, that is about it for predicted new faces.

So, I got 3 different delivery carriers bringing me pots from Amazon today. It was actually a decent deal and I could do some chosen colors in numbers to make it kind of cool. On split shift, I got 9 more plants moved to pots. They were in the most troubled spot in the yard. Of the 9, five bloomed a couple of times. The rest were quiet.

The pots will be easier to keep moist and fertilize, etc. The only problem is that I now have mixed pots with ones in the soil that have scapes. I need to keep the bloomers watered, but not over water the pots. This should be interesting 🙂

Speaking of pots, I decided that I would grow my garlic for next year in 6-inch pots. Those, too, have not thrived in my root-laden soil like they should. So my pot color scheme is turquoise and purple mostly. Some earth colors and maroon. The garlic will be similar. My veggie garden was a little of everything – I thought that would be fun with lots of different colors.

The whole thing makes me amazed that the Anasazi could grow corn and stuff here. Like, I have sprinklers and I still have issues.

I think the next new bloom will be tiger kitten. Tomorrow? Who knows?

Southwest Spiders in the Garden

June 28, 2016June 28, 2016Leave a comment

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.

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:

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

Kokopelli – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

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.

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

June 25, 20161 Comment

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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

Ta ta until tomorrow!

Leaping Lizards!

June 9, 2016June 9, 2016Leave a comment

One of the interesting things about adopting some evergreens this year is watching them adapt to life outside of the winter porch, again. I had one premature bloom on Indian Sky in March and had to cut the fans back because they were a little anemic looking after that. It seems to be recovering.

The other one that I have been keeping an eye on because it looks a little scraggly is Electric Lizard. This guy is special to me because he was one of my very first Lily Auction buys. I remember that day so well. I was editing a final paper for one of my first term courses while I waited to participate in the bidding on a couple of daylilies that I really wanted for my Southwestern garden. Well, the first one came and went with me totally losing out to a flurry of bidding. Total neophyte at online auctions, I was. And, I really wanted the other one that was up for bid later.

It became obvious that I needed to find some affordable lilies that were up for bid between now and the time of the second Southwest bloom. Why? So I could figure out the system. I ended up winning three before that second lily came up on the clock. And, I figured it out. First, on a slow item . . . then I slowly turned up the volume.

Electric Lizard was my first fast bidding experience. And, I obviously won the iridescent bloom. Won, of course, is a misnomer because you pay more when you battle the competition. And it’s addicting. I have never done a full-day like that since.

So, now this somewhat skinny-leafed friend has a scape with a bud that looks ready to open soon. Very soon. Maybe tomorrow. It has to think spring started in February on my porch to be the first bloomer of 2016, because it is supposed to wait until mid-season. Happy Returns is always the first, but it looks like it will get beaten this year. And, once the daylily popcorn starts to pop, it’s just going to keep going. Can’t wait . . . time to charge the camera battery because this blurry cell phone shot does not do it justice.

(PS the Electric Lizard bloom photo is from the Lily Auction).

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Lily Auction