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.

Holy Sombrero, Batman!

May 24, 2020May 24, 2020Leave a comment

Sombrero – That is a Mexican Hat! And, so tonight’s vicarious road trip through the daylilies takes us to Mexica Hat, UT.

We camped near here last summer at a place called Sand Island Petroglyphs. The Mexican Hat is just a few miles from there – Iconic Utah.

It was hot, early July. We got up early and did whatever hiking we were going to do for the day and then drove in AC the rest of the time. Having dogs on a road trip is a little like Corona virus in that you get your food to go and eat in the car with the AC rolling.

Kachina, Sazi and Maizzy at Monument Valley, UT

Bears Ears National Monument is in the area – Mexican Hat use to be part of that system.

Other favorite stops in the area are Goosenecks State Park and Moki Dugway. “Mokee” is derived from the Spanish “Moqui” meaning “small people” which referred to the Native American cultures (Navajo, Zuni, Hopi). I am naming my next dog Moki. Goes well with Sazi Ana and Kachina.

The Bears Ears themselves are cool to see – which can be done from the top of Moki Dugway and down the road a bit.

Then, there is Natural Bridges National Monument.

So, Holy Sombrero is a big, yellow daylily that I got as a bonus after ordering a bunch of Southwest named daylilies. I guess the hybridizer knew what I was doing with my garden.

The cultivator has bloomed every year without fail. Interestingly enough, it hit peak bloom when we were visiting Mexican Hat last summer. It is suppose to be taller than it is, so I have to dig in the tall daylilies to find it.

A few more scapes today. It is another drought this year and my water bill will show it soon. Hopefully the monsoons kick in. Half the year, I live outside in my yard or on a road trip. The other half, I spend doing warm things inside – well, I hike but not during the coldest days. I am so glad it is spring . . . almost summer.

Daylily of the Green Table

May 17, 2020May 17, 20201 Comment

Mesa Verde – Green table is Spanish. And, it looks like that from a distance during certain seasons. Mesa Verde is a climb – and if you have ever tent camped there, the temp drops accordingly. I have great memories of camping there with my daughters when they were growing up. And, in my adult life.

Yucca House National Monument – Mesa Verde National Park in the distance – 2019

Dogs have slowed down my camping there because National Parks are not dog friendly – although they would be fine in the campground – it is a drive to get in and out to dog friendly places.

The road up Mesa Verde – 2017

However, in 2017, Kachina, Maizzy and I headed up during our annual labor day trip. It was hot – too hot to hike. So, I thought the elevation would be to our advantage.

Smiling doggies – Kachina and Maizzy at Mesa Verde 2017

That was the weekend I also decided to foster my little disabled dog, Sazi, then Dotsy. Her name, Sazi Ana, is inspired by our drive through Mesa Verde that day.

Mesa Verde 2017

The ruins of Mesa Verde are unique cliff dwellings. It has probably been close to 15 years since I went by myself on spring break and climbed one of the ladders. Folks, I have a huge fear of heights and that was nothing I would ever repeat. But it does give some idea what the Ancient Pueblo Indians must have lived like. I always wonder how they ever kept toddlers off of the ladders without baby gates.

Mesa Verde – 2017

Mesa Verde – 2017

Mesa Verde is also a gorgeous daylily with outrageous ruffles. She was another of my early Southwest named daylilies.

Mesa Verde daylily – 2019

I was naive before thinking that there might be a few dozen kinds of daylily. Somehow, I figured out about ordering bare-root on-line. The first year, I just picked fun colors. After that, I picked Southwest names.

Mesa Verde Daylily – 2018

Mesa Verde is decidedly pink until the sun hits – then she resembles the orange cliffs of her name sake.

Mesa Verde daylily – 2018

Her pot is over growing in grass. I was going to fix that in March, until COVID-19 hit and I didn’t want to go buy soil until it was too late. Perhaps this fall.

Mesa Verde daylily – 2018

This weekend, I am repainting my Monument Valley mural. I think living vicariously during the safer-at-home phase of corona virus has inspired the creative in me. My creativity has been totally shut down for the last year or two. Feels good to be covered in mural paint.

Mesa Verde tile painting – 2019

A couple of Christmases ago, I did try my hand at painting Mesa Verde. The flower, that is.

Adios, Albuquerque

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020Leave a comment

This year, there was no spring break road trip – adios, Albuquerque. Adios to the best week of the year. Adios to the canyons of the Southwest. The only novel adventure this year is named Corona – and I don’t mean the arch in Utah.

Petroglyph National Monument HQ – 2014

Albuquerque is about 6-8 hours down US Hwy 550. In fact, that highway starts in Montrose and ends in Albuquerque.

Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque, NM – 2014

When I think of Albuquerque, I think of my 2014 road trip with my new dog, Maizzy, and my new Honda Fit, Mini Pearl. I had plans for Chaco Canyon and for Route 66, and what lie in between was a mystery – my choice of which way to turn on the open road. The first couple of years, I didn’t get reservations until the day I left the previous motel. More dogs = more planning.

Petroglyph National Monument – 2014

I don’t like cities, so I was zooming as quickly as I could from US Hwy 550 to I-40 (Route 66) when I noticed a sign for Petroglyph National Monument. I was like – “Well, that sounds interesting”, so off I went. There was a dog friendly section where we hiked until mid afternoon.

Maizzy – my non-desert dog in the desert at Petroglyph National Monument

Road trips through the Southwest are geology on wheels. I found these petroglyphs stunning because they were on volcanic rock and not red sandstone like I am use to. This one looks like Charlie Brown with a baseball cap to me.

Charlie Brown Petroglyph and Petroglyph National Monument

From there, we headed west on I-40. I saw signs for El Malpias National Monument, so we stopped there for a short scenic drive. It was like a combo of volcanic rock and red sandstone. I realized they what I realize most everyday of every road trip – that I play too long and run out of time before I want to stop.

El Malpias National Monument – 2014

The other cool place near Albuquerque is Salinas Mission Pueblos National Monument. We didn’t run into these 2016. That was another serendipity where we were on a stretch of highway with nothing to do between point A and point B – then there was this photo on the wall of ruins – and I had to find them.

Maizzy at Salinas Mission Pueblo Ruins – 2016

Last year, our trip took us through that area, again – so I went with all three dogs. I love the big old mission buildings as a background for my small dogs.

Kachina, Sazi, and Maizzy at Salinas Mission Pueblo Ruins National Monument – 2019

These trips to me are Albuquerque – unique in culture and landscape. Adios Albuquerque was added to my daylily garden in 2016, I think. After these trips that are forever engraved in my memory. I put it in my Southwest garden with (mostly) other Ned Roberts spiders.

Adios Albuquerque daylily – 2019

The garden was put in where there was only rock garden – on the easement between the sidewalk and the street. I have no back yard, because it is a split lot – so I actually have almost all of these daylilies in buried pots in case the water main ever busts there.

Adios Albuquerque daylily – 2019

I like the bloom – it is subtle. Albuquerque was Ned’s home until he moved to Colorado for treatment – at least that is my understanding. He, no doubt, loved the New Mexico culture. It is different from Colorado . . . it must have been hard for him to say Adios, Albuquerque. Fortunately, I have his daylilies to take me on a road trip on the year of the pandemic.

Adios Albuquerque daylily 2019

Chaco Canyon

May 14, 2020May 14, 20204 Comments

A daylily by any other name would smell as sweet . . . maybe, maybe not. Chaco Canyon is a beautiful, spiritual place in New Mexico. It is not easy to get there – the road is dirt, not improved – many ruts for miles and miles. But, it is worth it because it was an empire of the Ancient Pueblo Indians.

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The road to Chaco Canyon before it turns to dirt

I have been there twice. The first time, I had no idea what the road was like but I am persistent. I was on my way home from a conference in Albuquerque and had seen the road signs on my way down.

Hungo Pavi – one of the many Chaco buildings

I was instantly taken by the place, but it was late so I didn’t get to see much. I bought a book and loved looking at the pictures.

The walls of the Chaco ruins blend into the background of the canyon walls

So, six years ago when I had decided to travel for my spring road trip and got me a fine dog (Maizzy) to accompany me . . . we headed back to Chaco. This time, we met an old friend of mine. We hiked and caught-up with each other after several years.

The canyon walls tower above the ancient ruins

Chaco Canyon was a huge trade center that is linked to the stellar world in crazy and mysterious ways. I am no expert, but many of the buildings are aligned perfectly north/south – and you can follow the north line miles to the next building. The buildings are aligned to both sun and moon cycles. There are petroglyphs that light up like Las Vegas on Solstice and Equinox each year.

The round petroglyph on the right reminds me of my daylily bloom

My trips to the Ancient Pueblo ruins remind me how humanity has lost touch with our connection to nature. We drive in cars, leave the lights on 24/7, and argue with strangers about wearing masks. We have become so disconnected from the messages from our planet and solar system – it makes me sad for all of our advancement some days. The message of Chaco is sacred and special to me.

Petroglyphs and wasp nests cohabitate on the walls of Chaco Canyon

So, when I happened to see a daylily named Chaco Canyon – just after I discovered one named Kokopelli (and by the same hybridizer, Ned Roberts), I ordered it instantly. Not only did I like the name – It is a striking daylily. I wonder what about this daylily reminded Ned of Chaco Canyon – maybe the red color? Maybe because it blooms around summer solstice? Maybe because it looks like the sun or the stars?

Chaco Canyon daylily soaking up the sun – 2019

My Chaco Canyon grows in a big pot on my back porch. I moved a couple fans to the Southwest garden last year to extend the bloom season (the two gardens have slightly different peak bloom times). It is getting big and I am watching for scapes now because it blooms on the early side. I can’t wait to be stunned by the first flower!

Chaco Canyon daylily shines in the sun – 2018

I thought I had lost the photos of my trip to Chaco – but silly me, I uploaded them to Facebook 6 years ago. Taking a road trip vicariously through my daylilies makes me want to go back to this place, again, when COVID-19 clears. It isn’t all that far away. In the meantime, I wait for it to bloom in my yard.

Two Chacos dancing in the breeze

Jewels and Corn Dancers

May 13, 2020May 13, 20201 Comment

The wind was picking up the day we left Española and headed home through Northwestern New Mexico. And, I wanted to visit one of the Pueblos. We often track through Arizona, so this day would be our chance to take-in an experience in a modern day Pueblo village.

Courtyard, Espanola, New Mexico

I was kind of bummed that they didn’t allow pictures, because from what I remember it was a mix of the old and new Pueblo Indian culture. I remember walking several blocks with Maizzy to see the church. The residents didn’t pay much attention to me and my old dog wondering around.

Espanola, New Mexico

There were residential homes with jewelry sale signs in front. I didn’t want to leave without some treasure from our adventure – and no pictures. At first, this felt uncomfortable. I remember wandering around for awhile before being brave enough to knock on a door. I remember the nice gentleman showing me the jewelry in cases. It was more expensive than I wanted – but I believe in supporting the culture. And, they took Mastercard. My Santa Clara necklace is still my absolute favorite Native American necklace. It has been with me on a few job interviews!

Santa Clara Pueblo Necklace

We were headed down the road, again, all too soon. One thing I have learned in my research on the Santa Clara Pueblo is that they have a corn dances in honor of patron saint, Saint Clare. They also have Comanche Dances in June. I think immediately of two of my favorite Ned Robert’s spiders, Purple Corn Dancer and Comanche Princess.

Purple Corn Dancer – 2019

Ned lived in Albuquerque – I wonder if he visited this place?

Comanche Princess – 2019

At any rate, I took another division off of Purple Corn Dancer last weekend – so I now have it in 3 places. Comanche Princess is in two places – I got them in the same shipment a few years ago.

Purple Corn Dancer with all petals curled under – 2019

Purple Corn Dancer blooms last most years – with the harvest. Named for the corn dances. We have Olathe Sweet Corn’s home town just 10 miles away – not Native corn, but I can understand having festivals to celebrate because we have one. We use to have powwows here, too – I miss them so much.

Purple Corn Dancer looks like a Corn Dancer in this picture

So, camping at State Parks is open but we should still stay close to home, take our own food, try to limit gas stops out of our neighborhood. I’m old enough, I should hold off travel another couple of weeks, anyway. After the students graduate . . . early June for a few days. My photos give me wanderlust – I learn so much from travel. I learn so much from daylilies, too. How else would I know about Purple Corn Dancers? Within every daylily bloom lies an adventure.

Getting My Kicks With Route 66

May 9, 2020May 10, 20201 Comment

Route 66 is due South of Montrose, CO. You can get to the New Mexico one by just driving south on Highway 550 until you hit Route 66 in Albuquerque. Or, you can take Highway 491 and catch-up with it in Gallup. You can also catch it in Arizona – we often drive by Monument Valley to Flagstaff and catch it there. Of course, you can also catch it in Holbrook at the Petrified Forest. We have done all of the above plus more. I have always said that it must have been a pretty amazing highway in its day – the road to the Southwest – the ruins and rock structures.

Maizzy, my crazy old chi-hound and I met up with it in Gallup on our first road trip (after a trip to Chaco Canyon and El Malpias). We rode it all the way to Petrified Forest. Well, we took the sections that we could and were mostly on I-40, a place full of big, fast semi trucks. We got to Holbrook, where we hung out on Route 66 for a bit. Then, back home through Monument Valley and Canyonlands. That was 2014.

Maizzy on Route 66 marker in Holbrook, AZ – 2014

Our road trip is South, so we almost always cross Route 66 – well, always because we have to cross it to get to the other side of the Southwest. The next year, we traveled from down to Catalina State Park, AZ and back up to the Grand Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. We went out for a night on the town at Route 66 in Flagstaff.

Maizzy, Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ – 2015

The following year, 2016, we went down to Lost Dutchman State Park, AZ and on the way, we stopped at the Petrified Forest – where we walked in the Crystal Forest and crossed the old Route 66. We headed home through Socorro, NM and up through Farmington, NM. Good grief, I can barely remember these amazing routes!

Maizzy hiking in the Crystal Forest at Petrified Forest National Park, AZ – 2016

Where did 2017 take us? From the Four Corners to Flagstaff and down to Gila Bend and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We came back and visited Casa Grande – then back up by Route 66 at the Petrified Forest. By then, I had acquired dog #2, little once-feral, Kachina.

On that bench on Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ, again – 2017

Soon enough it was 2018, and a new adventure came when spring warmed the earth. This year, we left on Friday the 13th and took the Devil’s Highway (once numbered 666 because it was the 6th spur off Route 66) all the way to the AZ/Mexico border. We visited Canyon de Chelly and headed south to Chambers, AZ, which is smack-dab on Route 66. We drove to Clifton on the long, winding road and ended up in Tombstone. We stopped at the Petrified Forest on the way home. It was a horrific windstorm that day – but my dogs managed a photo at the Route 66 turnout. Oh, and another dog joined the family – my little disabled chi rescue, Sazi Ana (think Anasazi).

Windstorm at the Route 66 turnout at Petrified Forest National Park, AZ – 2018

And, my last road trip in 2019 was super awesome to start. We went through Shiprock, NM and then down through the badlands to Grants, NM – which is on Route 66. It is a long story that I forgot to get gas on the way to El Morro National Monument, so I was too tired to stop at any of the Route 66 attractions. We headed south (I can’t stand I-40 in a Honda Fit with all those semis) after Grants and stopped at Salinas Pueblo Mission Ruins near Albuquerque – then to White Sands. We did a long sprint to Tucson, Catalina State Park, then back up to . . . um, drum roll . . . Petrified Forest. You see, it’s dog friendly so we stop most years. Except, last year I got Noravirus the day we were suppose to go. We went – but I was too sick to do anything but pray for a motel bed ASAP. We cruised (wanting to upchuck) I-40 (the new Route 66) and turned off to get to Window Rock. The scenery in that part of the State is worth posting, except I was too ill to get pictures.

El Malpias National Monument Near Grants, NM, off of Route 66 – 2019

The motel in Window Rock, AZ, a few miles from Route 66 – 2019

Why am I talking about Route 66 on a daylily blog? Because I am taking a road trip vicariously through my Southwest named daylilies while we wait for COVID-19 to settle down. (Maybe Noravirus helped me to see how serous it is to catch a virus when you are traveling – all those restrooms, hotels, eateries, gas pumps – not safe yet). Route 66 is a cultivator that I picked up years ago at the local greenhouse – long before I started collecting daylilies with Southwest names. Long before I started taking road trips.

Route 66 Daylily in bloom – 2019

However, now the blooms are more special. I think of our trips to Gallup and Grants and Chambers and Holbrook and Flagstaff. I think of the colors that are on the tee shirts – the red and black. When I see the blooms, I think of my goofy dogs and all of our fun times, getting our kicks on Route 66.

Dog Day Bouquet

August 27, 2019Leave a comment

It’s National Dog Day!!! Dogs and daylilies are my two most expensive hobbies. LOL. Well, my dogs help me garden to earn their keep. They take naps in the sun for me and chase off every other dog who dares walk past my daylily garden. My dogs have been sick a lot this summer, unfortunately. Maizzy, the larger, short-haired chi, is just senior and Sazi, the small long-haired chi, has disc disease and was paralysed in June. She slowly regains function – she is walking and running but lost a lot of feeling in her back legs. I do blame that for part of the fact that my yard is not at its best. Of course, they are a happy part of my camping travels and the best companions ever! Happy Dog Day pups!

Kachina, Sazi, and Maizzy at Monument Valley last month.

What bloomed for them today?

Purple Corn Dancer is doing yoga around her bud. I have a few more blooms to look forward to from her.

Purple Corn Dancer doing yoga 8.26

Royal Palace Prince is on the new drip line and opened his last bud today. Hoping for more blooms next year.

Royal Palace Prince 8.26

Mama Cuna also opened her last bud. She is so big and showy – I may see if I can divide her and put a couple fans up in the front yard.

Mama Cuna 8.26

Indian Sky – and I am not sure if she has buds left. Maybe. But, not many.

Indian Sky 8.26

Purple Grasshopper – this would be Kachina’s favorite. She loves to chase those things! (Kachina is the Terrier).

Purple Grasshopper 8.26

Ruby Stella – she is a champion bud maker this year and I have a few left to bloom.

Ruby Stella 8.26

And, as the blooms fade away, the weeds seem more noticeable. My front yard looks as gross as ever. Don’t plant grass on a hill in the desert. And, the daylilies can disrupt the sprinkler flow . . . which doesn’t help. I am thinking of thyme or sedum for part of it – and maybe ornamental grass. Thrilling to dig in this mud. Can’t wait. LOL.

Daylily Photobombs

July 27, 2019July 27, 2019Leave a comment

The peak lives on with 72 blooms today. One of the things about photographing so many daylilies before I have to leave for work is that I get in a rush. I focus on the flower and hit the shutter button. Sometimes, when I am editing later, I find stuff that I didn’t notice at the time.

My favorite photobombs have other daylilies that I didn’t notice in the background – like Happy Hopi today:

Happy Hopi with friends Laughing Feather and Zuni Thunderbird 7/26

And, the most common photobombs are when I cut off a petal in the shot by a lot. Why am I struggling to get photos of Navajo Grey Hills?

Navajo Grey Hills 7/26

Of course, there are occasionally cat photobombs:

Skinwalker and my cat, Sokasbai – 7/25

Or, dog photobombs:

Blue Beat and my dog, Maizzy – 7/25

The most embarrassing, though, are the foot photobombs. The flower is at a weird angle, so you try to bend over so you can get a front shot. What was I thinking?

Black Ice and my feet – 7/26

OK – so what about Premiers. Only three today. The pace slows a bit, although I saw my neighbors at dinner and the first thing they talked about was my giant daylilies. So, it isn’t over yet!

Nona’s Garnet Spider was a bonus. She hasn’t been a consistent bloomer but is putting on a good show of buds this year.

Nona’s Garnet Spider – 7/26

Autumn Jewels . . . I think this was a bonus, too. She is related to El Desperado. I had a huge El Desperado for years but lost it to the weird, cold, wet spring. I lost a couple and several had setbacks . . . but so many are blooming this year that haven’t before or the regulars have a higher bud count than usual. It’s interesting the yin and yang of this year. Anyway – I got a new El Desperado and it is just putting up scapes now. I like both of these cultivators.

Autumn Jewels – 7/26

And, Nearly Wild is another bonus plant – she looks like her ancestor, the ditch lily or Fulva. I am sure that is where she gets her name.

Nearly Wild – 7/26

It is raining, again. We will see what that brings.

The Three Amigas

August 11, 2018Leave a comment

My dogs earned the reputation of being the Three Amigas last year at a dog Halloween party. They won a prize for the funniest dog costumes. It was a good time.

Kachina, Maizzy, and Sazi

So, today when I had only three blooms, I thought about my dogs. I think Blue Beat is my oldest dog, Maizzy. She is mellow (blue) and has a heart condition (Beat). So, it fits her. Indian Sky is my youngest dog, Kachina. Not only do the names work together, but Kachina is the red-orange sky color. Then comes little goofy Sazi, my newest addition (although she is middle-aged). Heirloom Heaven fits her because she is a small late bloomer. Who else has canine garden helpers?

Today’s Blooms (no finales):