Drought Impact on Daylilies: Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Fire & Garden Update

July 12, 2025Leave a comment

Hi Daylily Lovers,

The South Rim Fire, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

I want to start by saying a few words about the drought that has been growing in Western Colorado all season. Yesterday, in the early hours of the morning, a “dry lightning” storm came through and set off multiple fires in our region. This is like striking a match to dry kindling.

Now, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is evacuated because of an active fire on the South Rim – about 15 miles away on the road – maybe 10 miles as the crow flies. The smoke and air quality are bad. The South Rim Fire is one of three very active fires in my county – the others are the Sow Belly Fire and the Deer Creek Fire. I can hear the aircraft humming almost constantly from my garden, about 2 miles from our airport.

Watch Duty screen shot 7.11.24 Montrose County, CO

So many daylily farmers live in places that get regular rain. Here, the daylilies often get their only water from my City water hose. But, beyond the daylilies, please keep our firefighters in your thoughts as they battle these blazes in 90+ degree weather and single-digit humidity.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park photo (credit Facebook) 7.11.25

Garden Update: First Blooms for 2025 Since July 4th

I’ve had a lot of bloomers since I last posted on July 4th. It’s hot now, too uncomfortable to garden. And, now there is smoke. But, I still manage to get out everyday for my photos and a jog around the neighborhood.

I hit peak bloom 2 days ago, with 60+ in bloom that day. As of today, I have had 113 total cultivators in bloom this season for a bloom rate of 60%. I am hoping to make it to 80% this season. If I keep all the current buds and add a few more, I’ll be OK. Bud blast happens in these conditions, thought. I need 39 more!

I continue with my community volunteer work. I feel that is my priority this summer, but I miss my more frequent and in-depth posts about daylily gardening. Fortunately, it has been a better bloom year than I expected with the drought. And, I am getting a couple of hours on my porch editing my photos every day. It is a joyful escape (even in the heat) from today’s politics. I am grateful for my daily daylily escape!

Until next week, keep blooming! Cathy H

Unique Yard Art and Memorials for Daylily Gardens

July 14, 20242 Comments

My Memorial/Family/Pet Gardens

How many of my readers have a memorial garden integrated into your yard? Daylilies are great for memorial gardens because the names often speak to us of a friend or loved one. In fact, I have a family name section of my daylily garden with Catherine Irene, Mini Pearl, Stephanie Returns, Isaac, Mayan Poppy and Oh Erica that are all names of family members, both alive and dead. It’s almost as good as having them come to visit.

I also have a pet memorial garden that is actually coneflower. I didn’t get coneflowers with pet names – they have Southwestern names like Moab Sunset, though. I have my handmade memorial pet leaf castings, each with a little of my pet’s own ashes in the hypertufa (cement + sphagnum moss + vermiculate) mix. I also added some of my cute handmade garden gnomes and I have a plague for the first dog I lost, Maizzy. In the lilac tree that towers above the garden I have a solar bird feeder collection.

Please share a story about and/or photo of your memorial gardens in the comments!

Bouquet of the Day

After no new blooms yesterday, I had 5 today. I am at about 35% bloom rate. Not great for mid-season but the plateau shaped peak in blooms continues. We will see where we are when the last daylily blooms.

I had some vivid colors and some pastels today. And, an older near blue, Mildred Mitchell. The vivid orange of Nearly Wild and the deep maroon of Open My Eyes add stunning color to the collection. My pink girls – Fairytale Pink and Classy Lady – added a nice contrast.

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A post shared by Cathy Hartt (@artfromthehartt)

Yard Art & Memorials Added: Until The Last Daylily Blooms Sale

This blog inspired me to add my handmade yard art to the Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale at my Etsy shop – at least for July-August 19th. Specifically, I added hypertufa leaf casting ash memorials, cement dog plaque memorials, garden gnomes, and mushrooms. These are great companions for daylily gardens.

Hypertufa Leaf Casting Ash Pet Memorial

Pet memorial ash leaf castings – click here for listing.

Cement Pet Memorial Plaque: Acrylic Pour and Solid Colors

I am playing with painting my cement dog/cat plaque memorials with pour acrylics. This is one I made yesterday. The lettering will be painted in a lighter color to make it more readable and other highlights added. I will get this listed as soon as possible, in the mean time if you are interested, please email me. I also can do custom colors if you prefer.

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Process video of a pour acrylic pet memorial plaque.

Garden and Holiday Gnomes: Pour Acrylic or Solid Colors

These garden gnomes are my “seconds” so I decided to try pour painting on them. I have 6 gnome styles (see slides below and click here for Etsy listing) and I am adding a couple new styles very soon. I normally paint them solid, traditional colors, but I will be adding some pour paint styles soon. Again, I can do custom colors – contact me via email or my Etsy shop.

Time For Nature

I’m headed off on a camping adventure tomorrow. It will be next weekend before I post, again, unless I do a post on wildflowers. You can follow our adventure at my travel blog – click here to visit and subscribe.

Another Peakish Day

July 20, 2023July 20, 20232 Comments

It was another peakish in the daylily garden. Not as many first blooms for 2023 as yesterday (or last year), but a decent number. It’s too late to catch-up to last year, but this hot weather is doing its darnedest.

I feel a little sad for my desert daylilies when it’s so hot and dry. They like the South or humid areas with rain much better. Blooms are so faded and look like melted wax by noon in so many. I’m not saying I don’t love them but the reason I take so many photos is to savor the blooms at their best without cooking myself in the sun.

Anyway – here is my Instagram reel with photos for today.

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A post shared by Cathy Hartt (@coloradokiddaylilies)

Cultivators in order of appearance: Mayan Poppy, Pick of the Litter, Mildred Mitchell, Star Over Milagro, Truchas Sunrise, Little Grapette, Hesperus, and Bold Tiger.

We had a little monsoon today. Let’s hope the rains are back for the season. Short, intense, unpredictable but cooling and all moisture helps.

Please visit my website Www.artfromthehartt.com

All Hell Broke Loose While I Was Camping

July 16, 2022July 16, 2022Leave a comment

I have no idea where to even start with premiers. I’m buried in catching up with daylily photos. I’ll give it a shot. Thank heaven I post to Facebook every day. Sometimes I do miss things, though.

7.11: Lobo Lucy, Laughing Feather, Happy Hopi, Chokecherry Mountain, Apache Uprising, and Soco Gap

7.14: Ruby Stella, Hesperus, Orange Flurry, Purple Many Faces, Kachina Dancer, Kiva Dancer, Cherokee Star, Papa Long Legs, Western Sandstone, Classy Lady, One of my new OZ daylilies that need labels (I believe).

7.15: Glen Eyrie, Scorpio, Route 66, Fooled Me, Echo Canyon, Twirling Pinata, Medicine Feather, Star Over Milgro, Black Ice, Winds of Love, Nearly Wild, Rosie’s Red, Mildred Mitchell, Fairytale Pink, and Navajo Rodeo

And, whatever I missed. And, my one bud on Lacy Doily bloomed when I was gone. So, if lighting strikes but no one is in earshot, is there thunder? Yes. To the bees and butterflies.

I need a stiff drink before I finish. Lol. That’s 31 new faces since I posted on Sunday. Sometimes, I wish we could flatten the curve of peak a little. Gonna be crazy for a bit.

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:

First of the Lasts

June 26, 2020Leave a comment

Today marks almost 3 weeks since the first bloom of 2020. I’ve had about 31 cultivators bloom so far. Not quite 20% of my daylilies.

Today brought several new faces to the group – so the daylily epidemic is upon us. Hopi Jewel is a fun cultivator with an interesting shape. She was a bonus daylily for one of my Southwestern daylily name orders.

I did well with Robert’s spider daylily premier blooms. Echo Canyon came to visit for the first time of 2020. Such a lanky spider.

Coral Taco also joined us today for the premier of 2020. She is another lanky Roberts cultivator.

Chaco Canyon, a little less lanky spider from the Roberts group also showed up. I love the place Chaco Canyon. I wonder if I would favor these daylilies less if they had names that didn’t bring to mind my roadtrips?

Mini Pearl from my family name section also gave us a premier today. She was purchased because my grandma was named Mini Pearl.

Now, for my finales (OMG – the summer always goes too fast):

I missed that Mildred Mitchell had a finale bloom yesterday. She was short lived this year – only one scape. I think my near blues need to be repotted in fresh soil, again. Bluegrass Music appears to be taking the year off.

Saratoga Springtime also had her finale bloom. Springtime is gone, afterall. She gets a lot of attention because she has the yard to herself for a couple weeks. Well, she and the plainer yellow trumpets and Dream Keeper.

Tomorrow, another day, another camping trip. When it is January, I think about summer and wonder how the he## I fit it all in. Mostly, no sleep . . . well, a little but not enough.

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.

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?

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).

Adios Albuquerque – 2019

Apache Bandana – 2019

Apache Beacon – 2019

Aztec Firebirds – 2019

Black Arrowhead – 2019

Chaco Canyon – 2019

Cheyenne Eyes – 2019

Chief Four Fingers – 2019

Chokecherry Mountain – 2019

Comanche Princess – 2019

Coral Taco – 2019

Desert Icicle

Dream Catcher

Echo Canyon – 2019

Feather Woman – 2019

Ghost Ranch – 2019

Glen Eyrie – 2019

Happy Hopi – 2019

Iktomi – 2019

Kachina Firecracker – 2019

Kokopelli – 2018

Land of Enchantment – 2019

Laughing Feather – 2019

Mama Cuna – 2019

Maya Cha Cha – 2019

Medicine Feather – 2019

Mount Echo Sunrise – 2019

Navajo Curls – 2018

Navajo Grey Hills – 2019

Navajo Rodeo – 2019

Ojo de Dios – 2019

Pink Enchalada – 2019

Pink Rain Dance – 2019

Purple Corndancer – 2018

Purple Many Faces – 2019

Purple Thunderbird – 2019

Santa Fe Christmas

Shape Shifter – 2019

Skinwalker – 2019

Spirit of the Morning – 2019

Star Over Milagro – 2019

Taco Twister – 2019

Talon – 2019

Truchas Sunrise – 2019

Twirling Pinata – 2018

Wild Rose Fandango – 2019

Zuni Eye – 2019

Zuni Thunderbird – 2019

Singing the Blues

July 31, 2019July 31, 2019Leave a comment

Why is it that we always want what we can’t have? Early in my daylily addiction, when I had planted my first mail-order roots, I became fascinated with blue daylilies. Well, actually, daylilies lack the genetics to make blue. So, you know, I became infatuated with “near blue” daylilies whose mosiac genetics lead them to look blue. This predates my addiction to Ned Roberts spiders. All my near blues are in pots and come into the back porch for the winter because they are evergreen daylilies and prefer warmer temps. My near blues have a special spot in the front yard where the pots live from March-October.

So, one of my Premiers today is a new near blue added last year called Baby Blue Eyes. I honestly thought I had killed her because the drought hit and, after my skin cancer surgery, I just gave up on the yard. I kept her on the porch, though, despite the fact she looked dried up. And, come spring, she came to life. I love the colors – she is a true near blue.

Baby Blue Eyes 7/30

I am going to show off my other near blues because their bloom cycle is nearing an end. My favorite is The Colorado Kid. I was just googling place names to see if there were daylilies with that name – and she popped up. I think this is year 4 for her – she is our mascot flower. She had a lot of blooms this year and has a couple of buds left. Baby Blue Eyes has similar coloring.

The Colorado Kid – July, 2019

I also have Blue Beat, an early addition and a nice blue replica.

Blue Beat – July, 2019

Bluegrass Music is a must-have blue daylily. I got pretty ripped off by the place I bought her from, but she has paid off with several years of blooms.

Bluegrass Music – July, 2019

Mildred Mitchell is an older cultivator, but she caught my eye as having a nice blue -looking color in the right light.

Mildred Mitchell – July, 2019

Prairie Blue Eyes is not in my blue section, but she also has a blue hue at times.

Prairie Blue Eyes – July, 2019

I got Heron’s Cove as a near blue – but moved her because she rarely looks blue – but occasionally, I see a bit of a bluish tint in her.

Heron’s Cove – July, 2019

OK – So I had two other Premiers today – both Ned Roberts spiders. Golden Eclipse showed her first bloom in my yard today. I have had her 2-3 years. The grower is someone I got a lot of my Neds from and she said it was an ugly brown color and to be sure I really wanted it. I think she is a pretty gold – a unique color for a daylily.

Golden Eclipse 7/30

And, big bloom Purple Thunderbird is back this year.

Purple Thunderbird 7/30

I will be out of premiers soon with three in one day. I maybe have 6-12 left in my whole yard. Honestly, I will be glad for it to slow down. I had 58 today.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Mildred Mitchell