The Colorado Kid: Getting His Kicks on Route 66

July 6, 2026July 6, 2026Leave a comment

Hello Daylily Fans!

It’s hard to believe another week has passed in the daylily garden. Today, our blog mascot, The Colorado Kid, bloomed for the first time this year. And, another old favorite also came into bloom today: Route 66. I am living my road trip in the garden today.

However, today also brought another day of unhealthy smoke from the fire near Ouray, CO – the Gold Mountain Fire. The smoke makes the whole garden look like it’s in a haze in the morning. Normally, the smoke lifts as the heat comes in. Today, it didn’t lift much.

My garden in the smoke this morning. The camera doesn’t capture the haze that is up close, but it is everywhere.

What does wildfire smoke 24/7 due to daylily buds? To answer that, let’s back-up to the cause of the fires. Colorado is in a bad drought year after receiving minimal snowfall last winter and little rain during the spring or summer. Snowmelt is where Colorado gets the bulk of its water, so when there isn’t snow it creates a serious drought situation. Then, the fire season starts in the Western US because everything is too dry – and the hot, dry, windy weather arrives along with dry lightening. With the fires comes the dense blankets of smoke.

Beautiful but smoky sunset from our campground last week. This is near Blue Mesa, CO and is also smoke from the Gold Mountain Fire.

Montrose has had horrible air quality for several days since the Gold Mountain Fire started near Ouray, but there are other fires compounding the situation. (I heard today they don’t expect to get the Ouray fire entirely out until snow falls in October!) The particles in the air contain chemical vapers that can cause bud blast. They also dry out the air further. So, watching buds blast is the combined impact of the drought, the hot/dry weather, and the chemical vapers. The plant gives-up on blooming in order to save energy. It’s sad to watch the buds melt like butter.

Fortunately, many of my daylilies are blooming anyway. But, several only have 1-2 buds this year. My Southwestern Garden is the hardest hit. Because it is in the easement, it needs more fertilizer and moisture than the ones that get some help from my sprinkler system. My bloom rate out there will probably not hit 50% this year. I can’t fertilize until it cools down and we get some moisture. Sadly, that is where the bulk of my Ned Robert’s spiders are planted. Better luck next year!

Despite the barriers, the daylilies show there resilience by continuing to bloom daily. Here are my new bloomers this week:

That’s 26 new ones this week, folks! Last week I posted 34. The week before that, 18. And the first post was 9. That adds up to 87. I have about 189 total, so a 46% bloom rate. Could it be peak has come and gone already? I fear that may be true this year. When daylilies only have a few buds, the peak comes fast and dies fast. That’s a drought year pattern in the high desert.

Let’s see what the next week brings. But, even if the monsoons were to come, it is too late for the daylilies that have saved their energy to survive the drought to bloom this year.

Don’t let the smoke stop you from blooming this week,

Cathy Hartt

Please take a moment to visit my art business page, Art from the Hartt. and see what I am working on this summer. I have some great garden gnomes up for adoption!

Oops-a-Daylily! It’s Bloom Time in the High-Desert

June 29, 2026Leave a comment

Hello Daylily Fans,

Another week has sailed by in the garden. I have 34 gorgeous daylilies that showed their faces (or throats) for the first time this season since last Sunday.

The daylilies are stunning but the real surprise is that they have survived “fire weather” watches and warnings nearly every day this week. For our friends in China and anyone not on the Colorado Plateau – that means low relative humidity, warm temperatures and gusty wind. We did have a couple days of rain last week – it was a nice break.

Of course, fire weather means it’s wildfire season. We have had a couple major fires close by this week – the Snyder Fire near McInnis Canyons and the Gold Mountain Fire outside Ouray. I’m near the airport and there is a constant buzz of firefighting traffic over my home all day the last couple of days going to Ouray. Sadly, three firefighters died fighting the Snyder Fire – so these flower pictures are dedicated to them and their loved ones.

What does fire weather do to daylilies? It melts them. Or at least they look melted by noon. They fade, get translucent – some more than others. Butthey were made for humid ditches, not high-desert droughts. It also means they have dealt with high winds that have ripped off petals and the smoke isn’t good for anyone.

My win this week is a first ever bloom on Fulva – the original ditch lily. She is rumored to be invasive but in the desert, she is pretty tame. I planted her 3 places in my yard as an experiment. This year, the plant near the sprinkler head is the one that finally bloomed! After 5 years. The second one is in a pot and does “ok” but is small and doesn’t bloom. The third is in a raised planter with the native plants and she looks like a seedling at year 5.

It’s been too busy. I am experimenting with my business and adding some new avenues for my art sales. My special needs senior rescue dogs get stressed with the heat and my busier summer schedule – I swear they are telling me to slow down. Of course, camping is happening. So, I miss a couple days a month of my blooms in June but I watch for cool blooms whereever we travel.

Don’t forget to stop by my Etsy shop. I have some cool garden gnomes that are handpainted to look like the Painted Wall at Black Canyon of the Gunnison. They are perfect companions for any daylily garden.

I’ll be back next week.

Until then, keep on blooming!

Cathy Hartt (Doctor of the Daylilies)

It’s Daylily Savings Time on the Colorado Plateau

June 14, 20262 Comments

I never adapted to Daylight Savings Time this year. It’s been a variety of factors – my own circadian rhythm, an evening Etsy revamp, new routines, etc. But, I need to start springing ahead – or is that summering ahead? Why? Because the daylilies are blooming at increasing rates this week. And, daylily season is like an online class – don’t get behind or you never catch up.

My season started with Saratoga Springtime on 5.23: the same day I started selling my art from home-based events. The same day I started a new injection (Tymlos) for my osteoporosis. (Gardening builds bone) The week after oral surgery. Two days before my first camping trip. And it the midst of the chaos, daylily season quietly started with a windblown bloom from my early bird cultivator.

On 5.31, Dream Keeper started blooming. My first Ned Roberts cultivator to join the 2026 bloom cycle. On 6.5.26 she threw a polymerous bloom with extra petals. This may have happened in response to our drought and low humidity – a sort of stress reaction. It is super pretty, though.

The third one to join the season was my simple yellow Stella. Her first bloom was on 6.2.26.

It felt like a lul. Like I could ignor the daylilies while I reorganized my business. Ha ha – the daylilies aren’t waiting. This week, amidst 3 on-ground events for my business, the blooms started coming. First, on 6/12, Return A Smile returned along with The Potter’s Touch. A day later, Ruby spider joined the small crowd – on the day of my 5th on-ground sale.

Today, I thought I would have a breather after the business event – but no dice. I spied with my little eye more action in my Southwest Garden daylily bed more cultivators. Canyon Colors was visible as I walked towards the garden with her rounded bloom shape and soft sandstone colors. As I drew closer, I noticed Land of Enchantment dancing in front of my banana yucca. I stepped into the wire garden fence in the easement to capture their photos when I noticed the first Comanche Princess in bloom.

And, I said, “That’s it!. It’s daylily savings time, again!”

Balancing a summer on-ground business with daylilies, hiking, camping, and everything else “summer” is kind of crazy, but I am committed to keeping the blog going this summer. IDK if I’ll post weekly or twice a week – I am keeping it a little soft until I see how things unfold.

As far as my business, it started as a hobby, painting daylilies on tiles to make coasters. The first years, I painted daylilies on ornaments and pots. But, as time went on, the focus shifted to my acrylic pour and cement projects – including adorable garden gnomes. This summer, I am going back to the daylily tiles as soon as I find time to sit and paint in a quiet, uninterrupted setting for a few hours.

I will be combining my acrylic pour backgrounds with daylilies painted in the foregrounds. The backgrounds with feature high desert colors – like sandstone and sage. And, the cultivators I will be painting will feature my daylilies with Southwest names. Ones like Dream Keeper, Canyon Colors, Land of Enchantment, and Comanche Princess.

I still have some cool daylily pots for sale (not for daylilies, but for houseplants and succulents). I will attach a few photos with listing links for those interested. These are terra cotta pots painted in a base of chalk paint. Then I add my stunning daylily painting over the chalk so it pops! So much fun.

Visit the above pot listings and more at my Etsy Shop: Mesa Stone Planters section.

I wish all the daylily lovers out there a happy blooming season! What’s blooming in your garden right now?

Keep on blooming, Cathy Hartt

Better Late Than Never: 2025 Daylily Blooms and a Dry Spring Preview

May 7, 2026May 7, 20265 Comments

Spring is in the air on the Colorado Plateau. Not just any spring. A dry spring with little rain and record highs in March. So, IDK yet what this means for the bloom rate. Drought years are never predictable but usually it is an early peak with fewer cultivators blooming and fewer blooms.

I am here today to finish up last year’s blog. I seriously dropped the ball because I took on a volunteer community job in the middle of bloom season and camping season. The blog got put at the bottom of this retired nurse-midwifes triage list.

It looks like my last real blog was July 19th, 2025. Let’s see what bloomed later last year.

For the 2026 line-up, those daylilies are high because we were hot in March, but we haven’t had a hell of a lot of rain to support them. It is at the stage now where pots need to be weeded, irrigation schedules need to be regular, and old leaves need to be removed from the garden. It’s time I put down the computer and get busy in the yard!

Since I know I have a lot of daylily lovers who pull up this page, I thought I would mention that I have some hand-painted terra cotta pots that are ideal for small succulents and houseplants. They are available through my Etsy shop, and I will put the photos with listing links below. I started painting these because I got so depressed after daylily season ended. I decided I could still look at daylily blooms every day!

Select tiny pots (2.5 inch) with Route 66, Cheddar Cheese, Primal Scream and Nosferatu

Later this summer, I will be bringing back my daylily coasters. These are hand-painted from my own photos. I use upcycled tiles that are heat sealed so you have a daylily for your coffee (or whatever you drink) every day. I will also have my signed prints from my daylily paintings. The tiles and prints will feature my southwestern-named daylilies, specifically. Which one do you think I should start with?

I will be warming up the blog as those daylilies grow – so please subscribe to follow my high desert daylilies through the season.

Keep on flourishing!

Visit my business website: Art from the Hartt

Celebrate Colorado Day with Stunning Daylilies!

August 1, 2025May 7, 2026Leave a comment

Hi Daylily Fans,

Happy Birthday, Colorado!!!! I was hoping to post a blog with all my remaining cultivator’s first blooms of the season for July today. Guess what? Out of time because we are going to the concert in the park tonight. So, I will post the two new ones from today.

Two Ned Roberts spiders – Spirit of the Morning and Desert Icicle. I adore Spirit of the Morning – and she fades by noon, too. One of my most colorful late bloomers! And, Desert Icicle was a gift plant when I first put in the Southwest Road Trip garden. A great late season bloomer.

Enjoy! I will be back soon with the remaining July blooms.

Keep blooming, Cathy H.

Tacos, Firebirds, and Skinwalkers: Come see what is new in my drought ridden daylily garden!

July 19, 2025May 7, 2026Leave a comment

Droughts, Wildfires, and Daylilies

Droughts and wildfires go together, daylilies not so much. The smoke has cleared (mostly) from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Fire (<10 miles away), and they have the fire 15% contained. My last blog post talks more about the fire. Some rain has fallen on my garden since the last post, too. The drought continues, though. Keep reading to enjoy my daylilies from the past week!

Monitoring and Maintaining My Resilient Daylilies

I am surprised my daylilies have done as well as they have this year with the heat and drought. I have somewhere around 190 cultivators. I badly need to do inventory, maps, and labels this year. I love the Flower daylily software, but I struggle to keep it updated. I seem to lose a lot of the newer ones from other climates over the first winter/spring – but I am not even sure what I have lost until I do inventory because some lost tags.

Black Canyon South Rim Fire – Watch Duty from today. About 15% contained.

Honestly, though, I am limited by time and water. I may replace some cultivators if I lose them, but I won’t be adding many more to my total. I’m at capacity. I am growing ditch lilies in the desert drought. I love daylilies, and they are survivors! My time goes into keeping those I have alive and healthy. And, my money goes into city water. I can’t imagine trying to hybridize or sell in my situation.

New Blooms and Current Bloom Rate

I have had a total of 139 cultivators bloom this season (out of around 190). That is a 73% bloom rate. Last year, we only got to the mid-sixties, so I am thrilled. And, the season isn’t over. In the high desert, 80% is a huge win. I need to fertilize, but without the monsoon moisture and cooler temps, I am waiting until next month. With daylilies in pots, I find applying liquid fertilizer improves bloom rate for the following year because the plant is more resilient.

Here are my “first bloom for 2025” cultivators since my last post:

The bloom peak is now over the top and past the plateau. However, I still have 30-40 cultivators in bloom daily, with 2-3 new ones most days. My beloved Ned Roberts’ southwest names spiders are just now peaking! Life gets extremely busy during daylily season, especially with my business and volunteer work.

Which is your favorite daylily from this post? For me, Zuni Thunderbird has always been a favorite! This computer is even named Zuni Thunderbird after the daylily.

Keep flourishing, Cathy H

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

Late June/Early July Daylily Blooms: A Peak Season Update

July 4, 20251 Comment

July is here, and with it comes peak season. I don’t think we are quite to peak yet, but it is approaching quickly. My day starts with photographing each daylily in bloom. Then I feed dogs, irrigate, jog for an hour. When I return, I sit on the front porch and edit the photos. Then, I put them in folders online and post to my personal Facebook page. By then, it’s 2 PM and time for breakfast!

I have had a bunch of new ones since my last post. I will put them in a gallery below. I’ve had 50 new ones since my last post last week!!!

I have had 73 cultivators bloom so far this season out of approximately 190. I lost some last winter. I really need to update my inventory in the software program. Based on those numbers, my bloom rate is about 38% currently. My hope is for 80% this season.

Today, the rain came. Finally! I am hoping for a good monsoon season. We need it. The drought lingers and is growing to the north. So many wildfires out west. I’m surprised that my daylilies are as happy as they are all things considered.

I adore daylily season. But it is always a lot of work that takes a chunk of the day with the photography. However, at this elevation, heat and humidity, the blooms don’t last long. Somedays, they are pretty faded by noon. They look like melted wax to me.

It’s a very different summer with my civic volunteer work. I adore my mornings on the porch editing daylily photos. Finding balance is hard in a “drought of time.”

Catcha next week. I hope your 4th of July garden brings you joy. Sometimes, we are best to focus on the small things right before our eyes and feel gratitude.

June Daylily Highlights: Thriving in the Heat

June 23, 2025Leave a comment

Hello Daylily Fans,

It’s gotten hot, and my yard is exploding with many daylilies. Peak season is still a couple of weeks away, and I have about 130 cultivators with scapes! I lost a couple over the winter, so I need to update my total number one of these days.

Last post, I talked about my first 3 cultivators to bloom: Saratoga Springtime, Dream Keeper, and Stella de Oro. Since then, I have had the following:

Wow! That’s 20 more cultivators in bloom since my first post of the year! My very large array is getting larger! Today, I celebrate 3 years retired from 40 years of nursing. Quite a retirement anniversary bouquet.

I will say that some of my buds opened funny today – Stephanie Returns and Bluegrass Music both look like they wanted to sleep in. We have had days of fire weather with highs in the 90s, wind speeds 35+ MPH, and humidity under 15% (often single digits). And, we are still in extreme drought here (although no water restrictions yet). I think the buds get dried out! I will also say that the super ruffled blooms just don’t open right in such low humidity. I stay away from super ruffles now.

My community work consumes me. I don’t feel as retired as I did last year. I have always made time for the daylily blog. This year, I feel what I am doing is time-sensitive, and I need to balance my time with that in mind. I am not doing daily Instagram posts this year. I think I will update my latest blooms and gardening tips here about once a week.

Tip for today: Deserts don’t have ruffles! They have ridges.

Which of my blooms from this blog is your favorite?

See you soon! Cathy

Maylilies and Early June Daylilies

June 16, 2025Leave a comment

Hi Daylily Fans,

The weather has turned from spring to summer since my last post a couple weeks ago! It is in the mid to upper 90s this week. The scapes are sprouting fast and furious. I have around 100 cultivators with scapes now. I’m never sure how the daylilies will respond to drought, but I am optimistic that my bloom rate will be decent. My water bill, not so much! (I am city water dependent. It’s not cheap because we don’t get much help from Mother Nature.)

I have two cultivators that just came into bloom today. Jungle Queen and Wild Horses. Sounds like the title of a good sci-fi novel. I asked AI and got the photo below. I kind of like it. Maybe I need to use some fun AI photos of daylily names in the blog this year!

What AI says Jungle Queen and Wild Horses look like!

Here are the actual blooms. Both of these are cultivators that were early to my collection and neither bloomed last year. Good to see them back.

My Maylily was Saratoga Springtime. I don’t usually have a Maylily, so worth a mention that the blooms started earlier than usual.

My other early bloomers are Dream Keeper and Stella de Oro. Both are still actively blooming. I always say when Saratoga Springtime gets done, that is when the popcorn starts to pop.

It’s getting too hot to be outside during the day. Maybe I will have more time to post between camping and community involvement! This year brings new civic priorities but I will do my best to keep you all updated on what is going on in my Western Colorado daylily garden!

My pups, Cimarron, Kachina, and Kokopelli, enjoying camping season at Ridgway, CO last week.

TTFN, Cathy

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Ned Roberts