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.
Jungle QueenWild Horses
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.
Daylily popcorn!
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.
And so it begins! The 2025 daylily season began on May 28th with Saratoga Springtime. Always my first!
Saratoga Springtime 6.2.25
First, I am naming this bloom season “A Very Large Array of Daylilies” in honor of our recent road trip through New Mexico and Arizona with a stop at the Very Large Array (of telescopes). I wonder if daylilies can be used to talk to aliens? (The movie Contact was filmed there.)
My dogs, Kokopelli, Kachina, and Cimarron during our visit do the Very Large Array.
The season started a week or two early this year. This is likely because of the drought. It has been a dry winter and spring so far. My lawn is still semi-brown. I got out a couple of weeks ago and started my drippers to add to the sprinkler water.
Life on the edge of an extreme drought – in April!
Drought tends to bring the daylilies out early, but negatively impacts the overall bloom rate. So, we will see what happens. I currently have about two dozen cultivators with scapes.
This year, I had a lot of weeds in my pots. It is so discouraging to see this because I have nearly 200 pots and digging weeds out is costly in time and money because of soil replacement. I have creeping bellflower that is an invasive weed. The roots of the bellflower resemble daylily roots and they grow into the daylily and choke it out. Pulling them just causes roots to break and spreads the plant.
I decided to get more of the coir rounds (small tree rings) because covering bellflower is somewhat effective. I used these rounds several years ago, and they have helped, but they break down over a few years. The downside is my daylilies don’t spread – but they don’t die, either. They are not for everyone, but growing in a desert in pots – especially with invasive bellflower – they work.
Stella de Oro 6.2.25
Other bloomers so far are Stella de Oro and Dream Keeper. Stella is the generic daylily that is so common in flowerbeds. I like her because she is an early and repeat bloomer. Like most early bloomers, she is a yellow trumpet. (So is Saratoga Springtime.)
Dream Keeper 6.3.25.
Dream Keeper did not bloom last year, so I am happy to see lots of buds on several scapes. She is my first Ned Roberts daylily of the year. For those who may be new to my blog, I have a decent collection of of Ned’s spiders. Last year, my blooms were low for the garden where most of these are located.
As far as the 4 new cultivators I added last year, I lost 2 of them. I lost at least two others. I will blame the drought and the fact that I had some minor medical challenges this winter. I wasn’t focused on watering. I need to do inventory and labeling this summer (hopefully).
This post starts the blog. I generally won’t be doing daily posts this year because I am involved in a lot of civic volunteer work this summer. I will plan weekly, except for during peak. IDK if I will have a set day of the week. We will take it one post at a time. Just wanted to get started on the VERY LARGE ARRAY!
The daylilies dwindle and I am back to creating new art! Each day still starts with a walk through the blooming daylilies to get photos. It is just a lot easier (and less spectacular) when there are only a couple blooming. And, my Art from the Hartt is back in production because I need colorful adventures to survive!
To encourage my rebloomers, I used liquid fertilizer yesterday and today. I gave about 1/3rd of the pots some organic fertilizer in their water. The rest got Miracle Grow spray today. This should help the plants fill out and rejuvenate before they go dormant.
Kachina FirecrackerNavajo CurlsNOID Ned Roberts SpiderPurple Corn DancerRaven WoodsongRosie’s RedSimmering ElephantsSkinwalker
I think part of my problem this year is that I didn’t do any fall care. I also need to put more soil in a few pots this fall – plus I plan time-released fertilizer next month. The weather is cooling off and we have some rain the next several days, so I picked the spray type since it is still summer.
Until the Last Daylily Blooms Art Sale Prices Drop Again This Week
On the 20th of August, my Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale prices drop to 35% off select items in my Etsy Shop. These prices drop to 40% off is I still have a daylily in bloom on September 20th. My sale ends within 72 hours of my last daylily bloom! Don’t wait!
What is on sale starting August 20th?
Most of my hypertufa art is included in the August 20-Sept 19th sale prices. This includes pots, leaf castings, leaf castings and pet memorials!!!
All of my hand painted tile clocks. There are stunning pour paint on tile and wood styles (various sizes) and landscape clocks. I even have one daylily clock.
My daylily wall art is part of the sale. Hand painted daylily wood panels and signed prints to help you see daylilies 365 days a year!
My daylily terra cotta pots are on sale. These are an adorable way to show your daylily love with a year around houseplant or succulent.
I wanted to spend a minute on the adorable hypertufa pumpkins that I just made. These stunning fall art pieces would look awesome in the yard for Halloween or on the table for Thanksgiving. I have several in process – so more designs will be added to Etsy soon! Great for garden lovers who want some fall color in their lives! Learn more about the pumpkins on my art blog – Art from the Hartt.
More Sale Merchandise Planned for September
I have more autumn themed art that I will add to the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale IN A MONTH on September 20th – if my daylilies are still blooming. The art is so new it isn’t listed (of finished) yet! I have everything from paw art to candle holders to succulent planters coming to the sale if those daylilies keep blooming! Sneak preview below.
I will run the sale through September 2nd regardless to give the rebloomers a little time. If I end the sale and get a very late scape – we will restart the sale where we left off!
Don’t Forget to Enter the Give Away TODAY!
I also have the give-away of $35 if you email a guess on the day the last daylily will bloom. Entries are due by midnight September 2nd. Email me at cathy@artfromthehartt.com with your guess (the day my last daylily blooms for 2024) and put daylily in the topic to enter. More info on the contest here – click.
Life can change in a moment. A couple of years ago, an online friend who I met through a Facebook daylily group called Daylily Lovers and I did a daylily exchange. He lived in the same USDA zone but in the eastern US. I’m out west. I sent him Saratoga Springtime and he sent me Autumn Minaret. I guess we were looking for daylilies from opposite seasons to add to our yards.
Autumn Minaret
The daylily he sent didn’t do much last year, so today is the first ever bloom for Autumn Minaret. I want to dedicate this post to my friend. So much happened to him so quickly. I doubt he will ever see this post but I wonder how he are doing. The flower will always remind me of his love of daylilies.
Readers – Have you ever exchanged daylilies with a friend? How did it go? Please share the experience! Did you stay local or ship the daylily roots? Do you recommend daylily exchanges to others?
Until the Last Daylily Blooms: Skinwalker Painting and Signed Prints
Immerse yourself in the serene beauty of nature with this exquisite, original hand-painted daylily wall art. Capturing the delicate forms of Skinwalker, a yellow daylily with subtle pink edging, this piece serves as a charming accent for any room.
Return from the Colorado Mountains: Fourteen New Bloomers for the Season
I always feel overwhelmed the day after I take a camping break – especially during daylily season! Fortunately or unfortunately, my underwhelming bloom rate for 2024 has made it more manageable. But, it is still a lot of photos to organize and turn into an Instagram reel/blog post.
Below are my Ned Roberts’ spiders that are new since my last post.
Cricket CallDancing MaidenFox EarsPink Rain Dance (from last year, missed this year’s only bud.)Raven Woodsong
So, how is the bloom rate doing now? I have had 84 of 196. So, 43%. That’s way down from the past few years for this point in time. I am hoping to hit 60%. That would take 34 more new blooms for 2024. I think that’s optimistic. Too many pots decided to rest this year.
Here are my other first blooms for 2024 (since my last post.)
Coburg Fright WigHeirloom HeavenInk HeartIrresistible CharmOff to See the WizardOrange FlurryRosie’s Red at duskRuby StellaWestern Sandstone
Remediating a Poor Bloom Rate
Gardening is a science experiment. I am going to try some liquid spray fertilizer once we have a some cooler weather in the forecast. I will probably do more time release before the end of the season – and I am considering working some manure into the pots in September, about a month before freeze.
I wanted to share my Pearl Lake Wildflower Cards as today’s listing. I just added these to the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale that goes live tomorrow. They will be 30% off for the next month! Perfect for flower lovers. The cards will be approximately (depending on Etsy’s calculator) $2.80 for a single card or 10.50 for a set of all 5 cards. This is in addition to FREE SHIPPING. Click on the photo below or this link to go to the listing.
Questions on the sale? Special order requests? Please reach out and email me!
A Saturated Batch of Red Daylilies on a Hot Summer Day
I had a nice bouquet of reds for my first blooms of 2024 today. Red is high-intensity, like the sun is today. I’m actually doing my blog from the basement family room/winter nursery today. Why? Because I don’t have AC and my portable swamp coolers get overwhelmed when it is above 90. It’s 92 (feels like 99) today and 85 upstairs. It’s probably 10 degrees cooler downstairs, but the dogs are disoriented. I’m working to socialize them to the basement.
It is now mid-July. I may be at peak bloom with 65 that have bloomed for the year and 35 in bloom today. That’s a 33% bloom rate. Maybe we will make it to 66% for the year? Or, maybe we should just get our kicks camping on Route 66 this year.
Making Daylilies Work With Other Summer Hobbies
I wish I had a good recipe for making multiple summer-only hobbies work together. The Daylilies are seriously blooming from July 1st through mid to late August. But, daylilies are in bloom in my yard from early June through September or later. Pretty typical for zone 6 in Colorado, I think.
March – Hiking and early yard prep. I often do one day a week of each. I move the daylilies that wintered in the porch or patio back to their summer locations. I start hooking up irrigation systems and giving them some regular water.
July – I plan one camping trip and focus more on the daylilies.
August – My camping road trip becomes the focus – planning and executing. I’m still focused on the daylilies but losing momentum quickly. I want to get back to my other activities.
September – Daylilies are waning in blooms. The daylily pots may need work (new soil, etc) and I am also planting any new daylily roots that I ordered. Fall hiking starts, similar schedule to spring. I take a camping road trip to the 4-corners for several days as my camping finale.
October – If I am lucky, I still have a daylily in bloom here or there. Freeze is happening. Snow usually starts by the end of the month. I love my October canyon hikes.
November – Daylilies are leaf mulched for the winter. My semi-evergreens and evergreens may be moved to the lean-to for the winter.
Indian Giver
Managing Warm-Season Activities
How do you manage your multiple activities in the summer? It gets so crazy, that I lose my daylily momentum. I want to get back to putting energy into my business, etc – and I usually give up the blog and photos sooner than I plan to. I would like to hang in this year – until my last daylily blooms. Maybe not daily. I know daylily people who blog all year and never seem to tire of it. How on earth do you keep your momentum?
Pick Your Favorite Daylily this Summer (on Etsy)!
My daylily paintings bloom all year and require no fertilizer! Don’t miss my Until The Last Daylily Blooms sale on Etsy. Right now, my daylily paintings, prints, clocks, and pots are 25% off. I will be making new daylily art to add – but as you can see, it may be a month or so away. What is your favorite? I would love to know so I can make more! Follow the link or click the picture to see the listing.
Bold TigerLittle GrapettePardon MeMoon Over ChimayoGlen Eyrie
Today, I had 5 new bloomers. I am just going to cut to the chase and post their photos: Bold Tiger, Pardon Me, Little Grapette,Moon Over Chimayo, and Glen Eyrie. The bottom row are my latest two Ned Roberts spiders. (I’m up to 15/70 in Neds that have bloomed.) Tomorrow, I may have more time to share my gardening life with you. For now, enjoy the pictures!
When I logged off on Sunday, I didn’t think it would be almost a week before I got a chance to write another blog. The heat is on!!! Camping, the 4th of July, and lots of daylilies have happened since I last posted.
And, this summer is slow. Some of the early bloomers no-showed. I am currently in the low 100s with plants that have scapes, are in bloom, or have finished blooming. Forty one out of 198 have bloomed so far this season. That’s 21%. So, it’s either going to be a wild late summer peak or a boring season. Likely somewhere in-between.
Until the Last Daylily Blooms + Hypertufa Planter Sale on Etsy
Just a quick reminder that all of my Etsy shop daylily artwork – wall art, clocks, pots, paintings – is on sale “Until the Last Daylily Blooms” in my yard. If you follow this blog, you know the photos and paintings are original Colorado artwork. On July 21st, this discount goes from 25% to 30% off. On August 20th to goes from 30% to 35% off. In September it will jump to 40% off. Will I still have blooms in mid to late October? IDK but if I do, my art will be 45% off. How low can you go??? Don’t miss the bus!!! Click here or on the photo below for the specific listing – and be sure to check out all my sale items.
Original wood panel painting of Skinwalker daylily from my Etsy Shop.
I also make hypertufa (a mix of Portland cement, sphagnum moss, and vermiculate) planters that are 25% off on Etsy during July. My planters are too small for daylilies, but I know many of us adore a wide variety of flora. Hypertufa is porous, similar to terra cotta. So, it lets the roots breath. It has thick walls for stability and can be left outdoors in winter. I do put mine in a protected area (shed) for winter due to freeze, thaw. All of my handmade hypertufa pots are put in a vinegar bath for several days to assure that the pH is favorable to plants of all types. Planters can be used indoors or outdoors. I also make some fun art with hypertufa that is also on sale during July. Click here or on the photo to go to the listing – be sure to check out my other hypertufa pots and art that is on sale during July. Love this one of the cat petroglyph at Petrified Forest
Last week, I got news that my favorite online daylily grower was closing. I absolutely adore Doris at Shady Rest Gardens and I am still adapting to the idea that this summer is her last ever sale. She and her husband are on to the next chapter, as I was a couple years ago. I knew I had to be one of her last customers and order something, despite my pots being pretty full currently. So, last night she posted the sale daylilies for this fall. It was like midnight-thirty and I was shopping for daylilies from my couch.
Comanche Princess in bloom today came from Shady Rest
How did I get started shopping for daylilies online? It was 2015 when I returned to school for my doctorate and somehow daylilies became my healthy escape from studies (I loved my program but needed stress management breaks). I had a few daylilies around the yard for years and found them pretty hardy here, but they weren’t really a hobby until I went back to school at age 60.
Online Doctorates and Daylilies
Before becoming a serious hobbyist, I picked up a daylily or two at the local nursery here and there. I don’t remember what spurred me to try online, but I did. I mean, if you can get a doctorate online then why not a daylily? It was a lesson that bare roots are not the same as blooming plants and I had to be patient. But the varieties were endless and they were less expensive. Because of my love of the Southwest US, I was especially attracted to the ones with names that were also Southwestern. That helped me hone in on my favorite hybridizer – Ned Roberts. He lived in the Southwest and his daylily names showed it.
Ruby Spider is originally from a local nursery and in bloom today.
It was a web search for his daylilies that led me to Doris and Shady Rest. It was like striking gold – she had so many of his daylilies for sale. Way more than I could afford. So, every year, I added a few. Now I have 74 Ned Roberts registered daylilies and a grand total of 198 different daylilies. They aren’t all from Shady Rest, but I loved getting my packages from her and they were a substantial contribution. More than a grower, Doris became my garden mentor. Fortunately, we are still friends on social media, but I will miss those packages.
What is your favorite place to shop for daylilies???
Prairie Wildfire originally came from a local nursery and is in bloom today.
Speaking of my beautiful Ned Robert’s spider daylily collection with Southwestern names – this original wood panel painting of Skinwalker is on sale until my last daylily blooms in 2024. The original wood panel is only $26.25 during the sale. And, I have signed prints of the painting that are only $9 with free shipping. If you miss daylilies in the winter, then now is the time to hang one on the wall! Click here or on the photo below to go to listing.
Skinwalker daylily – original painting or signed print
The daylily bloom season continues to dribble along. I have nearly 80 scapes (or cultivators with scapes). Still, many early bloomers have not put out scapes. I am unsure what to do – I might try some high-bloom fertilizer before the monsoons hit full force. But just a little bit of fertilizer because the timing isn’t optimal. I rarely intervene like this, but after two years of high bloom rate, I feel the soil may need a little nutrition. I also don’t like to use much fertilizer when the temps are getting so high, but the rains would help.
Orchid Moonrise
I had one new cultivator today: Orchid Moonrise. I was surprised, as this one is usually not a super early bird. I love the purple color of this Ned Roberts spider. My fourth Ned spider this season, the others were Burgundy Crab, Kokopelli, and Fried Green Tomatoes.
Fried Green Tomatoes in bloom today.
I got a new computer last spring (2023) and I discovered tonight that I never moved my daylily software from my old computer. Yes – I have a software program just for my daylilies. Last year, I didn’t use it! The shift from a regular career to a “retirement” small business takes a lot of energy. I got it moved over tonight and trying to update all my cultivators. I have lost some the last two summers – and I need to take those out. I added a couple new ones last year that need to be added.
I have a system where I add a photo from each year labeled with the year. That helps me keep track of what is blooming and what is struggling. The software also lets you put a location – plus I have a daylily map of my main gardens. It also needs to be updated. This is super handy if you lose the plant pot label.
My daylily map.
If you grow daylilies and are interested in affordable software – check out this website. They also have a Facebook page and Kent, the software developer, is very responsive to customer service requests. It is seriously awesome. There are also videos on the website if you are interested in more info.
The other good thing about the software is that I can tell when a cultivator normally blooms in my yard each year. Last year, the peak was mid-July to early August. There is hope that things may pick up this year.
Don’t forget that I have my “Until the Last Daylily Blooms” sale on daylily art in my Etsy shop all summer. Check out these prints of my handpainted pictures of my daylily collection! Great wall decor for the daylily lover! Visit this link or click the photo to visit the listing.
Colorado Kid Daylilies 