I woke up to over 60 different daylily cultivator blooms today, again. I keep thinking that it is slowing down until I count the shots on my cell phone. So, if between taking the photos, posting the cell shots to Facebook, downloading/editing the camera shots, and blogging, I spend 5 minutes per cultivator (a conservative estimate) . . . well, do the math.
This year is weird because I made significant changes. I put my Southwest garden daylilies all in nicer pots with weed guard underneath (they are buried) to keep tree roots from destroying the pot. When I did that, I refreshed the soil with miracle grow plus their organic soil. It took weeks and a lot were really locked in with tree roots. I also refreshed the soil in all my front path pots – it had really collapsed over time. I added or improved drip systems in all areas that needed it. So, that is the positive. Oh, perhaps the biggest thing of all is that I am semi retired so have way more time to water regularly. My drip systems are not automatic.
On mother nature’s side, we are in a bad drought, again – it was a dry spring with a late, cold spell but little moisture. More like a fan got turned on high. We did have a little monsoon action for the week before the 4th of July. We are still somewhere between severe and extreme drought. And, that is an improvement from last month! It is hot with record breaking temps close to or at 100 degrees.
Put it all together and I have a lot of June bloomers that have scapes but haven’t bloomed yet, but my later bloomers are blooming pretty much on schedule. So, it is a bit of grid lock as the early birds are still in the intersections as the later blooms enter the scene. We are, therefore, still on the Grand Daylily Mesa (vs peak season) with 64 cultivators, with 5 premiers and 3 finales (so net gain of 2 in bloom).
Several of the premiers are Roberts spiders today – which is cool because we had several finales recently in that collection. Here we go!
Ghost Ranch 7.12 – Big surprise because I have had issues keeping this one alive in my yard. This is one fan that is in a group planter – the first bloom since I added the second try. I am buying a couple more fans this fall. This is a Roberts spider and it’s named after a place we are going camping next week!Hesperus 7.12 – A giant yellow spider that brightens my driveway garden.Nosferatu 7.12 – A large, dark purple daylily that adds a nice splash of color.Spirit of the Morning 7.12 – Another Roberts spider. I think he named her because she has no UV resistance. Gotta get out early with the camera to see her at her best. I love the colors.Taco Twister 7.12 – Reminds me of yellow ringlets. This one comes later in the season (about now) but I still have early birds like Kokopelli with buds.
Finales for today (if I didn’t miss one):
Happy Returns finale 7.12Bella Boo finale 7.12Inwood finale 7.12
Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Today, I logged about 6 hours on daylily duty. How much time do you spend during peak season?
What a long day . . . meetings, packing, daylilies. The day before a roadtrip making I have insurance and AAA cards, etc. And, the first time I went into work since March 13! How crazy is that?. Gosh, I don’t miss spending 4-5 hours/week on the road.
Talon threw a double today 7.7.20
Anyway – let’s get today tied up since it is already tomorrow – which means I’m on vacation. Except I have to do some work before I leave tomorrow. But, well, who cares.
Coyote Laughs 7.7.20
Premiers – a huge event in the Southwest Garden – Coyote Laughs bloomed! After 4 years in my garden – she bloomed for the very first time. She looks like Winds of Love.
Lobo Lucy 7.7.20
And, speaking of 4-legged dog-type wild beasts – Lobo Lucy also premiered for 2020 today.
Nosferatu 7.7.20
The REAL Nosferatu also premiered – the Nosferatwo mystery is similar, but redder.
Lacy Doily 7.7.20
Lacy Doily is the cutest little mini double bloom. She also premiered.
Just Plum Happy photo from 2018
I am going to mention the elusive Just Plum Happy here because she is growing sort of under a shrub in the border garden and I missed her premier yesterday. This is the first time ever for her to bloom in the border garden (I have another one potted) – thank you drip system.
Ojo de Dios 7.7.20
Now, some finales 😦 Two Roberts Spiders – Ojo de Dios has been an amazing bloomer this summer.
Purple Many Faces 7.7.20
Purple Many Faces is also calling it a year.
Primal Scream 7.7.20
And, Primal Scream is going quiet until 2021.
Nurse’s Stethoscope 7.7.20
Last but not least – my Nurse’s Stethoscope is off-shift until next year.
It will be weird to miss nearly a week of bloomers – I hope I don’t miss any few-buds wonders all together. I will blog tomorrow, then break-time while I blog about my trip for my grands and anyone else who likes SW travel on my other blog.
PS – We have hit 80 cultivators for 2020. Fourty-seven percent. Seems like more when I am going through all the photos.
I left the new sprinkler system on too long – I got on a video meeting and totally forgot. I am sure I will have the water bill from h@## this summer. Why??? Because see the map below – the darkest red is an “exceptional drought”. The blue circle is my home region. It is a drought year, and getting worse each day.
It’s the kind of year where there are less scapes and more buds that just turn brown and fall-off. Two years ago, we were probably in worse shape at this point . . . and that is why I started to think about more drip systems. I mean, mine are DIY but they do the trick to make the ground moist. Even if they cost more than mom nature. Water now . . . before the restrictions!
Ruby Spider 6.23.20
I had a few premiers today. Let’s start with Ruby Spider. While I always liked daylilies, she is the first one I looked forward to every year. She is the first one that had her own unique flower-ality.
Primal Scream 6.23.20
Primal Scream – I had to have this one early in my daylily days because of the name! I got this sad, inexpensive fan that took a couple years to bloom. Then, the garden store sold me something they labeled as Desert Flame – but I am 99.9% sure it is also Primal Scream. So, I have one on the porch that is big and blooming.
Mount Echo Sunrise 6.23.20
Mount Echo Sunrise – A Robert’s spider with the coolest green throat and beautiful light yellow color. She lives up to her name.
Mystery Daylily – “Nosferatwo” 6.23.20
Then – one of my mystery daylilies that were dying in a garden I put them in before I was into daylilies. They were little seedling sized things. I noticed that about the same time I realized my potted daylilies were 2-3 X the size as my in-ground babies. So, I put them in a pot together not having a clue what was what. I think this may be Nosferatu but I really don’t know, so she is called Nosferatwo for now.
Indian Love Call 6.23.20
I have my droughts that it will be as high of a bloom rate as last year. There are some cultivators who are still small and scapeless. These poor babies came from down South – daylily land. Here they are in the stinkin’ desert doing their best despite their droughts. (I had 21 in bloom today . . . let’s see what tomorrow brings.)
What a long day. I started at 6:30 AM ET and it’s now tomorrow ET. But, I’m back on MT. And, I’ve been home since 8 PM MT. It’s the time of year where there is still a little light. So, of course, I raced to take daylily photos. Not the best photography AND the poor flowers have had a long day, too. I had 72 cultivators today – it’s another record breaker.
Wow – It will be August next weekend. The daylily peak has come and gone. The cultivators were in the teens today . . . a massive drop off from 2-3 weeks ago. It is funny how the first 3 weeks of June are slow progress, then it explodes, then it goes to just a few here and there for months.
Today, we had one new cultivator. Heirloom Heaven bloomed for the first time in 2018. She is an adorable late-blooming mini. She is my last unbloomed scape on a cultivator that hasn’t bloomed yet. This could be it. It seems like I usually get some August scapes . . . not many, but a handful. I don’t know with this drought, though.
Heirloom Heaven 7.29
And, I had a rude awakening last night – because Mount Echo Sunrise doesn’t look anything like Mount Echo Sunrise. I looked at her tag, and she has two. The other one says Moon over Chimayo . . . and she looks like that one. So, I assume . . .
Moon over Chimayo 7.27
Finales:
Lullabye Baby 7.29
Roll Call 7/23-29:
Adios Albuquerque 7.26
Anasazi 7.27
Apache Uprising 7.25
Aztec Firebird 7.27
Baja 7.25
Bela Lugosi 7.24
Blue Beat 7.25
Bluegrass Music 7.24
Bold Tiger 7.23
Cheddar Cheese 7.24
Cherokee Star 7.28
Chorus Line 7.26
Classy Lady 7.27
Comanche Princess 7.28
Dream Catcher (with Navajo Curls) 7.27
El Desperado 7.24
Fox Ears 7.25
Heron’s Cove 7.27
Hesperus 7.25
Indian Love Call 7.24
Indian Sky 7.24
Lady Fingers 7.25
Lime Frost 7.26
Longlesson Show-off 7.23
Marque Moon 7.24
Mildred Mitchell 7.23
Mini Pearl 7.29
Navajo Curls 7.24
Navajo Rodeo 7.23
Nearly Wild 7.28
Nosferatu 7.26
Orange Vols 7.24
Passionate Returns 7.29
Pick of the Litter 7.23
Pink and Cream 7.29
Pizza Crust 7.28
Prairie Blue Eyes 7.28
Prelude to Love 7.25
Purple Corn Dancer 7.26
Purple de Oro 7.24
Purple Moonrise 7.27
Purple Thunderbird 7.26
Raspberry Propeller 7.28
Rosie’s Red 7.23
Route 66 7.26
Royal Palace Prince 7.27
Ruby Stella 7.28
South Seas 7.27
Stephanie Returns 7.23
Tiger Kitten 7.27
Twirling Pinata 7.24
Yellow Punch 7.26
56 for the week . . . that is all! I bet we are down to half of that by next week.
It is a busy life when I try to add anything. And, this weekend brought an intense application and the rodeo. I did it, got both checked off the agenda. I have been tired all day, through – despite sleeping until 10AM. So, without further ado, here are the Friday and Saturday finales (see date for the finale date). Our cultivators in bloom are dwindling quickly. Still, we had over 20 in bloom today.
Finales:
Purple de Oro 7.27
Aztec Firebird 7.27
Purple Moonrise 7.27
Lime Frost 7.28
Nosferatu 7.28
Twirling Pinata 7.28
My little friends say goodbye. I think about fall work to enhance bloom, again. I have a few to put in pots or divide. My energy is not anything like last summer, where every second of August was spent putting daylilies in buried pots. Actually, glad I did it last year. Especially with the drought. Where on earth did I get that energy?
Other cultivators the past 2 days include: Cherokee Star, Purple Corn Dancer, Purple Thunderbird, Dream Catcher, Mount Echo Sunrise, Chorus Line, Mini Pearl, Hesperus, Ruby Stella, Indian Sky, Orange Vols, Prairie Blue Eyes, Raspberry Propeller, Nearly Wild, El Desperado, Pizza Crust, Marque Moon, South Seas, Baja, Comanche Princess, Pink and Cream, Anasazi, Lady Fingers, Royal Palace Prince, Navajo Curls, Heron’s Cove, Tiger Kitten, Classy Lady, Prelude to Love.
It is roll-call day! But, first, a dedication. It is camping weekend and I was listening to a song “Desperado” on my ipod. I have always identified with the song. So, I will put El Desperado as our lead photo today.
Desperado – The Eagles
Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses? You been out ridin’ fences for so long now Oh, you’re a hard one I know that you got your reasons These things that are pleasin’ you Can hurt you somehow
Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds, boy She’ll beat you if she’s able You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet
Now it seems to me, some fine things Have been laid upon your table But you only want the ones that you can’t get
Desperado, oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home And freedom, oh freedom well, that’s just some people talkin’ Your prison is walking through this world all alone
Don’t your feet get cold in the winter time? The sky won’t snow and the sun won’t shine It’s hard to tell the night time from the day You’re losin’ all your highs and lows Ain’t it funny how the feeling goes away?
Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses? Come down from your fences, open the gate It may be rainin’, but there’s a rainbow above you You better let somebody love you (let somebody love you) You better let somebody love you before it’s too late
OK – so new to the garden for the first time in 2018 today is Pizza Crust. I get a little hungry looking at her because I am stuck with low cholesterol pizza that doesn’t have much crust.
It is time for Sunday roll call. But first, a couple cool new Roberts Spiders. Meet Mount Echo Sunrise – She is a big spider that reminds me of Dream Catcher. This is her first-ever bloom in my yard – I put her in a couple years ago.
Then there is Sante Fe Christmas – And she looks like a Christmas bow. Red, green with curly petals. I really love her – too bad she lost her other buds. Despite the improved bloom rate, the drought has taken a toll.
Next up – Finales. Of course, Santa Fe Christmas is a finale today 😦
Primal Scream is another finale.
Primal Scream 7.10
Jungle Queen had finale blooms on both pots I have of her.
Jungle Queen 7.12
Iktomi is another finale. I have enjoyed seeing the patterns in her offspring.
Iktomi 7.9
Happy Hopi gave a finale bloom today. I really enjoyed her big, bold, blonde blooms.
Happy Hopi 7.12
Now, on to our roll call. These are the blooms from 7/9 through today. But, first, we have about 12 with unbloomed scapes remaining and mid-50s with no bloom/no scape. We are at 107 cultivators (+/-). Add 12, and we get close to 120. I am still hoping for 130 total this year.