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

New 2024 Daylily Blooms: Stunning Photos and Varieties Revealed

July 21, 2024Leave a comment

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.

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A post shared by Cathy Hartt (@artfromthehartt)

Below are my Ned Roberts’ spiders that are new since my last post.

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.)

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.

My Wildflower Dogs on our camping trip this week.

Peaks and Wildflowers

I have a wonderful trip to Hahns Peak, Colorado – and to Pearl Lake State Park which is named after my grandmother. The land was once a summer sheep pasture for my granddad’s companies. Grandma sold it to the Forrest Service – and the State Parks owns that portion with the Lake. This is my blog post from last year – I am still working on my post for this year so please check back in a few days.

If I didn’t get much of a daylily peak this year, at least I got a break in the heat at a picturesque Colorado peak.

Hahns Peak (background) from Steamboat Lake State Park, July 2024.

Until the Last Daylily Blooms Sale: 30% Off Starting Tomorrow

Just a quick reminder about the Until the Last Daylily Blooms sale. Prices drop again tomorrow – 30% off for the next month on daylily wall art, tile art, planters, and cards. I also added my hypertufa and cement yard art and pet memorials. Please visit my last post to see details on the yard art and memorials. So, please come check it out at my Etsy shop!

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 Mountain Peak in Kansas

July 19, 2023July 19, 2023Leave a comment

Peak this year is going to be more of a Kansas Peak than a Colorado Peak. So many plants either succumbed to the prolonged freeze-thaw or they just didn’t put out scapes. Many early bloomers seem to be missing, but my garden is trying.

I came home from camping to 15 new cultivators in bloom for the first time in 2023. Here is my Instagram reel from today.

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A post shared by Cathy Hartt (@coloradokiddaylilies)

Names in order: The Colorado Kid, Burgundy Crab, Papa Longlegs, Kachina Dancer, Apache Beacon, Black Ice, Cheyenne Eyes, Indian Giver, Soco Gap, Melon Balls, Mini Pearl, Classy Lady, Orange Flurry, Cherokee Star, Platinum Pink Pallette Whispers.

Here is my Instagram from Sunday. I don’t think I posted it since we went camping.

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Tomorrow’s another daylily.

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.

July Daylily Round-up N-Z

August 1, 20211 Comment

Here is part 1 of this blog post These posts include all daylilies that were in bloom in July in my yard. Please see first post for more details.

Nosferatu 7.12-7.19 (end 7.19-7.24 during vaca)

Oh Erica 7.17 (end 7.19-7.24 during vaca)

Pizza Crust (started week of 7.19)-present

Purple Grasshopper 6.11-present. Non-stop!

Red Hot Returns 7.11-7.19 (ended 7.19-7.25 during vaca)

Royal Braid 7.18 (ended 7.19-7.25 during vaca)

Ruby Spider 6.22-7.19 (ended 7.19-7.24 during vaca)

Spirit of the Morning 7.12-8.1 (unless I missed a bud)

No U, No V – I need to fix that with some new flowers 🙂

No X, either!

Yellow Punch 6.15-7.4 (first encore 7.31)

That is all for July, folks. Look for our Colorado Day (8/1) blooms up next!

Records Broken

July 11, 20211 Comment

I remember my sister had a gold colored Chipmunks record when I was a kid. Dad got frustrated by Alvin, Theodore and Simon. The record was broken. We will leave it right there.

Yesterday, Grand Junction reached 107 degrees for the first time in written weather history. And, today I woke up to 68 cultivators. I believe that’s a new record. My computer is choking on the picture files, too.

Today brought 5 premiers. I need to post from my phone while my computer deletes files.

Orange Flurry 7.10 – another bonus, I believe

Fooled Me 7.10 – An early xeroscaping plant

Truchas Sunrise- 7.10 – A nice Roberts spiders that makes me long for my road trip in a couple of weeks.

Baja 7.10 – I have had this one a while. Nice velvet bloom.

So, looks like we are still on top of the Mesa. We will see what tomorrow brings.

July’s Colorful Parade

July 31, 20203 Comments

Are you ready for a beautiful July parade? Here goes – a listing of all of my daylilies that had first blooms in July. I count 81. Enjoy!

Catching Up is Hard to Do

July 19, 2020July 19, 2020Leave a comment

I spent some time today trying to re-orient myself to the new lot of daylilies that are in bloom since I got home from my road trip. I got the spent scapes cut off and tried to make a list of finales. I would like to make a list of all the ones with scapes not yet bloomed and all the ones that aren’t trying.

Anyway, I went back through the 7.8 and 7.16 photos and found more premiers. Plus, there were 5 premiers today (at least first bloom since I got home). The total is 114 that have bloomed. That’s a 67% bloom rate. To hit 80%, we will need 37 cultivators to bloom. Twenty-three more. That’s tight but we can hope. I’ll count unbloomed scapes tomorrow.

Here are the premiers from today:

And, to backtrack, here are the premiers from 7.16.20 that I finally had time to look at today. I always come home to rain – so these guys look like they just showered.

Autumn Jewels looks sad but she bloomed 7.16.1

Papa Long Legs first and last bloom 7.16.20

So, that is it . . . back to a normal pace except work starts Monday. However, I am suppose to have July off so I plan to work from home unless they demand otherwise. Plus, I am waiting out the two-week COVID risk.

I worked on transplanting succulent cuttings and transplanting a few succulents into larger pots. I don’t have tons of love left for my orchids . . . so I use those pots but fill the holes with moss. It takes a while but it is relaxing.

Just for the record, here is a list of all of the finales so far for 2020: Apache Uprising (I missed this one but it did bloom), Ruby Spider (today), Lime Frost, Return a Smile (unless she reblooms), Early Bird Cardinal, Prairie Wildfire, Catherine Irene, Thin Man, Comanche Princess, The Colorado Kid, Blue Beat, Mildred Mitchell, Mauna Loa, Mesa Verde, Heron’s Cove, Canyon Colors (today), Jungle Queen, Wineberry Candy, Just Plum Happy, Raspberry Propeller, Santa’s Pants, Red Mystery, Bella Boo, Nosferatwo, Coral Taco, Pink Enchalada, Pink Rain Dance, Zuni Eye (I missed this one but it did bloom), Papa Long Legs, Land of Enchantment, All American Chief, Purple Many Faces, Indian Love Call, Laughing Feather, Coyote Laughs, Kokopelli, Hopi Jewel, Mount Echo Sunrise, Holy Sombrero, Ojo De Dios, Rocky Mountain Pals, Kachina Firecracker, Kiva Dancer, Echo Canyon, Indian Giver, Funny Valentine, Wild Horses, Inwood, Primal Scream, Lacy Doily, Nurse’s Stethoscope, Canyon Colors (today), Kachina Dancer (today), Apache Bandana (today). Not bad for 6 weeks!

Tired

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019Leave a comment

It’s crazy – I had 13 cultivators in bloom today. Hello . . . It’s August 20th. The weather is now acting like desert weather. Hot and dry. It was in the 90s today.

Purple Corn Dancer 8.20

It’s been a year tomorrow since my surgery. After that, I could not be in the sun for a few months, so the blog just stopped . . . Until the poinsettias bloomed. I only had Purple Corn Dancer in bloom, anyway. Healing was a journey.

Purple Thunderbird 8.20

I never know what to think this time of year. Tired of the heat but dreading the cold, dark seasons ahead. Tired of my camera but don’t want to miss the late bloomers. Hate to see camping season end but ready for some mellow hikes around home. I think my daylilies are in a similar place with life right now – still blooming but longing for a rest.

Cripple Creek 8.20

PS – I ordered my new 2 in one laptop. My old one was tired, too.

Shape Shifter 8.20

Purple Grasshopper 8.20

Indian Sky 8.20

Orange Flurry 8.20

El Desperado 8.20

Chaco Canyon 8.20

Coberg Fright Wig 8.20

Ruby Stella 8.20

Frans Hals 8.20

The Daylilies of Winter

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019Leave a comment

The heat of July is upon us! I got stung by a wasp last night and I get a local, allergic reaction. So, my hand is red, swollen, blistered and itches horribly. Summer . . . one of my favorite seasons. Yet, those bugs . . .

So, to shift thoughts to times where wasps are non-existent, let me shift to our one and only Premier daylily bloom today. (I still had almost 60 in bloom). Her name is Candy Cane Dreams and I got her as a bonus with Santa’s Pants. I had no idea where to put her, so she is in the barrel planter with Black-Eyed Susan and Stella. She is kind of cool – she does look like Santa’s Pants!