My goodness, I can’t believe it’s been 5 days since I posted! Fortunately, I’ve had time to take photos. But, on top of school starting amidst a pandemic, I’m also having a Grave’s flair.
I have had nice bloomers, several with finale blooms this week. It hot, dry, and wildfires rage nearby. I don’t anticipate reblooms outside of maybe my yellow trumpets. I’ll start my improved buried pot project this weekend.
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.
Mesa Verde – Green table is Spanish. And, it looks like that from a distance during certain seasons. Mesa Verde is a climb – and if you have ever tent camped there, the temp drops accordingly. I have great memories of camping there with my daughters when they were growing up. And, in my adult life.
Yucca House National Monument – Mesa Verde National Park in the distance – 2019
Dogs have slowed down my camping there because National Parks are not dog friendly – although they would be fine in the campground – it is a drive to get in and out to dog friendly places.
The road up Mesa Verde – 2017
However, in 2017, Kachina, Maizzy and I headed up during our annual labor day trip. It was hot – too hot to hike. So, I thought the elevation would be to our advantage.
Smiling doggies – Kachina and Maizzy at Mesa Verde 2017
That was the weekend I also decided to foster my little disabled dog, Sazi, then Dotsy. Her name, Sazi Ana, is inspired by our drive through Mesa Verde that day.
Mesa Verde 2017
The ruins of Mesa Verde are unique cliff dwellings. It has probably been close to 15 years since I went by myself on spring break and climbed one of the ladders. Folks, I have a huge fear of heights and that was nothing I would ever repeat. But it does give some idea what the Ancient Pueblo Indians must have lived like. I always wonder how they ever kept toddlers off of the ladders without baby gates.
Mesa Verde – 2017
Mesa Verde – 2017
Mesa Verde is also a gorgeous daylily with outrageous ruffles. She was another of my early Southwest named daylilies.
Mesa Verde daylily – 2019
I was naive before thinking that there might be a few dozen kinds of daylily. Somehow, I figured out about ordering bare-root on-line. The first year, I just picked fun colors. After that, I picked Southwest names.
Mesa Verde Daylily – 2018
Mesa Verde is decidedly pink until the sun hits – then she resembles the orange cliffs of her name sake.
Mesa Verde daylily – 2018
Her pot is over growing in grass. I was going to fix that in March, until COVID-19 hit and I didn’t want to go buy soil until it was too late. Perhaps this fall.
Mesa Verde daylily – 2018
This weekend, I am repainting my Monument Valley mural. I think living vicariously during the safer-at-home phase of corona virus has inspired the creative in me. My creativity has been totally shut down for the last year or two. Feels good to be covered in mural paint.
Mesa Verde tile painting – 2019
A couple of Christmases ago, I did try my hand at painting Mesa Verde. The flower, that is.
Anasazi is a Navajo word meaning “enemy ancestors” – but today we equate the word with the Ancient Pueblo people of the Southwest. This week, I talked about Chaco Canyon, which was the center of the population – like our New York. If there was a pandemic, it would likely center at Chaco. But, I have visited so many Ancient Pueblo ruins on my trips that it is mind boggling. Here are some favorites:
Maybe we should start at the center: Chaco Canyon, NM – The Center of the Universe!
Chaco Canyon – 2014
Chaco Canyon has outlying ruins that are miles and miles away – We have visited the two directly to the north – Salmon and Aztec Ruins National Monument near Farmington, NM.
Salmon Ruins – 2016
Aztec Ruins – 2016
One of the most interesting of the Chacoan Outliers is Chimney Rock near Durango, CO. My heavens, I had the worst vertigo when we camped there in 2009. This is the highest of all the Chacoan Ruins and they think it was used to send smoke signals to the other sites! It was beautiful and rainy on the day I visited.
Chimney Rock – 2009
Of course, not too far west of Chimney Rock is the famous Mesa Verde National Park. I started fostering my little disabled dog the same weekend we visited Mesa Verde. She was Dotsie in her past life, and I was trying to think of a name that rhymed, so she is Sazi Ana.
Mesa Verde – 2017
Not to talk politics (save me from that during this pandemic!), but White House Ruins at Canyon de Chelly, AZ is also part of the the system. I miss this canyon.
White House Ruins, Canyon de Chelly – 2018
Lowry Pueblo is a very interesting outlier not too far from my home. I love this one because you have to drive through rural farm land to reach the site. I love the figurines in the kiva – they represent summer and winter people.
Lowry Pueblo – 2019
Then, let’s zoom up to Utah to Edges of the Cedars State Park, where there is another Chacoan outlier. They had a crazy large geographic area for that time in civilization.
Edges of the Cedars State Park, UT – 2019
There were other Ancestral Puebloan ruins that are not direct Chaco outliers, like the ruins at Petrified Forest National Park. I love the Agate House – a ruin made of petrified wood!
Agate House, Petrified Forest National Park – 2018
And, Navajo National Monument has Betatakin and other Ancient Pueblo ruins.
Navajo National Monument – 2016
My old favorite, Hovenweep National Monument, has awesome Ancient Pueblo castle ruins.
Hovenweep National Monument – 2019
Some lesser known Ancient Pueblo Ruins we have visited include Five Kiva Pueblo near Blanding, UT.
Five Kiva Pueblo, UT – 2019
And, Yucca House National Monument near Cortez, CO.
Yucca House National Monument – 2019
I think the furthest one from the Four Corners is at Anasazi State Park in Utah – way up in the mountains near Boulder, UT.
Anasazi State Park, UT – 2019
That is a lot of ruins for one daylily. And, that Daylily is Anasazi. How on earth could I resist a name like this one? She was a bitty fan when I first got her – took her a few years to bloom. But, the first year she bloomed, she threw a double. It was memorizing.
Anasazi daylily double bloom – 2017
She usually blooms fairly early, but is a rebloomer.
Anasazi daylily – 2018
She looks a bit slow to take-off this spring. I probably should refresh her soil – the ants like her pot so I probably should take a look at the roots.
Anasazi daylily – 2019
I have other cultivators that would fit with this blog, but I will wait because I am trying to savor the vicarious daylily road trip for a couple more weeks.
This year, there was no spring break road trip – adios, Albuquerque. Adios to the best week of the year. Adios to the canyons of the Southwest. The only novel adventure this year is named Corona – and I don’t mean the arch in Utah.
Petroglyph National Monument HQ – 2014
Albuquerque is about 6-8 hours down US Hwy 550. In fact, that highway starts in Montrose and ends in Albuquerque.
Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque, NM – 2014
When I think of Albuquerque, I think of my 2014 road trip with my new dog, Maizzy, and my new Honda Fit, Mini Pearl. I had plans for Chaco Canyon and for Route 66, and what lie in between was a mystery – my choice of which way to turn on the open road. The first couple of years, I didn’t get reservations until the day I left the previous motel. More dogs = more planning.
Petroglyph National Monument – 2014
I don’t like cities, so I was zooming as quickly as I could from US Hwy 550 to I-40 (Route 66) when I noticed a sign for Petroglyph National Monument. I was like – “Well, that sounds interesting”, so off I went. There was a dog friendly section where we hiked until mid afternoon.
Maizzy – my non-desert dog in the desert at Petroglyph National Monument
Road trips through the Southwest are geology on wheels. I found these petroglyphs stunning because they were on volcanic rock and not red sandstone like I am use to. This one looks like Charlie Brown with a baseball cap to me.
Charlie Brown Petroglyph and Petroglyph National Monument
From there, we headed west on I-40. I saw signs for El Malpias National Monument, so we stopped there for a short scenic drive. It was like a combo of volcanic rock and red sandstone. I realized they what I realize most everyday of every road trip – that I play too long and run out of time before I want to stop.
El Malpias National Monument – 2014
The other cool place near Albuquerque is Salinas Mission Pueblos National Monument. We didn’t run into these 2016. That was another serendipity where we were on a stretch of highway with nothing to do between point A and point B – then there was this photo on the wall of ruins – and I had to find them.
Maizzy at Salinas Mission Pueblo Ruins – 2016
Last year, our trip took us through that area, again – so I went with all three dogs. I love the big old mission buildings as a background for my small dogs.
Kachina, Sazi, and Maizzy at Salinas Mission Pueblo Ruins National Monument – 2019
These trips to me are Albuquerque – unique in culture and landscape. Adios Albuquerque was added to my daylily garden in 2016, I think. After these trips that are forever engraved in my memory. I put it in my Southwest garden with (mostly) other Ned Roberts spiders.
Adios Albuquerque daylily – 2019
The garden was put in where there was only rock garden – on the easement between the sidewalk and the street. I have no back yard, because it is a split lot – so I actually have almost all of these daylilies in buried pots in case the water main ever busts there.
Adios Albuquerque daylily – 2019
I like the bloom – it is subtle. Albuquerque was Ned’s home until he moved to Colorado for treatment – at least that is my understanding. He, no doubt, loved the New Mexico culture. It is different from Colorado . . . it must have been hard for him to say Adios, Albuquerque. Fortunately, I have his daylilies to take me on a road trip on the year of the pandemic.
Adios Albuquerque daylily 2019
Colorado Kid Daylilies 