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.
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
Simon and Garfunkel were spot on. July and daylily season will fly by. Time is different in July. The flowers . . . what will bloom and when will it bloom? Blogs are a way to document the days when daylilies dominate our lives. They fly by too fast to remember without written record.
Rainbow over my garden tonight 7.2
I had 3 new Ned Roberts spiders today, and 6 total premiere blooms for 2022. I’m still in the 20s for bloom totals each day. Peak is 40-60, so we need premiere to outnumber finales for a bit longer.
Pueblo Dreamer AKA Bark at Me 7.2
The first Roberts spider was sold to me as either Pueblo Dreamer or Pueblo Dancer. It’s never fit either description. It hated life until I put it in a pot with a soak hose. I thought that might be making the bloom weird. But, she is happy now and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s Roberts’ Bark at Me. In my Southwest Visions garden? Well, I always take the dogs on road trips. Woof.
Pink Rain Dance 7.2
Pink Rain Dance is timely this year in the middle of monsoon season. And, Land of Enchantment takes me to all our trips to New Mexico. Last summer was fun visiting Truchas, Chimayo, and Ghost Ranch.
Land of Enchantment 7.2
South Seas is a nice coral color that put in an appearance, but not in the Southwest garden.
South Seas 7.2
Sweet Petite Petticoats opened. I think she is my favorite small all yellow bloom
Petite Petticoats 7.2
Canyon Colors is a favorite but struggling a bit. The bloom obviously has bug damage. July has definitely brought the bugs. Always a tough problem in the daylily garden.
Colorado Kid Daylilies 