Oh, the Places We’ll Go: Ghost Ranch

May 8, 2020May 8, 2020Leave a comment

I live for my spring road trip, my summer camping trips and my daylilies. The first was knocked out by COVID-19. The second is on hold for an undetermined amount of time. The daylilies are my hope right now.

Ghost Ranch, NM on a windy day in 2016

I’m a nurse, I have no issues with staying home and taking care of myself – except for the obvious grief for things I love way more than Christmas.

Old log cabin at Ghost Ranch, 2016

So, Saturday Night, I decided to watch City Slickers on Amazon. I haven’t seen that movie since it came out. It was funnier than I remembered. But, something looked different this time . . . the scenery on the first shots. I knew where it was filmed – instantly. De ja voo. Because of my road trips. It was Ghost Ranch!

The Colorado Plateau from Ghost Ranch, 2016

The funny thing about that scenery is that I would never have visited the place except that I had a daylily by that name. Ghost Ranch named for Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.

Hike at Ghost Ranch, 2016

It has been a few years since that road trip. I remember the big wind storm that started the day before as we drove through the ruins near Albuquerque. But, by the next day, it was a full-blown Southwestern windstorm. I hit one almost every spring road trip. Not this year, though.

Dust storm at sunset over Farmington, NM – 2016

This one I remember because I was excited to see Ghost Ranch, but the short hike was a little uncomfortable with the winds. And, the landscape wasn’t as vibrant because of the dust. But, I understood why the hybridizer (Ned Roberts) thought the place was worth naming a daylily after.

Ghost Ranch Daylily in Bloom – 2019

My Ghost Ranch daylilies have struggled a bit. I lost a couple. Last year, I tried again. And, they survived the winter. So, I guess we will see what summer brings. I hope the blooms with my favorite road trip names aren’t cancelled.

Ghost Ranch Daylily in Bloom – 2016

I think I will kick-off my 2020 daylily blog with all of my road trip named daylilies – Adios Albuquerque, Anasazi, Aztec Firebird, Chaco Canyon, Cripple Creek, Glen Eyrie, Hesperus, Land of Enchantment, Mesa Verde, Mount Echo Sunrise, Route 66, Trochas Sunrise. Oh, the places we will go – right in my own back yard.

Route 66

July 24, 2019Leave a comment

Route 66 is, of course, a famous highway that runs partially through the Southwest. We usually pass over it going and coming from our spring road trip to the desert. Route 66 is also the name of one of my favorite daylilies. It was the first place name daylily that I got and after that, I was hooked. My daylily names are like points on a road trip a lot of the time.

Route 66, Flagstaff, Arizona

Today, I had 66 cultivators blooming in my yard. I was thinking about Route 66 (she was in bloom and is the lead photo) and my own route to having 66 daylilies in bloom in one day. In 2015, I had 7. I now have 10X the number of daylilies. How did I get here? . . . well, I started at local nurseries. Then I tried one online site, then another. Eventually, I got attached to my Ned Roberts spiders and found a couple growers with good supplies of those. (I now have around 70 of his cultivators.) I also found the lily auction – which was fun but I get into trouble on that site. LOL.

Some of the daylilies I got in 2015/16 are having their first bloom this year. I think it takes them time to adapt to the desert – and last year, we had the exceptional drought. The year before that, I transplanted them into buried pots – so that was another adjustment. Anyway – it is cool to finally see some of these after tending them for a few years.

A couple of our Premiers today have been around that long and finally blooming. One is Navajo Grey Hills and another is Fringe Benefit. Navajo Grey Hills was a sought after Ned Roberts Southwest named daylily. Fringe Benefit, on the other hand, was a bonus plant that looks nothing like the Fringe Benefit I see online. But, oh well. I honestly had no idea what it looked like until today. I like both of them a lot!

So, without further ado, here are the Premiers (it’s not slowing down – So far, 133 blooms or about 74% bloom rate. Last year this date we were at 123 – and I have a lot more scapes left this year.):

“Fringe Benefit” bonus plant 7/23

Navajo Grey Hills 7/23

Fol da Rol 7/23

Lime Frost 7/23

Glen Eyrie 7/23

Adios Albuquerque 7/23

Bold Tiger 7/23

Roadtrip!

July 8, 2017July 8, 2017Leave a comment

Today’s new blooms remind me of my annual road trip to the southwest. First, an old friend that is ailing a little this year, Route 66. I am hoping my driveway drip system kicks this one back in because I think I will only get 2 blooms this year, and this one is very undersized.

The second one is absolutely gorgeous: Dream Catcher. It bloomed last year, but this year the blooms seem bigger and more iridescent. It totally looks like the dream catchers that the Navajo sell at the roadside stands along the highway. And, if this is in the middle of my Southwest Garden, then there is hope for more blooms next year. In fact, Adios Albuquerque is sending up a scape!!!

My garden has been my road trip this week. I am so grateful for a hobby with so much positive emotion. Gardens are a great place to heal and escape the obsessions that create imbalance all around me now. I am obsessed with my blooms.

I had 23 in bloom today. So, the peak is close. I am a little bummed to have to leave for a business trip in the middle of it. I hope I don’t miss too much. I wish I could have a webcam on each of my daylilies.

Tomorrow – pretty sure there will be new faces. Who knows? That is the joy of daylily season.

Back to the Drawing Board

July 27, 2016Leave a comment

Going back to the drawing board is both literal and figurative for me this day. And, when you are a creative, drawing boards can help generate positive emotion.

When I buy daylilies with southwestern names, I usually am attracted to names like Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon – places where I have been. With Ghost Ranch, I put the cart before the horse. Or, the daylily before the trip.

Oh, the name sounded southwestern, and it is a Ned Roberts bloom, so I Googled it. Much to my surprise, this place called Ghost Ranch was just over in my neighbor, New Mexico. At first, I saw it said no dogs. But, I did call the morning we were driving through that area on the road trip. Dogs, sure! Just bring a leash.

This is a beautiful place that is the subject of Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings. It is clearly on the Colorado Plateau – I knew as soon as saw the rock structures. The only downside was that we got there during the beginning of a good size windstorm, so hiking was not as fun and the light was rather muted. At any rate, here is Ghost Ranch on Ghost Ranch . . . my drawing board.

Ghost Ranch was the only new bloom today. I had 10 different cultivators today. Nice little smiles, each. My last Blue Beat, though. See you next year! No, wait. See you when I break out the Christmas present paint.

From R to L: Top Row – Classy Lady, Fine Time Lucille, Desert Icicle, Blue Beat, South Seas. Row Two: Primal Scream, Lullaby Baby, Ghost Ranch, Marque Moon, Mini Pearl.

Twin Firebirds

July 16, 2016July 16, 2016Leave a comment

Today was much less overwhelming than peak day yesterday. Every bloom was a return. However, the bloom(s) that caught my eye were twin Aztec Firebirds. There is something about two blooms together, facing the same direction. They look like dancers.

Aztec Firebird – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The name brings to mind Aztec Ruins, an Anasazi site close by in the Four Corners. I need to superimpose these blooms on the ruins picture from my spring Southwest road trip this spring. They are awesome ruins, just like the blooms.

Aztec Ruins National Monument – Photo by C. Hartt

Since I have no new blooms, I will highlight a couple of other Ned Roberts spiders in bloom today. Desert Icicle is a beautiful bloom.

Desert Icicle – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, poor Zuni Thunderbird was invaded by thrips and looks like it has reverse measles. I did some photo touching with it to make it presentable. One thing about having over a hundred cultivators – you begin to learn the work of farming daylilies.

Zuni Thunderbird in enamel – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

So, here is the collage for today. Some really nice blooms, all in all.

Left to Right: Top Row – Just Plum Happy, South Seas, Desert Icicle, Lady Fingers. Row Two: Chorus Line, Ruby Spider, Soco Gap, Lullaby Baby. Bottom Row: Purple de Oro, Aztec Firebird, Zuni Thunderbird.

The Daylily Dozen (plus one)

July 12, 2016July 12, 2016Leave a comment

Today, I finally had a dozen different daylilies in bloom in my yard. I limited photos, but it still took forever to go through them 😉 I decided to put today’s collage in some sort of order by color from purple to yellow.

I want to keep this short, but also share some new faces. First is a brand new face, Indian Love Call. It is a pretty dark bloom with thin peddles. Nice addition to the front yard.

Indian Love Call – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

The next one is “almost” brand new. I got South Seas toward the end of last season and I only got one bloom. I love the bright colors and large bloom size.

South Seas – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Then an old favorite, Route 66. I found this one the year that Route 66 was the epicenter of my Southwest road trip. The hybridizer created this one back when Route 66 was still more of an American dream trip. The colors are spot-on.

Route 66 – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

Another new face today is my first “Mexican Daylily” that is really called a Shell Flower. These blooms got their nickname because each bloom only lasts one day. I love the beautiful pattern on the bottom. These are bulbs that I got for $1 at the grocery store in February (all 12 of them).

“Mexican Daylily” – Photo by Colorado Kid Daylilies – C. Hartt

And, finally, below is my Daylily Dozen. It is of note that Colorado Kid almost looks like a different flower now that it is hot. It is up with the dark reds but was a pink in earlier blossoms.

From L to R. Top Row: Kokopelli, Purple de Oro, Black Ice, The Colorado Kid. Row two: Indian Love Call, Route 66, Ruby Spider, Early Bird Cardinal. Bottom Row: Mesa Verde, South Seas, Primal Scream, Lady Fingers.

What’s up for tomorrow? Lucky 13.

And Feathered Canyons Everywhere

July 5, 2016July 5, 20161 Comment

I obviously love the Southwest. Anyone who knows my daylily collection knows that over 50% of my garden has a name that brings with it some Southwestern meaning. And, so today Canyon Colors bloomed. Like Mesa Verde, the colors are much warmer in full sunlight. I think I prefer the shade version.

It is a beautiful two-colored daylily. It, like Mesa Verde, is an evergreen. So, they both lived in my back porch all winter. They have matching containers of turquoise and are positioned near each other on a sunny corner of my house. I love them together! They compliment each other nicely . . . and I feel like I’m on a campout at the Four Corners.

So, I have this idea that all my Southwestern place named daylilies need to be superimposed on a photo of their place. With Canyon Colors, I decided to use a photo of Canyon de Chelly that I took on my road trip this spring. It is shaped a lot like Spider Rock, even though it is not a spider daylily.

Other new faces for the year 2016 were both old faces to my yard. I felt like old friends had returned when I saw Lady Fingers had opened her first two blooms. These may be the most eye-catching daylily in my yard.

Also, little Purple de Oro is back. I feel bad for this little one, because I have never taken time to get a good photo of it. So, today that was my mission. How did I do?

My Ned Roberts Southwestern garden (I call it the Yucca garden) was very quiet today. Soco Gap, however, is not going to wait more than 24 hours to show her colors for the first time in my yard. I can’t wait.

As promised, the other bloomers of today were put in a single collage to save blog space. They include Jungle Queen, Ruby Spider, Early Bird Cardinal, and Mesa Verde.

After tomorrow, I will miss a couple days of blooms while I travel for clinical hours for my doctorate. I am hoping to get out early and take photos before I leave. I need to get a webcam for each plant, I guess.

PS – I divided up my Funny Valentine so my daughter could have one. She lives across the Rockies in Colorado. She has a bloom today, and I am still waiting on scapes.

Getting my Kicks

June 8, 2016June 8, 2016Leave a comment

As the scapes grow in preparation for blooms and the outdoor thermostat gets turned up, I think about the first sign of spring. For me, that is my Southwest road trip. It is a new tradition for the last three years. When you drive south from Colorado, it is nearly impossible not to hit #Route66.

The first year, it was the goal to travel Route 66. We took the old road as much as we could, and took the Route 66 turnout at our end point, the Petrified Forest. I love this old car at the turn-out!

The Petrified Forest/Painted Desert have become favorite stops because they are #dogfriendly. There are very few National Parks with such open rules about dogs. So, it is a great ice cream and a hike stop.

And, the scenery is like something out of Jurassic Park. What was once the far point of my trip is now more of a gateway to the Senora Desert.

So, what does this matter to a daylily blog? Well, first of all, I take the trip about the time that the daylilies are starting to send up new growth for the year. But the other really cool part is that after that first trip to Route 66, I came home to find a daylily named Route 66.

I found it in the local garden shop, before I got addicted to the mail order daylilies. It was one of those strange coincidences, just like my 6/5/16 blog about finding a local Stephanie Returns daylily the year my daughter, Stephanie, returned to Colorado. Route 66 is an older daylily that was hybridized in 1967. The colors match my Route 66 tea shirt. It is a hardy daylily and I look forward to seeing it again in 2016!

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: Road trip