Photo of Creeping Bellflower in my walkway garden last year.
The worst part is their roots look like pale daylily roots, and they grow right into the daylily root structure so it looks like daylily root. They grow tall and smother the daylilies.
This year, I’d had enough but was hesitant about herbicides. So, I decided to smother them back. I put down thick landscape fabric (including under each pot) and mulched over that. I bought about $200 in the round pot disks made of coir. Most my pots have those. My other invader is grass, so this should help that, too.
The walkway garden today. Creeping Bellflower 90% gone.
It’s a camping weekend, so I missed whatever bloomed yesterday. But, when I returned, I found Funny Valentine’s first bloom. Nice to see this deep reds returning. This one has a zillion scapes, too.
Funny Valentine 6.19
It’s both Juneteenth and Father’s Day. My granddads both died before my birth. Dad was abusive and our relationship never healed (in this lifetime). I’m not married and my son-in-law wants me distant. But, I lived in Galveston so Juneteenth means something. So, happy Juneteenth Valentines.
Orange/Yellow Punch 6.19
Another premier is Orange Punch (or Yellow Punch). Lowe’s daylily I picked up several years ago and I don’t remember the name- just the Punch part.
Oh, and the monsoons arrived while we were in our tent, of course. I don’t mind rain on the tent and hoping this brings more scapes!
Saratoga Springtime and Stella keep blooming, as do my clematis. I think Apache Bandana is very close!
Saratoga Springtime 6.19Stella de Oro 6.19Clematis 6.19
Jaundiced trumpets always start the daylily show. Screaming yellow jaundiced trumpets. It’s like a bad day in the newborn nursery, a little bit. And, since my last post, It has been pretty much the same two showing up to blow their hepatic little horns every day. Um, I don’t think bili lights are going to help them turn pink, orange, red, or purple. The warmth of the sunshine, however, is beginning to bring a bigger rainbow of color to my daylily garden. (Did I mention that I’m a nurse-midwife)
Dream Keeper 6.16.22
So, today my first Ned Roberts spider opened her eyes. Dream Keeper. Definitely not a jaundiced (yellow) trumpet. I love my Neds. My Southwest Road Trip Garden is moving slowly – only 20 scapes for 70+ cultivators so far. It’s that window where it could be the cold, dry, windy spring is just delaying the scapes or it eliminated them altogether. My other gardens have a higher percentage of scapes (unusual timing) but also get more water, so IDK yet.
Saratoga Springtime 6/13Stella de Oro 6/15
Anyway, I mentioned I wanted to highlight a few of my non-daylily flowers this summer. So, here we go. Definitely, not all jaundiced trumpets.
Red RoseClematisTrue LilyConeflowerBlanket FlowerBlanket FlowerColeus GardenHosta Garden
It’s beginning to look a lot like summer! Today is 6/8. It was 8/6 when I wrote my last blog about daylilies blooming in my yard.
Saratoga Springtime premier bloom 6/3/22
Today isn’t the first day I had a bloom for the year. That was Friday – the same day we left on our first camping trip of the season. I sort of wish daylily season didn’t overlap with camping season. I always have to miss out on something. Last weekend, however, I did not miss out on the mountain wildflowers.
Stella de Oro premier bloom 6/7/22
I have actually been giving some thought to the blog this summer. I am going to simplify my photos and just use my cellphone – except maybe premiers or exceptional blooms. It takes way too much time to do photos of 60+ blooms/day on both cell and camera. I also want to include my other blooms around the yard somehow. And, I would like to spend more energy on providing gardening tips. Plus, some video.
Our wildflower hike on the Grand Mesa in Colorado
I retire next month – at least until I find part-time flexible work. But, I plan to spend a few months getting my Art from the Hartt (and The Midwife’s Nursery) business going. And, camping.
Colorado wildflowers on our hike
I bought several cool daylilies last fall to celebrate semi-retirement. They did horrible – and I bought from more than 1 reliable seller, so it is on my end. I fully lost 2, and have about half the others with one struggling fan. The ones doing well are also mostly one fan, but normal size. It was a dry winter followed by a cold spring. And, I didn’t winter water. Lessons learned. Perhaps the worst part is the name labels washed off the new plants so I have no idea what I lost and what is left, but they should all still have grower labels so I will do some digging and get new labels up.
Mountain wildflowers on our hike
Here is to a new season. And, my usual premier, Saratoga Springtime. I have ~30 scapes and it is going to be 90 degrees the next few days.
Why is it that wildflowers seem so tame compared to daylilies?
I Dig The Mamas And The Papas At “The Trip, “ Sunset Strip In L.A. And They Got A Good Thing Goin’ When The Words Don’t Get In The Way.
I chuckle today at the double meaning in the old Peter, Paul and Mary song. I do dig the Mamas and the Papas – literally and figuratively. Mama Cuna and Papa Longlegs, that is. Well, hey, today they showed up on the same day so the song has been in my head all day. See the featured photo for the cultivator blooms together today.
And, all day, I have been working in the daylily garden or on my photos because another record was broken today . . . 69 cultivators in bloom. It is partially bloom rate and partially bud count. These guys are blooming for weeks instead of days. I do have other things I need to do . . . I am glad I cleaned the house before this hit!
OK, so in addition to Mama Cuna of the Mamas and Papas, I had 6 premiers today – 7 total. We are still on top of the Grand Daylily Mesa with the blooms – this high plateau is like watching COVID cases last summer – but hopefully it dies down without a real epidemic because I have altitude sickness already.
Coburg Fright Wig 7.11 – I ordered this years ago for my front garden when I was filling it out with daylilies.Fairy Tale Pink 7.11 – I believe this was a bonus several years ago. She is doing better with a drip system!Lime Frost 7.11 – I wouldn’t mind a lime frost from the 7.11 about now. She was mail order several years ago, I believe. I really need to move my daylily software to my functioning computer because it knows.Mama Cuna 7.11 – all wrapped up in the yucca. She has great big blooms.Nearly Wild 7.11 – She was a bonus and I think she got her name because she looks like her ditch lily ancestor. Purple de Oro 7.11 – A small grape colored bloom. I have never been super attached. Her pot is full of grass. Maybe I should put another mini in with her? Red Hot Returns 7.11 – A parent to Passionate Returns. Local nursery cultivator.
This is usually about the time of year when I see the peak fading and I hate my bloom rate so I head to the nursery for a couple that still have buds so I can have a few more blooms. I am not doing that this year – although there is a Ned Roberts that I may add to the collection next year. Help me, I am drowning in the Mamas and the Papas! Please, dig me out of these blooms!
So, here are the finales so far this year.
Saratoga Springtime finale 6.23Yellow Punch finale 7.4Stella finale 7.1Funny Valentine finale 7.8Petite Petticoats finale 7.10Alabama Jubilee finale 7.10Scorpio finale 6.29Mauna Loa finale 7.10Platinum Pink Pallet Whispers finale 7.2Land of Enchantment finale 7.11Apache Bandana finale 7.10Purple Moonrise finale 7.5Orchid Moonrise finale 7.8Dream Keeper finale 7.1Echo Canyon finale 7.10Comanche Princess finale 7.11NOID Big Red Rhyme finale 7.11NOID Red Riddle finale 7.9Feather Woman finale 7.11Pink and Cream finale 7.11
That is 117 in and 20 out, meaning I have 90 some actively blooming and others with premiers coming soon.
I’m back! My house is cleaner and I feel like I can pick-up the blog, again. Don’t worry, I spent my usual amount of time with my daylilies in the AM. I love getting photos of them – something to get out of bed for. After three years of a stressful job and a commute, I just had to clean because my poor home has been like a neglected garden. I needed to pull weeds and plant some new seeds.
I am going to show off my June blooms (A to Z) for June in this post. I am going to have a good bloom rate this year and it sort of scares me what peak will be like with all my plants so happy. Good thing the house is clean. I count 51 cultivators for June 2021. Last year, it was 50 in June – so close. I think I have about 180 cultivators now – almost 30% have bloomed.
Alabama Jubilee – premiered 6.26All American Chief premiered 6.22Apache Bandana premiered 6.30Big Red Rhyme (my NOID name for her) premiered 6.22Canyon Colors premiered 6.15Catherine Irene premiered 6.24Chaco Canyon premiered 6.27Chief Four Fingers premiered 6.27 (with some bug damage but more buds ahead)Comanche Princess premiered 6.18Dream Keeper premiered 6.11, finale was 7.1Early Bird Cardinal premiered 6.27Echo Canyon premiered 6.21“Fringe Benefit” premiered 6.27 (mislabeled bonus but I still call her that)Funny Valentine premiered 6.20Happy Returns – I believe the real cultivator is yellow and some of my gold ones are actually Stella – this one premiered 6.25Hopi Jewel premiered 6.27Indian Giver premiered 6.30Inwood premiered 6.22Kachina Dancer premiered 6.30Kokopelli premiered 6.25Lady Fingers premiered 6.23Land of Enchantment premiered 6.23Mauna Loa premiered 6.27Mesa Verde premiered 6.15Mini Pearl premiered 6.26Mount Echo Sunrise premiered 6.28Nurse’s Stethoscope (the only registered daylily I helped to name) premiered 6.24Ojo de Dios premiered 6.28Orchid Moonrise premiered 6.17Pardon Me premiered 6.30Passionate Returns premiered 6.28Petite Petticoats premiered 6.26Pink and Cream premiered 6.24Platinum Pink Pallet Whispers premiered 6.21Primal Scream premiered 6.25Purple Grasshopper premiered 6.11Purple Moonrise (larger bloom on the R, to the left is Orchid Moonrise) premier bloom 6.15Purple Mystic (my name for NOID) premiered 6.24Red Riddle (my name for NOID) premiered 6.23Return a Smile premiered 6.25Ruby Spider premiered 6.22Santa’s Pants premiered 6.26Saratoga Springtime premier 6/3, finale 6.23 – The star of early daylily season. A big, fancy yellow trumpet.Scorpio premier 6.26, finale 6.29. Only two buds for the first bloom ever after 5 years in my yard.South Seas premier 6.30Stella premier 6.7 and dwindling – I don’t think we have a finale yet but maybe.Stephanie Returns premier 6.30The Colorado Kid premier 6.23Wild Horses premier 6.15Yellow Punch premier 6.15Yellow Stella premier 6.18
Let’s close the book on June for 2021 – It’s a wrap!
Not much new today. 65 or 70 daylilies with scapes. No new premiers today. Some days, this is my favorite part of the season because everything is still a mystery and my other flowers don’t get lost in the crowd.
Dream Keeper 6.12
Stella de Oro 6.12
The heat is hot (we will reach 00 this week and are in exceptional drought. I still have daylily water, but the insects are bad.
Saratoga Springtime 6.12
I think the “but it’s a dry heat” doesn’t apply to daylilies.
Happy Returns 6.12
Follow our #Art and Nature from the Hartt blog and FB page for updates on plants and (daylily) artwork available for sale. Currently we have Coleus, Campfire Crassula, and Paper Spine cactus plus some misc orchids.
Too much going on in life to focus on anything too long. I get the watering done daily, though. Blogging comes second, but I made time today because . . . (drum roll) – I have my first Ned Roberts Spiders in bloom today. The yellow trumpets have company – true colors shining through! Dream Keeper is a reliable early bloomer. I am a little surprised that Purple Grasshopper is one of the first in the Southwest Garden. It didn’t bloom at all last summer but seems to have profited from being put in a put with new soil and no tree roots.
BTW – My plants are noticeably bigger this year after they were moved last year. I am hoping that results in more blooms this year. Here are the blooms of the day:
Premiers for Today
Dream Keeper 6.11.21
Purple Grasshopper 6.11.21
Former Premiers (this year):
Saratoga Springtime – Premier Bloom 6.3.11 (this photo was taken 2 days ago)
Happy Returns premier bloom 6.6.21
Stella de Oro – Premier bloom 6.7.21
Follow our NEW! Art and Nature from the Hartt blog page, where I will be selling plants and nature/Southwest artwork. There will be daylilies and daylily art for sale!
The daylily blooms started last week on the 4th. IDK why I haven’t posted. Lots going on. Semi retiring, starting a plant and art business, still busy at my day job (now part time).
Saratoga Springtime 6.11.21
Saratoga Springtime started it all, as usual. She is pretty flashy for a yellow Trumpet. And, big.
Stella de Oro and Happy Returns also made appearances this week. They are look-alikes. Happy is a little more fragile.
Stella de Oro 6.11.21
My new business is Art and Nature from the Hartt. I’m planning to sell some daylily plants this fall. I’ll also have daylily art for sale. I’ll post a link to my site below. Please consider following us for updates.
. . . For Last! Today came what I think is likely the last of the premiers of the season – Purple Corn Dancer. Honestly, one of my favorites! It is almost sad because Saratoga Springtime is cool enough, but not a favorite. Saratoga stars when my desire to see daylily blooms is the highest. Purple Corn Dancer is frequently the cultivator with the last blooms of the season. Funny, she showed up the same day Olathe Sweet Corn was shipped across the State!
Purple Corn Dancer 8.5.20
All too often, I am sidetracked or just at a saturation with daylily photos. I guess it’s like how they say there are almost always more photos of the first born child.
Purple Thunderbird 8.5.20
I had 13 today and I am exhausted after my first day back to work in 5 months. I think I will just feature my Ned Roberts cultivators from today. Purple Thunderbird had a nice bloom, even at 6:45 AM.
Navajo Grey Hills 8.5.20
It is interesting how daylilies look different throughout the day. Navajo Grey Hills looks like she is falling in space at 6:48 AM
Cripple Creek 8.5.20
Cripple Creek is an early riser and was bright-eyed for the AM photo shoot.
Desert Icicle 8.5.20
Desert Icicle actually looks really good first thing in the morning. She resembles Skinwalker first thing in the morning.
Shape Shifter 8.5.20
But, Shape Shifter is having a hard time opening her eye.
Golden Eclipse 8.5.20
I had to wait to get Golden Eclipse until after work. Fortunately, it was a short work day (until 3:30) and some cloud cover, so she also looks decent.
Absolutely, some of my favorites still blooming. So much richer than the yellow trumpets of June. Now, to find time to savor them all.
Colorado Kid Daylilies 