Canyon Colors of the Southwest

May 22, 2020May 24, 20201 Comment

The red canyons of the Southwest warm my heart and soul in ways beyond words. My body instantly comes alive, my curiosity sparks, I feel like I am where I belong in the Universe. So, another blog in my series on my vicarious road trip through my Southwest named daylilies.

I think my favorite canyon is Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. The red is just deeper or richer than most of the sandstone of the Southwest.

Dominguez Canyon, much closer to home, is my favorite day adventure.

McInnis Canyons National Recreation Area – Fall 2019

McInnis Canyons National Recreation Area is also pretty close to home. My first COVID plan was to hike here every weekend all spring, but it is more than 20 miles.

Canyonlands National Park is fabulous on a grander scale, and we usually get her once a year in February. It is often snowy at Island in the Sky.

Chaco Canyon is the most spiritual canyon I can think of – I hope to go back on one of my roadtrips soon.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – 2019

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is in my own back yard – 10 miles or so away. It is a canyon of a different color.

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument – 2018

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is so cool – Hovenweep and all the surrounding areas filled with Ancient Pueblo Ruins.

Of course, there is the Grand Canyon. And, that’s just to name a few.

In my yard, there is a daylily named Canyon Colors. When she blooms, she takes me to all the canyons that I love from my road trips. She was an early Southwest order, the name (of course) drew me in.

Being a semi-evergreen, she lives on my little back porch in winter but summers in her pot on the corner of my house. IDK – Which canyon do you think best reflects her color?

I didn’t look to see if she had scapes yet. Saratoga Springtime, Ojo de Dios, Dream Catcher and Kokopelli are the only ones I noticed – but I was busy grading so didn’t get outside much.

I did have a chance to hook-up my new solar drip pump. It is one of those you get off of Amazon. I have used them for the last decade – replaced them often at first but the last one lasted 3 years. They have made improvements – so I am hopeful for at least a couple with this one. Three days of 50 MPH winds, I think my driveway pots are ready for a little drip of water.

And, I am ready to see canyon colors.

Popcorn

June 5, 2018June 5, 2018Leave a comment

Daylilies remind me of popcorn. When I was a kid, we had a metal tray with a screen over it and a handle that was our popcorn popper. No nuking a sack for a few minutes. No, you had a jar of corn and you poured it in with oil. It was usually over the gas flame on the stove or fireplace. You had to shake the popper the whole time or the popcorn would stick. Good exercise.

Pretty soon, though, if you were persistent enough, you would hear a pop. A few seconds later, another. Pretty soon, the kernels are popping so fast that you can’t count them anymore. Keep shaking that popper! Eventually, they slow to almost a stop. If you wait too long for the last few to pop, the whole thing burns. It is an art, really.

In early June, the daylilies start to pop. One cultivator at a time, the buds get bigger and bigger. The early days are like a treasure hunt in the morning, looking to see if any popped during the night. In a month, we will be at peak. This honestly scares me a little, because if my bloom rate improves like I think it might, I have no clue how I will keep up with photographing them all. It is possible I’ll have days with 100! Crazy. I burn more space on my memory card during daylily season than any other time all year. Then, come mid-August, the explosion begins to settle down. It is back to treasure hunt mod, again. Except it is usually a couple months at the slower rate.

Dream Keeper 2018

So, today Dream Keeper came to visit. She is another Ned Roberts spider daylily. Her sibling (or parent?) is Dream Catcher – one of my most flourishing daylilies. Dream Keeper bloomed early in 2016, right after I put her in, but not again since that time. I love her orange coloring.

Saratoga Springtime 2018

The surprise today was Saratoga Springtime. This is her first ever bloom in my yard. I have had her for 2 years – but she was small and I put her in not the best place. Last summer, I moved the daylilies out of garden areas where they never bloomed. She is now by my driveway on a solar drip system. It seems to agree with her. The surprise was that her pot was mislabeled and I thought she was orange flurry. Geez, I need to get my labeling caught up soon.

I am guessing that the three that have bloomed thus far will be the early popcorn for the next week or so. They are really the only ones ready to pop. But . . . keep shaking because it won’t be long now.

Iridescent

July 2, 2017July 2, 2017Leave a comment

This weekend is my home weekend . . . so working on yard stuff today. Not much new in bloom, despite having 16 in bloom. The half-bloomed bud fell off of Bluegrass Music 😦 But, South Seas did have a first bloom today. I love the color combo. It’s kind of iridescent.

The big project of the weekend was irrigation, again. I dug the big rain barrel that my renter had (yes, 11 years ago) and hooked it up to a solar drip system. I know those solar drip systems get lousy ratings. They are somewhat disposable every year. They are a pain to get running but once they are pumping, they work pretty well for a decent amount of time.

At first the system was just for the existing pots – Prairie Blue Eyes and Route 66. But the barrel is kind of ugly, so I decided to put in some annuals. I also rescued Hesperus, Saratoga Springtime, and Orange Flurry from where they were. Too much shade, not enough water. Curious to see if I can get blooms next year. (If I do, I may go for a pretty barrel!)

I also put in a drip line (this one goes to the hose) for my daylilies in the edge garden. It is going to be much easier to turn that drip hose when I do the other watering than to carry the can. Both of the new areas are places I have thought of expanding my daylily garden to when I run out of room other places. So, off we go with a pilot study!

For tomorrow – Maybe Bluegrass Music or Zuni Thunderbird. Who knows what else?

Bless the Beasts and the Daylilies

July 1, 2017July 1, 2017Leave a comment

I wonder what life would be like without my puppies and my flowers . . . they add so much that would otherwise be lacking. If I live to be 100, it will be to experience another daylily season.

Today, there were lots of new faces. Interestingly enough, Bluegrass Music is still unbloomed.

Aztec Firebird is a favorite. It is one that has taken off in the Southwestern garden. Very happy, and the blooms are more reddish this year. I have a painting of this one somewhere, I think. First blooms are often a little less showy than the follow-ups, but still pretty cool.

Primal Scream is another favorite – and today I feel a little like a primal scream! It looks a little weathered from the sprinkler and the heat. It was very busy at work today, so I did not get out to take a photo at peak.

I have two that bloomed today that were bonus plants. If you know about buying bare root daylilies, you know about bonus plants. They are fun in the garden. The first one is Longlesson Showoff – it is a first bloom ever in my yard. The second is Pick of the Litter in its second year.

And little Purple de Oro. I have one in a pot and one in the front yard. I was going to give the potted one to my daughter, but it is sort of growing on my where it is. People can see it from the sidewalk when they walk past the house.

I’m not sure about new blooms tomorrow . . . I didn’t get much of a chance to bud count this evening. I did put in a little solar drip system for the two daylilies in pots by the driveway. Hoping for some blooms, but think they may not perform that well this year. It is getting a little late to resuscitate in time for 2017 blooms. But, that’s why I have to hang around until next year . . . every year.

Colorado Kid Daylilies

A Blog About My Western Colorado Daylily Adventure

Tag: solar drip system

Canyon Colors of the Southwest

Popcorn

Iridescent

Bless the Beasts and the Daylilies