Slow Start and Creeping Bellflower

June 20, 2022Leave a comment

As my Facebook memories pop-up, I become aware how slow this year is as far as blooms. I have the same 4 in bloom as yesterday.

I counted 103 scapes yesterday and 111 today. So, I think it’s not far off. I’m still upset that so many of my new ones parished over the winter.

Saratoga Springtime and Stella de Oro 6.20

I wanted to talk a little about weeds. Creeping Bellflower is the nemesis of my front garden. I thought the pots would keep the things from spreading, but they also send seeds. This article has good info https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/campanula/removing-creeping-bellflower.htm

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.

So far, so good. I’ll keep you posted.

Happy Juneteenth Valentines!

June 19, 2022Leave a comment

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.

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.

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!

More Jaundiced Trumpets

June 17, 2022Leave a comment

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)

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.

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.

Synchronous Seasons

June 9, 2022Leave a comment

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.

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.

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.

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?

Welcome to summer!

July Daylily Round-up N-Z

August 1, 20211 Comment

Here is part 1 of this blog post These posts include all daylilies that were in bloom in July in my yard. Please see first post for more details.

Nosferatu 7.12-7.19 (end 7.19-7.24 during vaca)

Oh Erica 7.17 (end 7.19-7.24 during vaca)

Pizza Crust (started week of 7.19)-present

Purple Grasshopper 6.11-present. Non-stop!

Red Hot Returns 7.11-7.19 (ended 7.19-7.25 during vaca)

Royal Braid 7.18 (ended 7.19-7.25 during vaca)

Ruby Spider 6.22-7.19 (ended 7.19-7.24 during vaca)

Spirit of the Morning 7.12-8.1 (unless I missed a bud)

No U, No V – I need to fix that with some new flowers 🙂

No X, either!

Yellow Punch 6.15-7.4 (first encore 7.31)

That is all for July, folks. Look for our Colorado Day (8/1) blooms up next!

I Dig the Mamas and the Papas

July 12, 2021Leave a comment

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.

Platinum Pink Pallet Whispers finale 7.2

That is 117 in and 20 out, meaning I have 90 some actively blooming and others with premiers coming soon.

The calm before the Daylily Storm

June 12, 2021June 12, 2021Leave a comment

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.

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.

I think the “but it’s a dry heat” doesn’t apply to daylilies.

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.

True Colors Shining Through

June 11, 2021Leave a comment

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

Former Premiers (this year):

Saratoga Springtime – Premier Bloom 6.3.11 (this photo was taken 2 days ago)

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 First Week

June 9, 20211 Comment

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 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.

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.

Daylilies of Corona: June Blooms

July 1, 2020Leave a comment

Last year, I posted all my blooms each week on Sunday since it is too much to do daily. This year, I am going to try to do a recap at the end of the month. So, for June 2020, we had the following 50: