Christmas in August: The Ugly Daylily

August 13, 2018August 13, 2018Leave a comment

The blooms thin out way too rapidly this time of the season. Every day brings another finale or three. I hung the black-out curtains on the poinsettia bloom closet so I can start forcing them in a couple of weeks. It’s 90 degrees outside so it doesn’t feel right. The amaryllis will come in soon, too. Speaking of amaryllis, Ambience bloomed this weekend. Well, more like she is blooming. Unlike daylilies, she takes her time. She blooms every summer at this time. I call her the ugly daylily. Unfortunately, the bugs love her thin blossoms. But, her color is stunning just the same. She looks like Christmas in August.

Amaryllis Ambience 8.11

Now, back to the real daylilies for the past two days. I took last night off of the blog . . . needed a break.

Finales:

Mini Pearl 8.11

Royal Palace Prince 8.11

Tiger Kitten 8.11

Navajo Curls 8.12

Other Saturday and Sunday blooms:

Pink and Cream 8.12

Blue Beat 8.11

Stella de Oro 8.11

Ruby Stella 8.12

Purple Corn Dancer 8.11

Dream Catcher 8.11

Indian Sky 8.11

That’s all folks. We are headed into the quiet of late August. No new scapes at this point. I think we needed monsoon rain for that to happen.

The First Sunday of August

August 6, 2018Leave a comment

It was camping weekend, which is good because I need the stress relief. Work is too busy and I am too exhausted. So, I returned to an encore – Stella de Oro has been out of bloom for 3 weeks and she is back. I will just leave her in the roll call. Our last roll call of 2018. We had 37 in bloom this week. We had 56 last week and I predicted half as many this week. Actually – more like 2/3rds. When you look at all the finales this week (see photos below), I will make the same prediction for next week. That’s about 18 for the week. We don’t have many scapes yet, and the ones mostly only have a bloom or two left. Heirloom Heaven, Indian Sky, Pink and Cream, Dream Catcher, and Purple Corn Dancer have some life left in them. I am hoping Passionate Returns, Stephanie Returns, Ruby Stella and Red Hot Returns all return.

Here Goes Roll Call 7/31-8/5:

Anasazi 7.30 – has had finale bloom

Apache Uprising 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Baja 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Blue Beat 8.2

Cherokee Star 8.2

Chorus Line 8.5

Classy Lady 7.31 – Has had finale bloom

Comanche Princess 8.2

Dream Catcher 7.30

El Desperado 8.5

Fox Ears 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Heirloom Heaven 8.2

Heron’s Cove 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Hesperus 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Indian Love Call 8.2 – Has had finale bloom

Indian Sky 8.5

Lady Fingers 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Marque Moon 8.1 – Has had finale bloom

Mini Pearl 8.3

Moon Over Chimayo 8.1 – Has had finale bloom

Navajo Curls 8.1

Nearly Wild 7.31

Orange Vols 8.3

Passionate Returns 7.31 – Has had finale bloom

Pink and Cream 8.1

Pizza Crust 7.30

Prairie Blue Eyes 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Purple Corn Dancer 8.5

Purple Thunderbird 8.1 – Has had finale bloom

Rosie’s Red 8.3

Royal Palace Prince 7.30

Ruby Stella 8.3

South Seas 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Stella 8.5 – Encore bloom today

Tiger Kitten 8.3

Twirling Pinata 7.30 – Has had finale bloom

Yellow Punch 7.31 – Has had finale bloom

New Faces, Finales, and Roll Call

July 16, 2018July 16, 20181 Comment

It is time for Sunday roll call. But first, a couple cool new Roberts Spiders. Meet Mount Echo Sunrise – She is a big spider that reminds me of Dream Catcher. This is her first-ever bloom in my yard – I put her in a couple years ago.

Then there is Sante Fe Christmas – And she looks like a Christmas bow. Red, green with curly petals. I really love her – too bad she lost her other buds. Despite the improved bloom rate, the drought has taken a toll.

Next up – Finales. Of course, Santa Fe Christmas is a finale today 😦

Primal Scream is another finale.

Primal Scream 7.10

Jungle Queen had finale blooms on both pots I have of her.

Jungle Queen 7.12

Iktomi is another finale. I have enjoyed seeing the patterns in her offspring.

Iktomi 7.9

Happy Hopi gave a finale bloom today. I really enjoyed her big, bold, blonde blooms.

Happy Hopi 7.12

Now, on to our roll call. These are the blooms from 7/9 through today. But, first, we have about 12 with unbloomed scapes remaining and mid-50s with no bloom/no scape. We are at 107 cultivators (+/-). Add 12, and we get close to 120. I am still hoping for 130 total this year.

Adios Albuquerque 7.10

Alabama Jubilee 7.11

Anasazi 7.13

Aztec Firebird 7.14

Baja 7.14

Bela Lugosi 7.9

Black Arrowhead 7.10

Black Eyed Susan 7.14

Black Ice 7.10

Blue Beat 7.11

Bluegrass Music 7.11

Canyon Colors 7.15

Catherine Irene 7.15

Chaco Canyon 7.12

Cheddar Cheese 7.12

Cheyenne Eyes 7.8

Chorus Line 7.13

Classy Lady 7.14

Comanche Princess 7.11

Dark Mystery 7.12

Desert Icicle 7.15

Dream Catcher 7.15

Early Bird Cardinal 7.10

El Desperado 7.13

Fairytale Pink 7.14

Funny Valentine 7.10

Heavenly Curls 7.12

Heron’s Cove 7.13

Hesperus 7.15

Holy Sombrero 7.10

Indian Sky 7.15

Inwood 7.12

Isaac 7.12

Just Plum Happy 7.10

Kachina Firecracker 7.12

Lacy Doily 7.10

Lady Fingers 7.12

Laughing Feather 7.9

Lime Frost 7.15

Longlesson Showoff 7.13

Lullabye Baby 7.14

Mama Cuna 7.13

Marque Moon 7.15

Mellon Balls 7.11

Mesa Verde 7.13

Mildred Mitchell 7.15

Mini Pearl 7.15

Navajo Rodeo 7.13

Nosferatu 7.15

Nurse’s Stethoscope 7.11

Papa Longlegs 7.15

Passionate Returns 7.10

Petite Petticoats 7.10

Pick of the Litter 7.14

Pink and Cream 7.11

Pink Rain Dance 7.11

Prairie Blue Eyes 7.10

Prairie Wildfire 7.11

Prelude to Love 7.15

Purple de Oro 7.14

Purple Grasshopper 7.11

Purple Mystic 7.11

Raspberry Propeller 7.14

Red Hot Returns 7.15

Red Riddle 7.10

Return a Smile 7.10

Route 66 7.13

Ruby Spider 7.14

Ruby Stella 7.15

Shape Shifter 7.13

Skinwalker 7.10

Soco Gap 7.14

South Seas 7.14

Stella de Oro 7.13

Stephanie Returns 7.14

Strutter’s Ball 7.11

Taco Twister 7.11

Talon 7.11

The Colorado Kid 7.10

Thin Man 7.15

Treasure of the Southwest 7.13

Wild Horses 7.11

Wineberry Candy 7.12

Yellow Punch 7.13

Zuni Thunderbird 7.13

It’s The Peak – Sunday Roll Call

July 9, 2018July 9, 2018Leave a comment

Well, I tried to post on Friday night, but no internet. Saturday, some internet, but my phone is crashing all of the apps since the last android update. Yes, right in the middle of peak season.

So, here are the new faces from Friday

Skinwalker 7.6.18

Echo Canyon 7.6

Iktomi 7.6

Chorus Line

Blue Beat 7.6

Bella Lugosi 7.6

And here are Sunday’s additions:

Lacy Doily 7.8

Nosferatu 7.8

Red Hot Returns 7.8

South Seas 7.8

So, that is 10 new additions since my last post – and I missed a couple of new faces while camping yesterday, but they will have another chance. For now, let me finish roll call. All daylilies that bloomed between 7/2 and today – here we go. Which is your favorite?

Alabama Jubilee 7.3

Aztec Firebird 7.8

Black Arrowhead 7.2

Black Eyed Susan 7.6

Black Ice 7.5

Bluegrass Music 7.3

Canyon Colors 7.5

Catherine Irene 7.6

Chaco Canyon 7.5

Cheyenne Eyes 7.6

Chokecherry Mountain 7.3

Comanche Princess 7.6

Dark Mystery 7.5

Dream Catcher 7.5

Early Bird Cardinal 7.3

Electric Lizard 7.6

Funny Valentine 7.8

Happy Hopi 7.6

Happy Returns 7.3

Heron’s Cove 7.5

Holy Sombrero 7.5

Hopi Jewel 7.3

Indian Giver 7.3

Inwood 7.6

Isaac 7.5

Jungle Queen 7.8

Just Plum Happy 7.3

Lady Fingers 7.5

Laughing Feather 7.2

Longlesson Show-off 7.6

Lullaby Baby 7.8

Mellon Balls 7.5

Mesa Verde 7.4

Mildred Mitchell 7.5

Mini Pearl 7.5

Navajo Rodeo 7.8

Nurse’s Stethoscope 7.8

PaPa Longlegs 7.6

Passionate Returns 7.6

Petite Petticoats 7.3

Pick of the Litter 7.5

Pink and Cream 7.6

Pink Raindance 7.4

Prairie Blue Eyes 7.5

Prairie Wildfire 7.6

Prelude to Love 7.5

Primal Scream 7.4

Purple de Oro 7.6

Purple Grasshopper 7.4

Purple Many Faces 7.5

Purple Mystique 7.5

Raven Woodsong 7.4

Red Riddle 7.5

Return a Smile 7.6

Route 66 7.4

Ruby Spider 7.8

Ruby Stella 7.5

Shape Shifter 7.6

Soco Gap 7.5

Stella 7.5

Stephanie Returns 7.5

Strutter’s Ball 7.5

Taco Twister 7.6

Talon 7.8

The Colorado Kid 7.6

Thin Man 7.5

Treasure of the Southwest 7.4

Wild Horses 7.5

Wild Rose Fandango 7.4

Wineberry Candy 7.4

Yellow Punch 7.6

Zuni Thunderbird 7.4

July 1: Daylily Roll Call!

July 1, 2018Leave a comment

It is Sunday and the peak is starting. It will probably take me an hour to get this bog with all the photos for the week published. I am doing it this way so that each daylily comes up on a couple searches of the blog. My job entails creating about 20 template emails a day for the following day – it is a lot of looking up progress and pasting from my last note. Not a creative’s dream. So, when I save my drafts for the day, I have a blank email to note that it is a new day – and that email is always named after a daylily. The most creative 5 minutes/day of my job is picking this daylily. The collages just don’t work.

So – We will start with the newbies. Primal Scream is in bloom for the 3rd year. Last year, the blooms were small and anemic. She is now in an above ground put inside the Walkway Garden. I hoped for more scapes, but 2 is OK for this year, gives the fall transplant. Nothing beats her vibrant color.

Primal Scream 7/1

Indian Giver was a newbie in the Southwest Garden. She is a small daylily and was a bonus plant 3 years ago. She only gets a couple buds every year. She needs to be dug up and put in a buried pot, but the yucca is close, so not sure how I will get this done. I would like to have more blooms. She is adorable.

Indian Giver 7/1

Last but not least, from my Family Garden is Stephanie Returns. This flower makes my heart sad. Losing a family member who is still alive is horrid. Losing several is bitter and cruel. Please don’t tell people you understand or offer advise while you are surrounded with family. Please don’t tell people God is giving you this lesson for some reason or other. Do bookmark this page and come back here and look at this flower and help send positive vibes to anyone in the universe who had ever known the heartbreak such a loss can bring.

Stephanie Returns 7/1

OK – Enough heavy stuff. Onward to the roll call. Here go the A-Z blooms from 6/25 through today. Enjoy.

Alabama Jubilee 6/27

Apache Bandana 6/29

Aztec Firebird 7/1

Black Arrowhead 6/30

Black Ice 6/27

Bluegrass Music 6/27

Canyon Colors 6/30

Catherine Irene 6/30

Chaco Canyon 6/30

Cheyenne Eyes 6/29

Chokecherry Mountain 6/26

Comanche Princess 6/26

Dark Mystery (noid) 6/29

Dream Keeper 6/25

Early Bird Cardinal 7/1

Electric Lizard 6/30

Funny Valentine 6/30

Happy Hopi 6/30

Happy Returns 6/29

Holy Sombrero 6/28

Hopi Jewel 6/27

Indian Love Call 6/28

Inwood 6/30

Jungle Queen 6/29

Lady Fingers 7/1

Laughing Feather 6/27

Mesa Verde 6/29

Mini Pearl 6/30

Navajo Rodeo 7/1

Nurse’s Stethoscope 7/1

Papa Longlegs 6/30

Passionate Returns 6/29

Petite Petticoats 6/29

Pink and Cream 6/26

Pink Rain Dance 6/26

Prairie Blue Eyes 6/25

Pueblo Dancer 6/30

Purple Many Faces 6/29

Purple Mystique 6/30

Red Riddle 6/30

Return a Smile 7/1

Rocky Mountain Pals 6/29

Route 66 6/27

Ruby Spider 6/29

Ruby Stella 6/30

Saratoga Springtime 6/28

Soco Gap 7/1

Stella de Oro 6/26

Strutter’s Ball 6/29

Talon 6/29

The Colorado Kid 6/29

Thin Man 7/1

Treasure of the Southwest 7/1

Wild Horses 6/29

Wineberry Candy 6/26

Yellow Punch 6/26

Zuni Eye 6/26

Zuni Thunderbird 6/30

Today, the Rain Came

June 17, 2018June 30, 2019Leave a comment

Today the rain came. Not much rain . . . but enough to wet the soil and put some drops on the peddles of my bloomers. It was cool, I worked in daylily labels. I decided to put the same metal labels i have in the Southwest garden in all my daylilies. I have too many, I gotta tell you. Anyway, I ended up short labels for every daylily, so need to reorder. My plastic labels did not hold up for year 3 – and I rearranged some of the plants in the walkway garden. So, I have a few I won’t be sure of until the blooms come. But, progress.

Today, I had the first 2018 bloom on Mesa Verde. This flower was chosen because of her name. Yes, once I figured out a lot had cool southwestern names, I went out of my way to find her. The bloom is one of the most ruffly in my collection. She didn’t even open all the way today . . . maybe the rain and cool weather. Anyway, the bloom was in the division I put in the Southwest garden last fall. My pot isn’t that close yet.

Mesa Verde 6/16

And, another very cool flower – Hope Jewel – opened in the Southwest Garden. I love the colors on this one. She was a gift plant a couple years ago. She bloomed in 2016 and 2017, but her anemic looking blooms last year were one of my motivators to do the buried pots out there.

Hopi Jewel 6/16

Other blooms today follow:

Treasure of the Southwest 6/16

Stella de Oro 6/16

Saratoga Springtime 6/16

Indian Love Call 6/16

Many Faces!

June 16, 2018June 16, 2018Leave a comment

TGIF! And, what a Friday it was in the garden. Things are starting to pop all over. However, I only got two out of three correct on the trifecta guess – bifecta. So, let’s start there. Today was a first-ever bloom for Purple Many Faces – another Ned Roberts Southwestern name spider daylily. It is a big bloom!

Purple Many Faces 6/15

Indian Love Call is one I got 3 years ago for a pot someone gave me for the front yard. It languished in the pot, so I put it in the Southwest Garden that fall. She seems happy there – one of my few bloomers last year.

Indian Love Call 6/15

Also in the Southwest Garden was Canyon Colors. She bloomed her first full summer here but did not bloom last year. I divided her and put one fan in the Southwest Garden. And, so she bloomed this year!

Canyon Colors 6/15

Another new bloom is a no-ID that I am naming Dark Mystery. Several years ago, I tried putting daylilies in this little corner garden. They were not happy, slowly dying back. I tried amendments, but they stayed pretty small and never bloomed. So, last fall, I took them all and put them in a big pot. I bet I have 4 or 5 different cultivators in there – and Dark Mystery was the first to bloom. It is striking, I think.

Dark Mystery 6/15

And, my first near-blue daylily bloom opened for the year – Bluegrass Music. She has a story! I was new with ordering bare-root daylilies and was taken with the near blues. You see, daylilies can’t make true blue. The long story short is that I way overpaid for a very small fan – but she is thriving a few years later.

Bluegrass Music 6/15

And, a few repeats today:

Dream Keeper 6/15

Saratoga Springtime 6/15

Stella de Oro 6/15

Wineberry Candy 6/15

Tomorrow, it looks like rain and a busy day of blooms. We need the rain. I like the daylilies with the drops on the pedals. I want to get to bed soon so I have some energy tomorrow for all the action! I am going to have more photos than I can handle soon – I think I will go with new blooms and a list of all the blooms for the week on Saturday and Sunday once there are more than 10 a day. Many faces are coming!

Very Pregnant and Ready to Deliver

June 15, 2018Leave a comment

Yesterday, I predicted a trifecta of daylilies would bloom today – Indian Love Call, Talon, and Purple Many Faces. Well, I lost that bet on all three counts . . . maybe tomorrow, though. Actually – maybe a lot more than that tomorrow. Several look very pregnant and ready to deliver.

Today, I had one 2018 first bloomer – Wineberry Candy. She was a purchase last summer to spruce up a corner daylily pot. Last summer was when I decided I needed to stop buying daylilies whilst my ones from previous years stopped blooming. Instead, I would add systems – pots, drippers, etc. But, once a daylily passes it’s natural call to bloom, you wait a year for your next chance. So, for the corner pot, I added Wineberry Candy.

Wineberry Candy

Other bloomers for today were as follows:

Dream Keeper 6/14

Kokopelli 6/14

Saratoga Springtime 6/14

Stella de Oro 6/14

Tomorrow is my early day at work . . . no breaks, end of week 6-hour marathon. I could have a dozen blooms. Who knows? And, the photos need to be early because the UV taters them fairly quickly. Besides the trifecta – I have a big mystery red one, Bluegrass Music, Canyon Colors, Hopi Jewel . . . and several of the current bloomers. Who knows what’s behind door #1? Two weeks to peak!

Trifecta

June 14, 2018Leave a comment

Long work day, short blog post. No new faces today, but 3 pretty ones returned. I think Purple Many Faces, Talon, and Indian Love Call are close. If I called those three right (for tomorrow), it would be a real trifecta. There are a couple others that haven’t bloomed yet that are close. The morning light will have the answers.

Treasure of the Southwest 6/13

I counted 94 plants with scapes earlier today, including the 7 that are blooming now. Over three dozen of them in the Southwest Garden. Everything is coming to life. The drought is crazy this year. The humidity is usually single digits in the heat of the day. Today, it was mid-90’s. The next county over is on water restrictions. There are major wildfires in the region. It is not good . . . and I hope I can continue to get my blooms the water they need. We really need monsoons.

Saratoga Springtime 6/13

Many of my orchids are outside. I had to put up a shade sail and misting system for them. Orchids are less adaptable than daylilies – but, they do have a hardiness about them. Everything needs some rain. Especially our firefighters.

Stella de Oro 6/13

Say that three times fast!

June 13, 20181 Comment

What is in a name? I don’t know – for some of my daylilies, I choose them partially for their Southwestern names. Platinum Palette Pink Whispers was not picked for her name, though. In fact, I paid no attention to her name. What I know is that the garden shop had a 2 for $10 special on daylilies this spring. I said no more, but I had an empty container due to loss of one of my bonus plants from last fall. So, I got two different ones that were not Stella De Oro. I really didn’t notice the tongue-twister name until I went to put this one in my software program. Say that 3 times fast!

Platinum Palette Pink Whispers 6/12

My yard is getting so full of spikes. It is seriously worrying me how I will handle the photography. And, the blog. Posting every one, every day . . . that may get crazy cause I don’t get off until 8 PM. Wondering about a weekly list of all the blooms? I have done a collage, but then you can’t really pull up the individual photos later. I don’t know, but I better figure in our because these blooms won’t be slowing down any time soon. I have 3 dozen with scapes in the Southwest garden, alone. Probably 60+ total in the whole yard. I wonder how many I’ll have in bloom on the peak of the peak day?

Here are the other blooms for the day: