Kaseys Korner

Suffering from illusions of Spring

Spurred on by the occasional sighting of a seasonal wild flower:

Above:  Primula veris (aka Cowslip)

or hardy bulb:

Above:  White Muscari

Not to mention the calendar.  I get wistful notions it might actually have arrived. 

One look outside is all it takes for a swift crash back to reality.

There will be no May-Pole-twirling this May Day:

It looks more like Feb or March.  :(

I'd say it was a bit optimistic putting up the patio umbrella, wouldn't you??

This is one crazy Spring.

Every week brings a new snowstorm along with COLD temperatures.  Nothing has dared to leaf out...

High today of 33 with another record low temperature forecasted for tonight.

A little story to illustrate the severity of our weather:   Our local Home Depot received a shipment of the ever-so-lovely 'Coral Charm' peony (thank you Dana for the heads up!!):

Of course I rushed right down to purchase another one (remember mine got frozen in early April??)  and passed the info on to my other gardening buddies.

One of whom went to purchase only to discover they had already sold out.  She was told another shipment would arrive just NOT this week.  They had to turn the truck back because of our forecast!  Too many casualties already this spring.  Pretty unheard of at this date.

Thankfully this girl smartly brought Begonia 'Rose Petticoat'and all the other tender plants safely indoors to ride out the storm.

And now we wait for the sun to shine again.   And for this tiresome winter weather pattern to end ~ when, oh when, will that be????

p.s.  One positive side note about the snow ~ it allowed me to take the best photos of the handsome Spotted Towhee I've ever managed:

They aren't spectacular photos (taken thru the glass) ~ so don't get too excited ~ but this is the closest I've ever gotten.  Brought to the feeders because of the snow, made it a whole lot easier.   Usually they are found poking & scratching about the shrubbery further away from the house. 

Notice the characteristic red eye. 

Maybe the snow isn't such a bad thing afterall (since every snow event, I get a new bird capture!)

Ummmm, let's not get carried away!

Yet Another April Snow

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, right?

I wish I could change the "tune" but it is what it is...

This go-around has been a three day event, starting on Monday, April 15th, and continuing thru today.  egads. 

The photos you're viewing were all taken the first day ~ our totals are well into 20" now and there's still more forecasted for tonight.

Remember last summer when our state was on fire (and I said I would never again complain about snow)???  Trying to remember those words when all I want is some sunshine & "average" temperatures.  Highs have been in the 20's & 30's instead of the 60's. 

It's a heavy, wet snow tho that will go a long way toward helping with the drought in our state. 

Be happy Kathleen.  :)

The snow brought flocks of birds to the feeders ~ 17 lbs of black oil sunflower seed devoured in 3 days!!!!  To think I'm usually finished feeding by this time of year!

Look what all their twittering attracted to the back garden:

Not the greatest photo but this Great Horned Owl landed deep in my pine tree and was but a dark silhouette until I lightened it a LOT. 

Wow.  I never get over the thrill of an owl sighting.  It was made even more spectacular by the fact he flew right past me prior to landing (as I was shoveling the back patio)!!!!

Now, hopefully, tomorrow the snow will quit falling and start melting.  This weekend is "Rush for the Roses" at a local greenhouse & it feels anything like planting weather!

the story today isn't the snow

we get that often enough in April.

Red Fox Squirrel with a face full of snow!

The story isn't the driving wind either (although that's none too pleasant)

The story is the FRIGID temperatures.

Actual temperature this morning was 15 degrees, with a wind chill of -1!!!!!!!!!!!!

my least favorite garden bird ~ the grackle.

Very unusual to have that kind of cold in the middle of April. 

Snowy Aspen catkins.

Maybe it's apropos that Amaryllis 'Clown:'

and Amaryllis 'Razzle Dazzle' are blooming out of season:

Oh where, oh where did our April go??  

 

 

season confusion

When it comes to the weather, I think spring should be the season named after "flip flops."  Nothing to do with footwear, just the crazy fluctuations between warm & cold temperatures. 

A week ago it was the former, (which everyone knows I prefer) & out popped the Winter Aconites (Eranthis hyemalis:)

snowdrops:

and plenty of bulb foliage:

This week it flipped decidedly back to winter:

ugh. 

The Robins & I are waiting for sunnier days.

I hope it won't be too long....

p.s.  Thank you all for your continued kind messages & support.  It's so nice to log on & find them. 

Dahlia 'Giggles'

late season bloomer.

An impulse purchase ~ triggered by the uncertainty of "dusky orange & pale pink" working well together?

Now it's clear, they actually do....

In other garden happenings ~ the lights from the party fell down and are already being missed:

A good vantage point was lost...

A long awaited bloom (four+ years in the making) has finally appeared on Paph Orchid 'Jurgen Roth:'

ordered from Carter and Holmes Orchids. 

Placed outdoors in early June ~ a last ditch effort to stimulate something.   The change of scenery worked....

The excitement is two-fold since (as you can see) multiple blooms are in the offing.  Maybe it was worth the wait??

New visitors have arrived (Black Swallowtail on Verbena bonariensis:)

and others are about to leave (baby Barn Swallow out of the nest:)

Ready or not, time is marching on in the garden....

 

let sleeping bees lie??

I believe the answer is "yes."  That was my intention too when I found this bee sleeping inside a squash blossom:

but you know I couldn't resist taking his photo!  When I did that, the clicking of the camera roused him:

Feeling slightly guilty, I backed off & went back to watering ~ when I checked back, he had resumed sleeping.  I'm glad I didn't disturb him too much!  My friend Gail would know exactly what kind of bee he is but unfortunately not me.  All I know is he isn't a honey or bumble bee.

I was able to photograph him immediately because I've taken to wearing my camera around my neck each time I go outside now.  That practice was started so as not to miss any opportunities at photographing the newly arriving hummingbirds.  You never know when they'll present you with one & I want to be ready!  I have a LOT of room for improvement but here's the latest:

Slightly overexposed but don't worry, I'll keep trying!

My best chances are found near their favorite flowers which (in my garden) are Crocosmia, Monarda, Delphinium 'Red Carolina:'

Hosta, Zauschneria 'arizonica,'  phygelius, agastache & the red petunias in the little urn container below:

These blooms are spaced around the back garden & keep both them & me zipping between them.

Two new blooms (not hummingbird attractors) that I've not been very successful getting established are Phlox 'David:'

which I think needs to be in a sunnier location (I only have the two shown above:)

and the same problem (I think) for double Hollyhock 'Peaches 'N Dreams:'

Poor plant ~ it's only about 3' tall which is not right at all! 

I will be moving it this fall because I definitely want more:

I'm a total glutton for this color!

Maybe it would look good near 'Crown Princess Margareta' which is also reblooming:

Both are nothing short of luscious....

On an uglier note, a new arrival ~ I'm not so thrilled about ~ are jagged ambush bugs.  They don't usually show up here until mid summer but when they do, it's not hard to know as lifeless pollinators are dead giveaways (sometimes still seen in their clutches.)  I usually pick them off but I'm never successful at being casualty-free.  Perhaps a goal for another year???  or maybe too ambitious to attain??

 

Rufous hummingbirds

back in the garden!!  I wait every year for their brief return (it only lasts about a month & a half as they migrate south.)  I think their fleeting appearances make them all the more precious as visitors.  I'd seen several in the past week but hadn't yet made any attempts to photograph them.

Then yesterday, while hanging the vintage iron birdcage in the garden:

I sat down on the ground (to better photograph it)

When I got buzzed!

The juvenile Rufous hummingbird, that nearly sheared the top hairs off my head, was focused only on the crocosmia which is just beginning to bloom.  I snapped the photo above which called attention to myself & wonder of wonders, he came right over to me!!!

I've never had that happen before so I'm calling it my "hummingbird moment."  Frightened of scaring him off, I sat (completely still) while he inspected me.  Circling my head, clicking, zipping all around & finally, as if he determined I was no threat, proceeded to feed on the black & blue Salvia right next to my head!  Wouldn't you know I had my 75-300mm lens on the camera (which needs at least five feet to focus) so I could not get a photo!!  To have the "problem" of being TOO CLOSE to a hummingbird is not something I had ever imagined! 

Thankfully all was not lost because when he would land between feedings I was able to snap off the following shots:

Below, the photo you may have seen on Facebook:

I liked it because of his feet ~ something not always visible in photos!!

Below, back to Crocosmia 'Lucifer' but this time to perch:

But only for a moment, until a bare Dogwood branch appeared to be a better vantage point:

My favorite photo of all. 

The whole experience was wonderful ~ more like an "interaction" or as close as I can conceive one to be.   Definitely an interlude that will stay in my memory forever. 

Monarda, roses & babies

The unrelenting heat this summer has me viewing the garden (more than I want) from indoors.  I don't remember doing that so much in past summers?  I've been trying to work around it by doing most of my outdoor chores during the early AM & evening hours.  Maybe that's how gardeners in warmer climates have always done them??   Here, we are usually lucky enough to have breaks between heat waves but not so much this year.   It will take some adjusting if this is the new weather trend. 

This morning, I realized the heat has also been affecting my photography ~ most of the photos I was loading were taken through glass (& often a window screen too.) 

Above photo of my back garden just as the sun was rising. 

It looks like a "jungle" out there doesn't it??   All the beds really aren't "blending together" ~ it just looks that way from this angle.  I guarantee there are pathways in-between them!

As you can see, the (unknown) pink roses are reblooming, making me SO glad I cut them back the first of June.  Below ~ roses again with antique birdfeeder (which was broken the first time around)

Sometimes being indoors allows for better photos ~ like it does for me with bird shots! 

Below:  Baby Robin on top of the arbor:

and a baby Bullock's Oriole on top of the 'Abraham Darby' rose obelisk:

There are baby Orioles bouncing off everything in the back garden ~ I've counted at least eight there at one time!  Their curiosity, energy & unabandoned enthusiasm are truly amusing (& fun!) to watch as they explore the world outside their nest.  Aren't I the lucky one that they choose my garden for that?!!

Now for some photos I actually ventured outside to take:

'Croftway Pink' Monarda (I think??) with Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant:'

I have three different colored Monardas mixed together in this area & I don't remember planting them that way?? 

The bees aren't complaining

and neither am I ~ I just wish I knew which varieties they were & where the tags went??  Maybe this happened during one of my "moonlight" gardening spells??  I'm not always responsible for what goes on during that hour!

Back to roses ~ the pink ones in the first two photos aren't the only ones enjoying a second flush of blooms ~ 'Abraham Darby,' 'Crown Princess Margareta' & 'Princess Alexandra of Kent' are too. 

Below ~ 'Princess Alexandra of Kent:' (just to keep the pink theme going....)

and again (because I feel like it....):

'Winchester Cathedral' Rose Standard (also reblooming) with another view of that Monarda mixture in foreground:

One thing I absolutely don't mind venturing out for ~ the first ripe Cherry Tomatoes:

SO sweet ~ like eating candy! 

I'm also growing Lemon tomatoes & Big Boys but neither have ripened enough to harvest yet.  Hopefully soon.  You can bet I'll be out there picking, heat or not, when they're ready!!

bird friendly

I heard it raining last night (during the night) & got up several times just to make sure I wasn't imagining or dreaming it.  Those of you also in a drought will understand that behavior!  This morning, I took my laptop out to the patio & sat with my bare toes dipped in a puddle of leftover rain water.  The cooler air felt so refreshing ~ it seemed everything else in the garden was responding to it too.

The birds were especially active.  Not that they aren't when it's 100 degrees but (call me crazy) they seem more energized at 70??  As I sat splashing my toes and watching them flit about, I wondered how they came to discover my little garden.  Maybe it's not so hard from up above to see a bird friendly garden??

I'm sure they don't judge by all the cute little bird knick-knacks hanging about ~ like the weathervane:

and scrolly bird stake stuck in the 'Jacob Cline' monarda blooms:

It's more the kind of cover I offer them along with water:

and food. 

The only foods I normally feed during the summer months are sugar water & grape jelly ~ both intended for Bullock's orioles and/or hummingbirds. 

Sitting quietly as I was, I had the privilege of witnessing a male Bullock's oriole feeding a fledgling some of the grape jelly from the feeder:

It's one of those scenes that make all the efforts in the garden worth while. 

The baby initially dropped the jelly, & like any patient father, the male bent to retrieve it & carefully put it back in the babies mouth:

I could have watched them all morning.  I'm always in awe of how quickly birds learn & the thought that this baby oriole will hopefully make its way back to my garden (& grape jelly feeder) next summer warms my heart.

So then bird feeders must be another clue (from overhead) of a bird friendly garden?

One day last week, in the near 100 degree heat, I worked hard at repairing the antique birdfeeder (the raccoons broke last winter) & now, it's back in its rightfully place in the garden:

The blue jays will be happy to find their morning peanuts there when they return from wherever they've been nesting and I am happy to see it back on its post again. 

Whatever I've done to bring the birds here, I hope I can keep it up.  They are such an integral part of the garden, I can't imagine gardening without them.

P.S.  Not a bird, but someone else who loves the garden ~ my other "baby" who has been recovering this week after an emergency stay at the 24 hour vet hospital:

He seems to be almost 100% & that, along with the rain showers & bird songs, make me a happy gardener.

 

girlie gardener

I garden in lipstick, sometimes it matches 'Southgate' Fushcia:

sometimes not, depends on my mood.

I always garden in nail polish ~ it's good for hiding dirt!

'Coral Charm' peony fading to buttercream.

I have birds to keep me company:

as well as bees & butterflies. 

When my mojo is sagging, a quick inhalation of intoxicating 'Charles Darwin' usually turns it around.

Oh yeah.  I can do this all summer long baby.

Flip flops or heels.   Girlie from head to toe but hardcore all the way!