Kaseys Korner

gifts and purchases

There have been some nice and not so nice things happening in my life lately.  Since I'm trying not to dwell on the "not-so-nice," I'm only focusing on the "nice" today.   It isn't very surprising that those are all associated with the garden since that's my "go-to" source of joy. 

First, a couple of unexpected gifts came my way last week.  One from my daughters music instructor, who surprised me with a pair of Fiskars gardening shears and a book:

Wasn't that so nice?  I've never own any gardening shears before so it will be fun to try them out.  Just slipping my hand in them, they seem very comfortable to use.  The book looks great too but I haven't had time to do much more than flip thru and check out a few photos.

The next gift came compliments of a next door neighbor who was moving.  Before she left, she called and asked if I'd like her fairy garden ~ I'm sure you know my answer ~ "YES!" 

I've been tempted many times to give fairy gardening a try but always resisted.  It seemed like something I could become totally addicted to ~ so many cool miniature pieces to collect.  Now I have the perfect reason/excuse to delve in!!  Thank you Dora!

I've also been lucky to catch some great fall sales.  I haven't bought any plants but I have found some cool containers.  This huge urn was being clearanced out so, of course, I HAD to snatch it up!

I'm either going to move my Brugmansia into it or have fun scheming up a container arrangement for next year. 

Two matching black urns were found to position on either side of the yew hedges (also on clearance.)  Small arborvitaes were placed inside (bought for $3.00 a piece).  If they don't survive the winter, I won't be out much.

Can you tell I was thinking ahead when I assembled & placed them??   I picture them sprinkled with snow and for some reason, snow covered urns seem prettier than plain ole snow on the ground??  Forget that last sentence ~ it's too early to go there! 

Back to blooms, while we still have them!  The most exciting ~ Kirengeshoma palmata (Yellow Wax-bells)

First year in my garden and I wasn't sure I would see any this season.  You can bet I'll be watching it closely from here on out tho!

Then there's Fuchsia 'Lena Dalton' ~ one hummingbird is still zipping around the garden and at some point always ends up on her:

Too bad I can't capture a picture of them both together.

That would be really spectacular, wouldn't it?

Finally, not a bloom but beautiful just the same ~ new growth foliage from Japanese Maple 'Red Dragon' purchased this spring:

It's very small ~ only 18" tall ~ but it got off to a good start this summer.   There's lots to look forward to ~ a garden is always good for that, isn't it? 

 

 

 

a cold closer

to 2010, that's what we're going to have.  The unseasonably warm temperatures we've been enjoying this fall & winter have finally gone away, just in time for New Years.  Today is the first day (in a long time) I've looked out the window and thought the birds looked cold:

The little goldfinch above fluffed himself up and was patiently waiting for an opening on the thistle feeder when I snapped his photo.  You can also tell (from the white background) we've had a little snow.  It actually seems strange after so long without it. 

The cold, snow and wind will make it a good day to curl up indoors and start perusing the spring garden and seed catalogs that have been showing up.

I know it won't take me long to have a big wish list!  Maybe 2011 is the year more of the grass will be excavated (to make way for new plants & seeds)??? 

Alas, it does not appear the paph orchid will be blooming (as I'd hoped) when the calendar rolls over to January.  It's very slowly unfurling but I am doubting now that it can fully complete the process????

That's okay, it's well worth the wait as you can tell by the glimpses of color & markings its shyly revealing.  What sometimes seems like an excruciatingly long build-up to bloom time, actually makes the flowers even more special/spectacular ~ at least that's what I tell myself when I get impatient!

Maybe Amaryllis 'Clown,' is a better bet to be blooming:

It has a day and a half (at least) to pull it off.  I'm thinking these buds move at the right pace to accomplish that goal....

After all, we need a new bloom to ring in the New Year, don't we???

the trouble with Christmas shopping

when you aren't a big shopper, is that all of the sudden you are exposed to an array of items you want for yourself!  Every store I went in yesterday, I came out with something for myself!  In Barnes and Noble alone, I found this book:

which , of course ended up in my pile!

Then the December issue of Country Living magazine (British edition) called my name:

I have always been a fan of our Country Living, but when I discovered the British edition, I was blown away.  What is it that makes British publications so much more phenomenal than ours????? 

The downside to purchasing the issues is that there are always items I fall in love with between the covers that I'm sure would be frightfully expensive to ship across the "pond."  Like these that I absolutely adore:

I wish they would find a way to end up under my tree on Christmas morning! 

Anyone else having this problem (buying for yourself) when you're out shopping for others?

never underestimate

the power of a cold resilient annual!  My neighbor made a case in point for this statement when she brought me a sprig of Stocks from her flower bed last Friday.  They had weathered the 19 degree overnight temperatures and recent snowfall with flying colors. 

I have to confess, I have had mixed success with this supposedly half-hardy annual (here-to-for to be referred to as a hardy annual ~ no half about it!).  I've started numerous double varieties from seed with only marginal results.  I've bought them for containers in spring only to have them wilt and fizzle under the scorching rays of a hot summer day.

However, anything that will prolong summer while providing color in the fall garden, despite the elements, deserves another look/chance ~ don't you think? 

My neighbor has them planted where they receive afternoon shade which is quite possibly the key to their summer survival?  I've always adored their spicy fragrance but now, knowing how tough they are, I plan to make another concerted effort with them next spring!

Completely off topic, I thought I would share my latest reading material ~ not that I theoretically have the luxury of reading right now (with the holidays so quickly approaching) ~ but some finds are too good to pass up!

I'll let you know how it is.  Another book on my reading list is "Winter Bloom" by Tara Heavey.  Funny how the garden remains constant even when it comes to other pastimes!!  Anyone else have a winter book list (since there seems to be no time for reading during the summer gardening season)?

feeling lucky

lately ~ maybe I should buy a lotto ticket?  I've never done that before but it could be time to start?  I have just cause to feel this way having won a Simply Handmade book from Hilary Kanwischer's blog just two weeks ago and now I've had the good fortune to win this beautiful book compliments of Tatyana's giveaway (My Secret Garden blog):

 

I spent last evening looking thru the projects and there are so many I could do in my own small garden.  Things like the one pictured below:

Isn't that cool?  Adding the finials instantly "glams" up the wooden planter, doesn't it?  I am going out today to find some and add them to my own little gardening box.  I love stuff like this.  So easy but what a difference little details make.  Thanks so much (again) Tatyana ~ I'm going to really enjoy this book.

Along the lines of luck, I stumbled across these beautiful hummingbird feeders yesterday.  I've admired them for a long time but never purchased one because I wasn't sure if the hummingbirds would actually use them & they were sort of pricey.  At 70% off, I figured I wasn't out much for trying!

Even if the hummingbirds choose not to use them, I think they are pretty as garden art ~ don't you??  Does anyone have/use one?  If so what has your experience been with them? I'd love to hear. 

All this good luck is making me like February!  Maybe it will change my mind/feelings about winter?!!! Probably not.  Unless two tickets to a tropical island should happen to show up ~ then we can talk!

a new year, a new garden style

I was "chat-chat-chatty" from Thanksgiving thru Christmas when "blogland" was quiet (understandably so) and now that it's a New Year I feel like someone zipped my lips!  I wish I could say I've been busy being productive but I really don't have much to show for my time since the ball dropped.  I have been reading tho and my mind is racing with new ideas for the garden.  I received the book below for Christmas and I'm telling you, it's already revolutionizing my gardening style:

There's a passage in one of the first chapters that I absolutely want to adopt: 

   "New generations of gardeners don't have time to spend cosseting plants and devoting weekends to yard work.  They may appreciate a pretty garden as a place to entertain, or love to pick lettuce and tomatoes fresh from the garden, but they're busy with family, work and friendship.  Many of the twenty-and-thirty-something gardeners I talked to have much to teach us longtime, plant-besotted gardeners.  While the upcoming generations of gardeners love plants too, they tend to focus their energies on creating outdoor spaces for dining, play, relaxation and entertaining."

That's exactly what I'm looking for ~ less of the work and more of the enjoyment.  I think this book just may inspire me to dig up part of my backyard and replant.  See all the grass beyond the arbor:

Excuse the pumpkin lights ~ I just grabbed the first photo I could find. I would love to establish a pathway straight out from the arbor with plantings on either side (and maybe another patio area)  much like this crookedly-scanned photo (snagged from the November '09 issue of Gardens Illustrated):

No one in our household uses the backyard much anyway except our dog.  My daughter much prefers the front patio area.  Why not leave a spot of grass for Butter and remove the rest of it?  Cheaper for my water bill, better for the environment and for wildlife (if I plant with them in mind which, of course, I would).  Food for thought.  I definitely want to cut down on the amount of time I spend doing outdoor chores ~ eliminating mowing back here would be a fantastic start.  Now to figure out who's going to help me do the "grunt" work!! 

A side note/vent:  While I linked to Gardens Illustrated magazine above, based on my experience with them, I cannot, in good conscience, recommend subscribing.  I hope I'm in a very limited minority because the magazine is a fantastic monthly publication ~ if you can get it.  I received a subscription as a gift, Christmas 2008.  Things started out okay, the first four issues came without a hitch then suddenly stopped.  An inquiry as to the problem netted me the answer that payment information for my subscription was lost.  Unfathomable.  How does a magazine send out four issues and then lose payment information??  Long story short, numerous faxes, phone calls and three months later, I was able to get it reinstated (meanwhile I had missed the summer issues I so desperately wanted).  Three issues arrived (Sept, Oct & Nov) and now, once again, I am not receiving the magazine.  I would give up plant money to get it, if only it were that easy.  There.  It's off my chest but unfortunately not resolved.  I'll keep hammering away until I get my issues ~ since it's worth it and very expensive to boot.   Just thought you should know about my saga in case you follow the link and have interest in subscribing.

favorite things

Some things just make you happy, right?  One of those things for me, is Charles Wysocki's cat prints.  I have bought his calendars & cards countless times just because I love cats and his portrayal of them.   My all-time favorite has to be "Remington the Horticulturist."  It combines the gardener in me with the cat lover.

I knew I liked it from the minute I saw it.  So many little details about so many things I love.  I liked it even more when I actually took a few minutes to study it and read the labels on all the jars, bottles, cans, etc., and the titles on the books.  It takes a creative mind to think up the likes of "Uncle Poppers Grasshopper Stopper,"  "Goofy Dust for Crows, Jays, Magpies, Ravens ~ Catnip for Birds."  "Bye Bye Fly" cracks me up too.  You wonder if Mr. Wysocki is a gardener himself but perhaps not.  He's just as clever with "Ethel the Gourmet," "Max in the Adirondacks" etc., etc.  Anyone else charmed by this artist?  I haven't been able to throw my "Cat Tales" calendar from 2008 yet.  Every time I get ready, I make the mistake of flipping thru it one last time and just can't do it! 

spring cleaning

I know the calendar says it the first part of February but yesterday I got in the mood to spring clean decorate.  So forget the date, I'm moving forward into the next season.  Inspired by this photo in a recent Pottery Barn catalog:

 

I decided to create a few little "gardening" vignettes of my own.  Starting with the buffet:

 

Okay, so not a good photo, but included in the arrangement is one pot of amaryllis bulbs, one vintage watering can, some old glass bottles, my cats oat grass and one mini vignette inside a cloche ~ here's a better look at that:

 

Isn't that bird in the nest the sweetest?  I think I'm "into" birds.  I mean I have been outside for a while but I've never brought them inside before.  Now I see them everywhere (and eggs too) and I wonder what took me so long.  Combining them with the greenery really makes me think of spring and "fresh" and alive.  I'm so glad I did this, it's making me happy today.  Here's another little scene I compiled on my coffee table:

Surprise, surprise, another bird!  With my new "Christmas" gardening books, another cloche & a birdcage.  Love it too.  Isn't it funny how just small changes can really perk up a room?  I'm so glad that catalog came in the mail.  It sure inspired me and got rid of the winter blues. 

methods of seed ordering

Since I have seeds on the brain, and am in the midst of finalizing my orders, I started wondering how other gardeners determine which seeds to order.   Do you all have methods to the selection process (because heavens there's a zillion choices)?   Do you order off a wish list, just because the photo is pretty, with specific planting situations in mind, or stick with the tried and true/basic favorites??   or something else entirely??  Maybe you don't want to divulge??  I check "all of the above" for my method.  I can see something striking in the catalog, read about it and if I think it could possibly grow in my garden, on the list it goes.  The cup and saucer vine 'Cobaea scandens' was one of those choices.

 

It did so well and I loved it so much, it's on my list again this year.  Of course I always order with my containers in mind.  I have 'Thunbergia' (Black Eyed Susan Vine) on my list again this year because it makes a breathtaking focal point (smothering a trellis or obelisk quickly) in the center of a container:

  

The vine quickly tripled the size of my container and looked lovely combined with 'black and blue' Salvia and the double pink Oleander (among other plants).  I won't repeat this container in 09 but I'll use the 'Thunbergia' in a similar manner.  I also have to have my favorites:

 

I can't imagine my garden without these tried and true beauties.  Lastly, I'll order (or maybe buy) off my wishlist those plants I've possibly seen and admired in your garden (that I don't have photos for yet).  It's a complicated process, isn't it?  Not nearly as simple as opening a catalog and writing down numbers.   Good thing it's such an enjoyable pasttime, right?

Christmas Garden Gifts

I'm a little "tardy to the party" as the saying goes, in posting my Christmas gifts.  Even tho it was almost 3 weeks ago now, I thought it still might be fun to share my garden related treasures.  (I always think I must be the easiest person in the world to buy for ~ get me anything garden related and I'm happy!)  I was thrilled to get these two books ~ they will keep me occupied for quite a while.  I have you, garden bloggers, to thank for receiving "Stylish Sheds & Elegant Hideaways."  I saw it recommended on several blogs so I put it on my list. 

 

I haven't had time to actually read either of them yet, I've only flipped thru and looked at the pictures.  I have to say tho, this chicken coop (in the Stylish Sheds & Elegant Hideaway book) sent me over the moon:

 

I think it would make almost anyone want chickens, it's so adorable.  I just love everything about it, too, too cute.  Another fun gift I received was these garden magnets:

 

I have a thing for "vintage" so these images, combined with my plant obsession are perfect.  This "Mighty Magnets" set is called "Old Tyme Posies" and are by Lucy Lu Designs.  I also received two magazine subscriptions, one to Country Gardens and the other to The English Garden.  I was pretty spoiled, wouldn't you say?  Anyone else care to share their garden related gifts??