Kaseys Korner

a sea of roses

is keeping me adrift these days (and away from the computer.)

'Abraham Darby'

The garden has never had more.

'Crown Princess Margareta' buds

This gardener couldn't be happier.

'Golden Celebration'

 The scent wafts over, around and thru ~ permeating the air.

'Winchester Cathedral' buds

Single blooms are clipped & the garden is meandered with them stuck to the nose.

'Winchester Cathedral' Tree Rose

There's no better way to breathe....

'Crown Princess Margareta'

Miniature Rose 'Cupcake'

'Abraham Darby' bud

'Teasing Georgia'

The photos above seem to reveal what the preferred rose color is ~ surprised even me ~ I thought it would be pink but it definitely seems to be hues of yellow????  

There IS pink tho ~

Pink roses threaded thru the rusted iron obelisk. 

Clematis 'Hagley hybrid' rambling among the same pink roses.

'Hagley Hybrid' is easy to miss, if you aren't looking.  It made much more of a statement when it climbed the antique birdfeeder but unfortunately, raccoons knocked that over one too many times this past winter and broke it.  :-(

I've heard much of the country is sweltering in heat this holiday weekend, not us.  I wouldn't go so far as to say it's cold but it's cool(er), blustery and we've definitely had more perfect outdoor/grilling weather.  That's okay, along with enjoying the roses, there's graduation & accompanying parties to keep us busy.  Whatever is happening in your area, enjoy the Memorial Day weekend & thank you men & women of the Armed Services.  We never forget you!

 

 

kitchen window view

It's hard to wake up on the wrong side of the bed when you look out the kitchen window and see this:

the arbor smothered in pink roses & honeysuckle. 

bliss, bliss, bliss.

That's looking left.  The view looking center is the birdhouse tuteur bed:

The view looking right:

Hawthorne tree in bloom (with ladder left over from last nights grackle eviction.)

The blooms are usually covered with bees & the sound of their buzzing noticeably loud. 

Unfortunately, last week I learned the neighbor discovered a colony of bees in the spruce tree behind my house.  Instead of calling a beekeeper, he called property management.  You can guess what happened ~  extermination.  It still makes me sick.  I've seen very few ever since...  :-(

Not out the kitchen window but next to my sink:

A double pink gloxinia!

No excuses to be grumpy, right?!!

Clematis 'Silver Moon' & 'Josephine'

Awesome individually but even more impressive intertwined. 

(for those of you not familiar with these two clematis ~ 'Josephine' is the double pink & 'Silver Moon' is the single lavender)

'Josephine' had been growing in a container the past couple years but never seemed happy there.  She produced a couple of blooms each season but never put on the show I had envisioned.  Last fall, I finally took the hint & decided to release her from the confines of the pot & planted her in the garden.  Her position, next to 'Silver Moon,' (shown below in the foreground) was decided mainly because it was the only location available.

Turned out to be a good site & you can see how she responded! 

There are many, many buds to come (for both clematis) so I don't think I'll be putting another clematis in a container again...lesson learned!

Something else that came out of a pot ~ not by my hand but voluntarily ~ are these strawberry plants:

The original plants were planted in a strawberry jar (they didn't survive the winter there) but the runners that dropped & rooted in the cracks between the flagstone pavers have started to flourish.

right down to producing berries:

Aren't these two perfect examples of plants telling the gardener what they need??!!!  I'm glad I listened regarding 'Josephine' and fresh strawberries are a side benefit I sure didn't know I'd be harvesting!

 

 

Clematis 'Asao'

has earned it's own post (not because it's beautiful, although there is no dispute there) but for being the first clematis to EVER bloom in April!  At least in this garden...

It's not just one lonely bloom either ~ it's in true "full-on-bloom-time" mode!

You have to love that aspect of this wacky spring weather. 

On the flip side, the above average warm temperatures & below average precipitation have already sparked talk of water rationing in our area.  If something doesn't change soon, it could very well become a reality.  :-(

Today is a day to shrug that worry off tho (momentarily) & to enjoy the novelty ~ for who knows if it will happen in another year or not?  I would say all things are possible and all bets are off for 2012 ~ wouldn't you agree?!!

 

catching up

I certainly left you all "high & dry" didn't I?!  Yikes ~ my apologies.  Somehow it still hasn't slowed down then my Mom came for a visit.  I had good intentions of posting before she arrived but as you know, that never happened.  Temperatures were in the upper 80's for most of her visit so we were able to be in the garden a LOT (hardly having to pretend it was summer.)  She was excited to see the changes in my back garden especially since I hadn't even started those when she visited this spring.  On one of the afternoons during her visit, I spied what I thought was a newly emerged Monarch butterfly.  I flew into the house to grab my camera but by the time I got back, the butterfly had totally disappeared.  I began to wonder/doubt if it really was "new" but then today, look what I discovered a few feet below where the butterfly had been drying:

The empty chrysalis!!!!  I can't believe I found it after the fact ~ I had searched & searched all around the milkweed in that bed when the caterpillars first disappeared.   Then today, there it was ~ attached to the underside of the urn that sits in front of the birdhouse tuteur.  Arggg.  Next year, I'm going to have to search a LOT better as I would really love to follow the whole process.

One butterfly I didn't miss photographing was this Western Tiger Swallowtail sipping on Verbena bonariensis just today:

Since I last posted, I've also had another Amaryllis bloom.  'Aphrodite' was purchased on clearance after Christmas last year but didn't bloom then:

SO pretty but I have to admit, it seems more than a little strange to see an Amaryllis in bloom during "pumpkin" season. 

Big & little orange globes have been scattered about the garden & I particularly like this one mixed with Fuchsia 'Autumnale:'

The foliage of 'Autumnale' is so impressive ~ it 'almost' makes the blooms inconsequential:

Don't you agree???  Anyone else growing this one?

My Mom & I also got into some dangerous shopping in the fairy garden section of one local greenhouse.  Oh my.  Look at two new additions that made the trip home with us:

I think I'm hopelessly addicted!  And definitely excited to bring it all to life next spring.  I want to go back for the blue crystals & place them under the bridge to create a pond.  This is exactly the reason I never jumped into the fairy garden arena before ~ thanks again Dora!!!

Other blooms in the garden right now are Buddleia 'Honeycomb:'

Anemones:

'Sweet Autumn' Clematis:

and finally, buds on the Brugmansia.

I'm not sure why this plant waits until almost frost to produce blooms??  I hope a few make it to flower since it will soon be time to start hauling it (& all the other tender plants) to the basement.  I can't believe how fast summer flies by each year.  I also know I can't be the only one who wonders where September went??   It's gone so fast, I'm already counting down the days until next garden season!!

 

 

'Pink Feathers' Morning Glory

The name sounds enticing all on its own, don't you think??  I sure did.  It intrigued me so much I had to try them out just to see what a 'pink feather' morning glory would look like.  Here's the answer:

Aaahhh ~ a girly-girls bloom (code for my kind of thing.)  Lots of fluffy, frilly pinkness with buds that even look like ice cream cones:

Almost good enough to eat, right??  Here's a top view of the bud, equally mouth watering:

and a lone luscious bloom growing up alongside the birdhouse:

'Pink Feathers' exceeded my expectations to say the least. 

Seeds were obtained thru Summer Hill Seeds ~ my first time ordering from them and service was excellent ~ I'll definitely be a repeat customer.  Only a few seeds came in the packet, of which two germinated ~ but no more is necessary.  Those two seedlings have climbed my birdhouse tuteur and are twining around everything:

I love when blooms match or surpass conceptions ~ especially when trying something unknown & new.  I will put this seed back on my list to plant again, unless you all put a run on them and leave none for me!  ;-)

p.s.  I have gone days and days without posting and now two new posts, two days straight.  Probably not the new norm, but when the mood strikes, go with it, right?!!!

Sultry = oppressively hot, sweltering

Our weatherman used a word (to describe last evenings temperature) that I barely remember hearing since leaving the east coast ~ sultry!  To tell you the truth, I'd almost forgotten about "sultry," it's been out of my vocabulary SO long.  The opportunities for an appropriate usage are rare when living in the dry (arid) west but after he said it, I thought "you are so right."  It was still a steamy 89 degrees during our 8:30 PM walk.  That doesn't happen very often either since we are usually lucky to experience a cool down as soon as the sun dips behind the Rocky Mountains.

Maybe I can blame the heat for my insomnia of late??  I've been seeing hours of the morning that I haven't seen in years, if ever.   4:14 read the clock when I rose this morning.  Although I hope this trend doesn't continue, I am appreciating many things about the hours of dawn.  Like the hot air balloon in the sky about 6:00 AM:

I certainly wouldn't see that if I was lying abed until 8:00 or 9:00 AM!

Without the heat to hurry me indoors, the cool hours allow the luxury of examining the garden at a leisurely pace.  I discovered morning glory 'Pink Feathers' (started from seed this spring) had a bloom:

I think it's the first one but I can't be sure?  Luckily, I now know there are many more buds about to open.  It looks interesting, doesn't it?  I promise to rephotograph at a later time.

The light at dawn is absolutely unparalleled.  Look at this top-laden bloom stalk of purple canterbury bells:

It positively glows.

As do the zinnias and lantana in the vintage wheelbarrow out front:

The moisture drops left from the early morning sprinkler cycle create interesting effects too.   See them glistening in between the Allium buds:

Okay, maybe not.  I didn't capture that as well as I thought.  Moving on....

Another Allium, this one 'flavum' in some great light:

'Flavum' (and 'Schubertii') are the two Alliums that inspire illusions of fireworks for me ~ do they do that for you too??

It doesn't matter what time of day the sun or clock reads when it comes to searching for a meal:

That's when the boy scout motto "always be prepared" comes into play. The crab spider above (on a Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine' bloom) is fully ready.

We're into our 18th day of continuous above 90 degree temperatures and could maybe break a record.  The longest previous string was 24 days.  At least it's not above 100 like in Texas & other parts of the country, right?  We'll see what happens.  I never like to complain about heat because even tho a drop into the 80's sounds great, I've spent too much time (the rest of the year) wishing & waiting for just this ~ summer!  I will not be hoping fall hurries up and arrives!  No way, no how....

 

 

Visions of loveliness

Double Mandevilla 'Rita Marie Green' blooming on the armillary sphere:

First bloom from Siberian Iris 'Sky Wings':

First David Austin rose of the year ~ 'Crown Princess Margareta:'

Allium bulgaricum swaying in the breeze:

"Laurens Grape' breadseed poppies (papaver somniferum) spread throughout the garden this year ~ no complaints here!

The poppy, photographed in morning light, looks like it could be a painting? 

One more...  the illusion of a double blossom, two Clematis 'Multi Blue' buds just happened to open back to back:

 How is that for lovely??

 

January blues

Even tho I have orchids:

Paph 'Robert Macabre'

and Amaryllis:

Amaryllis 'Gervase' aka 'Fantasy'

and passion vine 'Triloba:'

all currently in bloom, I can't seem to shake the January "blues." 

I had just started to see grass in my backyard on Tuesday then a quick moving snowstorm whipped thru yesterday and left another coat of white.  An observation I've made in the past few years is that the first snowfall of the year seems to stay lodged on the ground until a really good spring thaw.  I don't remember that happening 10 years ago?  In fact, when I moved to Colorado (no, I'm not a native as you probably guessed), people used to say that it snowed one day and was gone the next. 

All I know is I'm happier if I can walk about my backyard without changing into snow boots.  How about you ~ are you sailing thru January or have you experienced a bit of the doldrums too???

Passion vine 'triloba'

It's a hot chocolate kind of day.

Cold, with heavy snow & temperatures falling.  

No better time for a tropical escape via my latest bloom:

Passion vine 'triloba,' purchased last weekend, when I stopped by one of my favorite greenhouses (The Flower Bin) just for a winter pick-me-up.  Compliments of their "sunny" money program, this healthy size vine was acquired for only $15.00!  

I think it will be worth every penny in the coming days as the buds unfurl and transport me away from present reality.  It's loaded with buds too so combined with the orchids and amaryllis, I'm going to sail thru January in good spirits.  (or so I hope!)

I promise to keep it contained Janet ~ although as you probably already suspect ~ it will never be planted directly in the garden considering our harsh zone 5 conditions.

Too bad these extravagant blooms only last a single day.

Seems like such an intricately composed flower would be worth at least a couple days viewing, doesn't it?