Kaseys Korner

parting photos of fall

Anyone who watches the weather knows it doesn't always follow a calendar system ~ if it wants to act like winter out of season, it most certainly will.  That's exactly what's happening here tonight ~ with 2" of snow predicted to be on the ground by morning.  Mercy, it seems early!

At least we have warning, right??   Which means the past two days were spent readying the garden for a blanket of white.  You know it wasn't all work tho ~ of course time was taken to capture some last bits of fall!

'Autumn Brillance' Serviceberry for one.  This year it got the chance to truly be brilliant:

As opposed to last year when everything froze and turned brown. 

Above:  The front garden (past it's peak) but the colors really were magnificent.

More pumpkins....

Made even better with the addition of a certain special black cat!

The last of the containers (to be overwintered) were dragged indoors, including Buddleia 'Orange Sceptre' still in bloom:

Another "goodbye walkabout" was conducted.  Feel like deja vu???

It does to me too. 

But this time, it's for real ~ or at least that's what we've been told.  Three nights in the lower twenties should absolutely do it. 

A lone, self-sown petunia (under the mugo pine) ~ barely opened just to face certain death:

for even the overhang won't protect it from this cold.

and I wonder about the ornamental kale too...

Fairy garden pieces including the little birdcage below were also collected (a pink geranium bud is in the background ~ maybe I should have saved it too??)

Despite big plans, a genuine fairy garden never got created this summer.  The pieces just got stuck hither & yon.  Next year for sure....   Gardening is good for that, right??

btw, I told myself I wasn't hauling SO MUCH inside this year but now it feels like the same amount (or more??????)

I really do "need" that greenhouse!!!!  ;-)

July ends in the garden

Today I wanted to share a few photos of the back garden with you, taken before the start of August. 

I haven't been participating in the once a month photo meme but I realized (as I was loading the photos) maybe I actually have (unofficially) since I took some of these same shots at the end of June??

Below, view standing underneath the arbor (at the entrance to the garden:)

Reversing the view ~ standing in front of the birdhouse tuteur bed, looking back toward arbor:

The white cords you see in the photos (outlining the pathways) are white rope lights.  I turn them on at night to illuminate the garden.  It creates a beautiful (somewhat magical) effect that encourages night time viewing/visiting!  The heat this summer has made me even happier I installed them with after dark (and early mornings) being the only bearable times outdoors.

Below, same view as in photo above but at a more elevated angle:

You can see my small garden is segmented by pathways.  I'm sure many people would not find this look appealing but I LOVE the redesign (and so, might I add, do the bees, butterflies & birds!)  Since I read somewhere recently "the garden you should love the most, is your own" ~ I'd say it's working.  I never used to love my garden the most AT ALL but I am working my way in that direction now!

Below, standing behind the birdhouse tuteur looking toward the north bed (you can see the 5' spires of Agastache 'Blue Fortune' just beginning to bloom:)

Same view, moving a little closer:

I should have cleaned the birdbath before photographing! 

Below ~ view from the pathway on the opposite side of birdhouse tuteur bed:

Someone else who loves the pathway system (and thinks they were installed for him!:)

The newest bed ~ installed this spring was intended to have the Lilac standard as a focal point (it's hard to even find it below but it's behind the birdcage, if that helps.) 

As you can see, the tomato plants have more or less taken over.  My idea of mixing veggies with blooms possibly needed a bigger bed to be successful because this tangle of foliage was not what I envisioned!

At least it all appears to be happy & maybe that's all that matters??  

I feel like I've been neglecting my front garden this year (have I even shared ANY photos of it??!) but I can't seem to help it.  I like the back garden so much more ~ maybe it's time for a redesign out there??!!

 

 

 

 

 

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!!

Back garden long views

Because I'm so horrible about sharing them.  So sorry....

Not many blooms but a jungle of green.

The bed in the very foreground is the newest ~ put in this spring (remember the lilac standard that was purchased to center it??)

A little bit longer view:

I've mixed veggies with flowers in this bed (as you can probably tell) & I'm loving the silver, spikey artichoke foliage.  Why haven't I done this before??

Turning around and moving back slightly to look along the house ~ this is my mostly shade bed:

I've been revamping it lately even tho I only put it in last summer. 

The most exciting addition has been a new hydrangea ~ 'Double Delights ~ Star Gazer:'

Those fabulous double blooms sucked me in at first glance (even tho I swore I wasn't buying ANY more plants!!)

Can't wait to see it in full bloom ~ you know I'll share!

Before that happens, a backtrack (to the long views of the shade garden) and a couple more looks:

Above is a slightly tighter view and below and even tighter shot of a favorite combination:

Foliage from front to back:  Hellebore, 'Guacamole' Hosta, Pink Astible blooms & Oak Leaf Hydrangea. 

All kinds of awesome (at least to me.)

If you look closely at one of the longer shots of the shade garden you'll notice 'Phlomis russeliana' in bloom (left of the rooster weather vane.)  I planted it two years ago but this is the first year for blooms.  I'm a big fan of phlomis ~ have grown the pink variety for years ~ but was unsuccessful in finding either seeds or plants of 'russeliana' until recently.  A long search that culminates with a happy ending like this is especially satisfying.

A last look ~ that's Colocasia 'Mojito' in the pineapple container.  I wintered it over in the basement & it's been slow to get going.  I hope it starts growing soon!

I can't quit until you see 'Henny Penny' tho!!  She keeps moving around the garden but for now, she likes it here, in front of the raised bed.  :-)

If you can't have the real thing, fake it ~ right?!!!!

 

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?!!

there's a chicken in the garden

unfortunately, just not a real one! 

Instead a most comely iron "girl." 

Isn't she cute? 

I wish there'd been two but I think I was lucky to find one (since the store owner where I bought it said she was so over chickens, there would be no more!)  Bummer.

Oh well, I think she looks good guarding the topiary and she'll do until I can someday try the live version!

p.s.  I think she needs a name, don't you??  Any suggestions?

Frosted!

Twas the 6th day of December and not a twig, branch, leaf, blade of grass, etc., etc. (you get the picture) was left untouched by frost.  Wait ~ December 6th??  Isn't it still officially fall?  No one would believe that in my neck of the woods. 

The tree line across the street from my house screams "winter:"

Notice the snow covered ground too??  Sure looks like Winter to me.

It settled in on October 26th (the date of our first snowstorm) and refuses to give Fall it's rightful time back!

Blog readers prepare yourselves for a looonnngg stretch of the "winter blues" compliments of yours truly.

When winter bullies in after only one month of Fall it doesn't take a calculator to figure that's FIVE months of gnarly white cold versus the three dedicated on the calendar.

Totally disproportionate, don't you think? 

This gardener would prefer if the months were skewed the opposite way!

Maybe Spring will figure out a way to chip off some time on that end?

You know that's what this girl's hoping for....

November ends

on a mellow note, capping off a week of milder than normal temperatures. 

 

It's been an absolute delight. 

Especially since it came on the heels of 20+ inches of snow (end of Oct & beginning of Nov) which brought a sudden violent and premature end to Fall.

If the weather forecast is correct, tomorrows calendar flip also marks a switch in the outdoor thermostat as well ~ 5 to 8" of new snow and highs in the twenties.  Ouch.   That's a forty degree drop.

I doubt I'll be ready.  I never am. 

It will be DECEMBER tho so I guess it's inevitable??? 

Time to move the "party" indoors.  At least we enjoyed the warmth while it lasted ~ hopefully it won't be TOO long before the mercury eeks upward.

Above:  Amaryllis 'Red Lion' ~ originally purchased as 'Prince Carnival' but who can complain?! 

I'll be back as soon as I dig out from under the Christmas decorations (and the snow)...

 

 

2011 Garden Additions

I thought about titling this post "I planted what?"  or "I planted all that?"   But the more methodical side of me took over and I decided I needed a good reference point in case there was ever a reason to look back.  Something I'm trying to do less and less of but still...

The list consists only of shrubs & trees added to the garden the past spring & summer.  It was compiled out of my own curiosity ~ it seemed I planted endlessly and I wanted an accounting for my efforts.  Now that it's in black & white before me, I can't recall how I managed?  In no particular order:

(16) Boxwoods

(25) Yews

(1) Weeping Pussy Willow

(1) Columnar Serviceberry (pictured below)

(1) Double Pink Flowering Almond

(1) Dwarf Alberta Spruce

(1) Dogwood (pictured below, unknown variety ~ found without a tag, baking in the sun, on the asphalt parking lot of a big box store)

(11) Arborvitaes

(3) Endless Summer Hydrangeas

(1) Japanese Maple

(2) Rhododendrons

(1) 'Blue Girl' Holly (sporting a lone berry)

Whew.  That's it ~ maybe it's not as much as I thought?  Oh no, it's every bit of what I thought ~ my back remembers each and every one!!

All of these additions were added to create structure (and privacy) in the back garden redesign ~ maybe you remember going thru the process with me?  Countless bulbs & perennials were also planted ~ I just didn't have the patience or fortitude to create that list.

In the early days of winter (at least here) all the hard work of the past season gives me infinite hope and excitement for the 2012 gardening year ~ it's good to have something to look forward to, isn't it??!!

 

 

Hibiscus 'Powder Puff'

and the first snow of the year.  Say what???  Yep, you read that right ~ we got the first snow of the season last night and into today.  It was heavy, wet stuff that left a TON of damage in its wake since most of our trees & shrubs were still fully leafed out.  I was out throughout the night and all day today trying to knock it off the branches I could reach.  Tomorrow I'll have to assess the damage but already I hear chain saws working on the many branches down across the neighborhood.  The ground was warm ~ it was 80 degrees on Monday ~ so the pavements and streets mostly melted.  Below you can see some of the accumulation on my patio table:

At one time I measured 10" using a ruler but I'm sure there was more since it was melting the whole time.  Here's another look out the back patio door:

Isn't that crazy??  Melted concrete but piles of snow. 

Thank goodness for 'Powder Puff' Hibiscus that opened in the middle of our wintry day:

Feeling grateful I brought it indoors to overwinter, I'd considered otherwise.  It's loaded with buds:

which it also had last year but then they all fell off after coming inside??  That's why I was torn about whether to keep it or not.  I don't know what I did differently this year, I'm just happy for a bloom when everything is cold and white outside.

Makes the whole snow thing a bit easier to swallow, doesn't it??