Kaseys Korner

perennial topic

Found this tag in my papercrafting supplies today.  Thought it was the perfect thing for a gardening blog since this happens to be one of our favorite subjects.  Need I say more?!!!

up, up and away

It's a bird.  It's a plane.  Ha.  Who do I think I'm kidding?!!  Of course it's a kite.  One lone kite (with some anxious neighbor kids attached) fighting desperately to stay airborne.  Shows you how deceptive a photo can be.  It looks like a beautiful day but the wind was brutal ~ cold, stiff & vigorous.  A little too vigorous even for kite flying.  I guess March felt compelled to uphold its reputation as the windiest month.   That's okay March.  Have your fun.  We're done with you after tomorrow.  Whose laughing now?!!

you croc me up

It's Saturday!  The weekend stretches before us!  The sun is shining!  So obviously that leads to "let's talk shoes!"  ?!  hee hee.  Now there's a happy subject (my heart is doing flip flops just thinking about it)!  I'm wondering what other gardeners wear in the garden??  Something sturdy?  Something laced?  Myself, I'm a "slip on" kinda girl.  I'm barefoot most of the time indoors so I want something I can just slide my feet into and shoot out the door.  (unless I'm doing excavation or other major tasks).  Last summer, I discovered crocs.  Okay, I know they've been around for a while.  But let's just say, I had some serious disdain for them at first.  I had heard everyone rant and rave, blah, blah, blah, about how comfortable they were but just look at them!  Big boats of rubberized plastic (or whatever that stuff is they're made of)  Then I tried a pair on.  And converted on the spot.  I love that they can play in the dirt, get wet, etc., but also clean up well.  What more can you ask of footwear?!!  That's my take, now what's your foot wearing???    

Euphoria

My passion is gardening, my hobby (and some of my freelance work) is papercrafting.  Anything from cards to scrapbook layouts.  When the two meet, it's pure, unadulterated bliss.  Aaahh.   Song lyrics from "Wild Thing" come to mind (you make my heart sing) it's such a joyful combination.  In that crazy, uplifting spirit, here is a layout I created last summer using one of my favorite photos of the season. (click on the layout to view in its entirety)  Happy Friday everyone!

see saw

Occasionally I wonder what my neighbors (non gardeners) must think of me.  Maybe I'm referred to as "that crazy woman" since I walk around my yard almost everyday, poke at the dirt, rummage thru leaves, examine twigs, and other seemingly insane activities.  I mean, what the heck?  She did that yesterday!  ha ha.  Every gardener knows exactly what I'm talking about!  It's amazing what changes occur (almost daily) in spring.

On my stroll yesterday, I noticed the rhubarb was up (I love it when it's first unfurling, the bright pink/red balls are so eyecatching), the lupine is emerging as well as the columbine, peonies, bleeding hearts, monkshood, etc.  It appears my poppy seeds have germinated.  Hooray!  The iris are already several inches tall and it looks like the daffodils & tulips will be blooming in a week or so.  The weather is doing it's normal dance, back and forth, stepping on springs warm toes when it pulls winter back around.  Yesterday was 72 degrees and today an uninvited spring snow storm is covering everything in white.  But it's all good because tomorrow will be 60 degrees again!  How are things in your part of the world?   

upcoming chores

Sharing with you a photo that I like to refer to as my Better Homes & Gardens shot!  lol  If I added a few more touches, maybe some ice tea glasses, a pitcher, garden hat, etc., it seemed like it could be featured in the pages of a magazine??  Sad to say, these chairs are not looking exactly this way after our long winter.  I'm not sure why, but they are peeling really bad??  I primed them well before spraying with the key lime color??  It was so fun and cheery having that bright color to greet us on the flagstone patio that I know I have to sand and redo them.  I would get up in the morning, look out the window and just smile!  Anything that starts the day out that way, is worth repeating!  The inspiration to paint them came after a weekend of greenhouse hopping last spring.  Chairs in multi colored hues were everywhere so I came home and "played" along.  Looks like I'll be doing it again soon.  Now whether to keep the same color or switch it up to a new one?!!  Any suggestions??!!

spring rejuvenation

Last week I started bringing my tender vines and perennials up from the basement to prepare them for spring.  My basement is unfinished and kept cool so anything I want to overwinter gets piled into a dark corner in the fall.  Believe it or not, the scrawny looking greenery in this pot is my passion vine.  It never ceases to amaze me that it can go from looking so scraggly to being so spectacular like this in July/August.   I divide (if needed) repot in new soil, etc., to give them the best start for the season ahead.  My dining room will look like a small nursery for the next month or so and I'll be beyond thrilled to get it back once everything can safely be moved outdoors.  Looking at my photos from the previous season keeps me motivated and convinced that it's worth all the work and effort. 

snug as a bug

What is it about cats and "squishing" themselves into small places??  It seems like the tighter the fit, the better??  Here's mine the other day as I was cleaning out my office.  As you can see, he barely squeezed into this old, little basket but it didn't matter, he was happy as could be.  Motor purring loudy.  How great to be so easily amused.

and now it's Monday & back to work.  

Easter nostalgia

It's Easter Sunday.  A beautiful day here.  Hope that's true where you are too.  Sharing another papercrafting project in honor of the holiday.  This one, an Easter bag I made for my Mom using "old, old, old" K and Company products (more supplies I couldn't bear to part with).  I photocopied a picture of two of my brothers (and me) as children and inserted it inside the gorgeous daffodil frame.  Easter Sunday label is from Making Memories.   I'm thinking a variation on the theme would make a lovely Mother's Day gift as well.   Enjoy the day.

lost love rekindled

"Oh, no you didn't!"  "Yes, I did."  "No, you didn't???"  "Yes I did."  "You did???"  "Yes, I did."  Couldn't help myself.  I placed another seed order.  BUT I'm blaming it on Cottage Living Magazine.  Does that help??!!!  You see, I finally had time to flip thru the March issue the other night and there was an article, stay with me here, called "Along the Primrose Path."  Pictured in the article were my favorite primroses of all time, "cowslips" (Primula Veris).  gasp, sigh, lust.  I had these once upon a time.  I started them from seed. Only three seeds, out of the entire packet, germinated.  Boy did I ever baby that trio of seedlings.  Two years later, they paid me back by blooming spectacularly.  Then, regretfully, I had to relocate.  But I prized them so much, I transplanted all three into my mother's garden (in hopes of someday being reunited).  Has that ever happened?  Not on your life.  I think anyone who grows them falls desperately in love with them, my mother now included in that category.  I never see them for sale anywhere.  It perplexes me??  They were hardy, sturdy tho diminutive plants.  Holding their own thru howling wind and brutal Wyoming winters.  This photo doesn't do them justice.  It was taken with my old "point & shoot" camera.  If you have serious patience, I'll share a better one with you in about two years.  Now you understand why I did it???!!!!