Kaseys Korner

Introducing our new Persian "baby"

something which should not be done with this dirty of a face!

I hope she'll forgive me for being in too much of a hurry to wipe it!  She was just so darn cute watching me take photos of the orchids, I couldn't resist turning the camera on her!

We picked her up this past Saturday from a lady who couldn't keep her anymore and even though we weren't quite sure we were ready for another cat, she's doing a fabulous job convincing us!

More photos to come and next time, I promise, she'll be primped, scrubbed clean and camera ready!!!

p.s.  She came to us with the name of Druscilla but we are wavering about whether or not to keep it??

Thoughts??

to new beginnings

It's been over four months since I last blogged ~ if anyone out there is still checking for a new post, I'm truly a lucky girl.

Long story short, by way of an explanation for the extended absence, someone I love confessed they were an alcoholic.  Talk about a lose-your-balance moment. 

Since last summer, I've been trying to help.

Unfortunately, I'm learning how difficult that is to actually do....

Thank God for friends (and flowers:)

Above:  Amaryllis 'Elvas'

who commiserate over tea and blueberry banana bread.

Since it's still January (just barely) and this is the traditional month for new beginnings, I mean more than ever before that I'm oh so ready for a fresh start.

There is no way to return to the person I was before this experience. 

My heart and soul are forever changed.

But I can move forward (or at least try), which means getting back to the things that bring me bliss. 

The garden is at the top of that list. 

Sharing photos of it with you also ranks up there.  I'm going to do my utmost to blog more consistently.  It might only be once a week, I'll have to see how it goes as I get my footing again, but from the bottom of my heart, MANY thanks for sticking with me.  xxoo

Lost: Beloved Persian

Our beautiful solid black part-Persian cat ~ Regis ~ who many of you have seen featured on this blog many times, slipped unnoticed out the screen door on Memorial Day evening.

I'd been having trouble getting the door to latch properly. 

He's an indoor only cat (except if he's supervised like he was below) so I know he has to be frightened.

I searched all night that night.  I've printed up flyers and passed them out to the whole neighborhood.  I called the Humane Society.  He wasn't wearing a collar but he's microchipped.  I placed an ad on Craig's List. 

I even put his litter boxes outside my front and back doors.  The Humane Society suggested that.  They said a cats pheromones are so strong, they can smell them up to two miles away.  If he got disoriented, it should help him find his way home.  I never knew that but I'm willing to try anything. 

Can you think of anything else I can do???  I really, really, can't imagine not having him in our family. 

Thank you for any suggestions.  I'm desperate to find him.

 

vintage watering can with rectangular rose!!

This spring I made an oath to myself NOT to be swayed into purchasing another vintage watering can unless it was very different from any others in my collection.

I think you know where this is going.  Yep ~ that very circumstance occurred yesterday while out junking!

How cool is the "rose" on this can???!!

No way I could pass it up.  I haven't ever seen one like it before, have you??

I wish I could try watering with it to see how well this shape works but unfortunately, the bottom of the can is rusted thru.  

I noticed the name "Sherman" on the back side of the rose & tried googling it but couldn't find anything??

hmmm.  It even has Regis curious!

Vintage watering cans can be pretty pricey (as those of you who collect them know.)  This one was originally $29.00 but I got it for 40% off! 

Now to find just the right place for it in the garden!

 

Hosta 'sun power'

a beacon of brightness, rain or shine.

'Sun Power' went on my wish list after reading a post last summer by Jennifer ~ I bet you can see why?!!

The rain & cooler temperatures over the weekend meant more time outdoors to enjoy the garden & patio.  It felt SO nice to be able to wander out ANY time of the day versus only in the morning & evenings (like we've been doing these past scorching weeks.)  It also energized me to do some small projects I hadn't felt like doing in the heat ~ like rearranging garden shelves.

Even tho the shelves aren't anything cool or fancy, they serve the purpose of vertical interest on the stucco wall plus give me somewhere to display some of my vintage watering cans & other unused gardening paraphernalia:

Incredibly, the basket of violas survived the 100 degree heat & are looking a lot perkier in the cooler temps.

Please ignore the "pansy" stake ~ there were none that said "viola!"

Most of you are already acquainted with our cat, Regis, and know he is only allowed outdoors with supervision.  He generally hangs out in a patio chair, content to observe the birds & garden in comfort.  However, when I turned around from rearranging the shelves, he had climbed up the back of the chair cushion & was in this position:

Not sure what that was about??? 

When I said his name, he popped right down & looked at me as if to say "What??" "Me??"  "I wasn't doing anything."

A face that cute gets away with many, many transgressions!!!

One of the other jobs I did while puttering around was staking.  So many plants falling over in the rain & in general need of tidying.  I found a cool twine holder this spring which makes that job easier (and more fun!)

It's heavy, cast iron (I think?) with a rooster topper ~ just about perfect, right?!

It's been very handy to have outside ~ a purchase I've used a lot. 

This week is supposed to heat back up & dry out so I guess the only sound of water we'll hear is from the little fountain:

That's okay.  At least we got some rain ~ now I hope it spreads across the country to other parts that also need it.....

 

 

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.

 

here we go again

a second round of snow.  Exactly one week after the first.  ugh.  Should I be scared of what winter has in store for us???!!!  I'm inclined to think so considering we aren't even halfway thru fall yet.  Scared for my trees too.  They took a huge hit last week because they were still fully leafed out.  Nothing's changed in that department.  Fingers, toes (and everything else) crossed, hoping for the best but preparing for worse.  I know a lot of you can relate since we're not the only part of the country experiencing powerful early storms.

On a positive note, I've gotten a big lift from this little bouquet I cut myself before the first snowflake flew:

I've never taken the time to save blooms before but now that I have, I'm thinking it's worth the effort.  Nothing like a fresh flower in the middle of a snowstorm!  The roses even still have a hint of fragrance.

I think I mentioned in the previous post that I finished planting bulbs before it started snowing?  Planting at ground level is good for inspecting beds and making discoveries.  Like toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta 'variegata') that I thought I'd lost:

Hope I find it earlier next year so I can enjoy the exotic blooms longer.

My favorite kind of pumpkin ~ 'Cinderella:'

I keep bringing it in the house each time we have a hard freeze ~ wonder what I'm saving it for??  I sure can't tell you ~ I just know I'm not ready to let it go to mush yet.

Finally, in honor of Halloween, Butterball the fire dog!

Here's what he really thought of the costume:

NOT happy!  Next year I better clear the selection with him before expecting him to wear it.  Who knew he'd be so picky?!!  Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween?  Now I'm signing off before I lose power again.  Hopefully there won't be a lot of damage to clean up outside in the morning....

 

the early October garden

feels more like August.  I know, I know, we're only 3 days in but with temperatures in the mid 80's it's hard to believe the calendar.  Even tho I'd rather pretend it's going to be Indian summer until December, I'm realistic enough to proceed with the season.  Mums have been added to the tall urns at the end of the yew allee:

White rope lights were also added on either side of the yew pathway to illuminate it at night.  It looks like a runway out there after dark!

Pumpkins have been scattered hither & yon:

and phase II of the back garden redesign has commenced!  The first part of this phase is adding more raised bed area to the north side of the yard.

You can see a bit of exposed soil on the right side of the above photo.  Someone besides me is excited by the excavating ~ our Lhasa, Butterball!  I caught him jumping out of the newly dug bed:

After he landed he stopped and looked at me as if to say "Who me??  I would never get in there!!"

Ha!  We know better, don't we?!!!  :-)

As you also know, the garden is full of surprises ~ today it was a primula bloom I would never have dreamed possible:

'Pubescens' blooms in spring but it's never repeated in the fall before.  I have no idea why, but beauty of this caliber is not to be questioned!

More expected are aster blooms.  Below is Novi Belgii 'Winston Churchill:'

I planted this one in the container (veggie) bed and am lovin' the raspberry pink color.

David Austins 'Abraham Darby' is beginning a third flush of blooms!  Bloom on Abe ~ it's a rose that could bloom year 'round and I'd still never tire of it:

If you grow it, you know it smells every bit as delicious as it looks.

A new plant to the garden surprised me pleasantly by blooming non-stop since mid summer ~ Gaura lindheimeri 'Passionate Rainbow:'

I didn't think it could get better until Nicotiana alata 'lime green' took off ~ the combination is really lovely.  To think when I bought it, I really didn't care if it bloomed at all ~ I just liked the foliage so much!

The end of the week is supposed to usher in a cool front and some rain.  I knew the heat couldn't last but we're trying to enjoy it as much as possible before it ends.  The garden has been such a joy this year ~ totally worth all the hard work.  The only question I ask myself is "what took so long to do it??!!"

August garden mayhem

Anyone else think their garden looks a little "worse for wear" in August?  Mayhem abounds here.  Brought on by ill-planned planting schemes, long (too) hot days, dismal (to no) rainfall, blah, blah, blah.   Whatever the cause, this time every year I decide I need to do some major revamping.  Then the weather cools and so does my ardor for rearranging.  Caught up in bulb planting, not a perennial is moved thus the cycle perpetuates year after year.  One day, I will change this about myself & my garden but not this year.  

When I'm outside during the heat of the day, everything seems parched and miserable ~ know the look??   Thank goodness for early morning and late afternoon/evening when bright spots can be found mixed among the strugglers.  Like the water lily container.   An accidental "Monet effect" was created when the pink scaevola, from a neighboring pot, began to cascade over it:

I moved the lilies into the pot a month or so ago hoping an increase in sunlight & warm water temperatures would spur a few blooms.  So far, nothing but it's still very pretty to look at, don't you think?

Baby Bullock's orioles are not helping the disorderly appearance either.  They bounce from tip to tip across fragile bloom stems (like live little pinballs) breaking prized perennials in their wake.  Luckily I adore them else the destruction they leave behind would distress me.  Not that it occasionally doesn't ~ as when I found the only stalk of my 'Red Caroline' Delphinium bent in half:

That illicited an "oath" (to put it mildly) but I'm "turning the other cheek" because they are the only Orioles left ~ the adults departed more than a week or so ago.   I know any day now they will follow suit.  Our usual pattern is that juvenile hummingbirds arrive as the orioles begin migrating & they keep the garden energy alive (and the gardener from being despondent!)  Something is amiss this year tho ~ not a single hummingbird has yet been spotted ~ and we're almost a month out from our normal first sighting (anytime from mid-July on.)  I hope that changes soon.

August always brings sunflowers, another bright spot.  Single stalks are blooming randomly about the garden, volunteers from last season or compliments of the birds:

At least they add some color and interest. 

Especially the Burgundy which popped up near last years plants:

They seem impervious to heat, in fact, appearing to relish it.  A giant plus.  Maybe more sunflowers should go on the list of changes to the August garden??  As well as more phlox.  My first stalk of 'David' is now blooming:

and I wonder why I resisted adding a plant (or more) until last year??  The other phlox added (whose name I'll have to look up) resides in the front garden:

where it is quickly becoming overrun by Miscanthus.  Another move desperately waiting to be made....  Add that to the list.

Something I AM liking (and so is my dog) are the yew pathways created this spring:

I wish I'd planted them years ago.  We both love to walk thru them, first one way then back the other, like they're part of some grand garden or something.  Too bad I don't have acres and acres so I could construct a maze.  I'm sure that would delight us both.

I'll leave you with one last photo:

that I find appealing (for some unknown reason).  I never got around to planting the empty containers but we gardeners are always motivated by next year, aren't we?  I'm pretty sure I'll be re-energized by then!

 

Emerurus etc.

Another assortment of garden photos today.  No theme, just the latest captures taken off my camera, starting with the ever-evolving front garden.  The peonies, iris & early spring bloomers are pretty much over.  Emerurus has taken center stage.  During its bloom season, nothing can upstage it.  Single handedly it scoops every award from most inquiries, most coveted, most solicited, most admired, etc., etc.. 

There are five towering bloom stalks this year, the most I've had from what started as one tuberous rootstock.  In the photo above, three stalks have soared over the other two but I believe you can just make out the tips of the shorter ones??

Here's another angle:

Joining them are three 'Cleopatra' Emerurus blooms (at the opposite end of the same bed) ~ that's eight total which is the best showing ever for my garden! 

Making a strong case for the existence of garden fairies, is the perplexing way one of the 'Cleopatra' rootstocks has moved itself to the middle of the bed.  It's now separated by at least four feet from the location of the other two where they were all originally planted.  This gardener did not dare take a shovel & attempt such a move!  I like the new position tho and maybe it does too?  We'll be able to tell soon by how well it performs there.

Someone else has been feeling slighted by a lack of blog appearances lately:

You are under no obligation to compliment his good looks but if you do feel so inclined, he would much appreciate the attention!  ;-)  Happy now Butterball???

Back to the garden, my newly acquired iron rooster post-topper framed in the foreground by the pink shrub roses:

Finding it is the perfect excuse to add another climber so now I'm on the lookout for something cool to twine up the base....  Shouldn't be difficult, right?

Not far from the rooster, is another new addition (purchased after the garden tour I recently posted about) ~ Hollyhock 'Spring Celebrities Purple:'

I fell for the fringy blossoms ~ I'd never seen them before??   However, I most likely would not have purchased it if I'd known this variety was considered an annual.  I discovered that fact after arriving home and doing a little research.  Darn it.  Maybe it will seed around???

There's been very little gardening done the last three days, the wind has been blowing furiously and I just haven't felt like dealing with it.  It's also been cool (in the 60's and rainy).  Sweatshirts & hoodies have been donned ~ it feels like anything but the first day of summer.   Warmer temperatures and sun are in the forecast tho and that will surely make me happy and get me back into the garden again.  :-)