A Winter Wonderland?

Considering it was about 60 degrees three weeks ago, we were thrust back in to winter weather with flurries yesterday and overnight. Only a dusting stuck around here but it was enough that we cleared paths and salted and sanded as needed. With the premiere lighting of the Holiday Lights Show tonight as part of the Taste of Chocolate, we don't want any accidents! Above are shots of Becky conducting a winter container class at the horticulture center yesterday. She did a nice job with the help of Nancy and I hope the partipants didn't mind all the activity (and noise) over here as there were Grumpies, meetings and other activities occuring, making it a very busy Thursday. Below is a shot of some of the elements the ladies used in their containers. While some botanic gardens shift to winter arrangements of grasses, branches, etc. in their containers, we don't as we have very few visitors in winter, limited funds and like to bring our containers back to the maintenance facility for emptying and cleaning before their use next spring.

I took a good portion of yesterday off but saw our carpenters hard at work finishing a garden bench and starting to prepare cucumber frames/supports for our collection next year. Maury and Dr. Gredler did some painting while Del worked on getting more deer cutouts prepared for our gift shop. It was very busy so I'm sure I'm missing mentioning everyone. Larry kept everyone moving around and Little Jerry was here to do more pruning and is our resident tool sharpener. Now is a good time to clean, oil and sharpen tools for next year. Below is an aesthetic display of Felco #5 hand pruners that Jerry prepared (the display too!) for the container class yesterday.

Today was fairly quiet. I did some path salting then shifted to catalog perusing and presentation preparation. Bill came in and took care of checking the rest of the paths and getting the walk ready to go for tonight. Dick H and his brother were here working on truck repair while Dr. Gredler sanded and stained a bench. We also saw Maury and Barb briefly. I'll leave early and come back to fire up the lights show. Part of my duties tonight will include really checking over the show to address any needs next week before the "official" opening on December 11. Below is a shot of the English cottage garden from last year and we again hope this event will be well received considering the amount of time involved with set-up, facilitation and take down.

Chills On The Way

Despite the impending chill (and possible rain tonight), this plantain-leaf sedge (Carex plantaginea) was still looking good in the shade garden. Native to eastern North America, the roots of this sedge was used by Native Americans were used for snakebites and it was thought that carrying a root of this plant would help prevent snake bites. This sedge has the widest leaf blade of all the sedges that we have out in the gardens and has done very well over the years. As I always mention with sedges (Carex sp.), watch out for the spreading or "running" sedges and when catalogs or plant tags indicate "Vigorous!" for a sedge (or any plant for that matter), look out! Another nice bench quote down below.
Another light day of staff and volunteers with Larry off today. Little Jerry came in to prune and Jumbo Jim joined him later in the day. The guys shifted to putting up burlap screens around some of our more "winter sensitive" woody plants in the Japanese garden. Dr. Gredler was here for more painting and dump runs while Janice came in to discuss some upcoming plans for 2010. Due to possible rain thru tomorrow, Dick W. came in and finished some woodchip mulching along our roadside (Palmer Drive) plantings and did a nice job. We also saw Bob T. and Dick H. briefly. I worked on more presentations and went thru two more seed catalogs; HPS and Johnny's. We're in the process of deciding on general collections and will be more specific when we start ordering in early January. December will be busy and we hope there wont be any issues with the lights show to contend with as the month progresses. Looks like the weather will settle in to its "winter mode" so with that thought, enjoy some past summer shots below...The bottom image shows our favorite thing to see in the gardens... ....volunteers and smiles. Get the kids involved!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last "Warm" Day?

Despite the page turn on the calender to December, I caught this primrose (Primula 'Chic in Red') in full bloom along the shoreline of our woodland walk. This is a warmer spot than most out in the garden. Note the new foliage growth too. I think this poor fella thinks it's late April and is waking up again with all the mild weather. Oh well. We'll enjoy the color regardless of any calendar indications. Nice shot below of bugleweed (Ajuga 'Black Scallop') that offers some interest in the shade garden until buried by snow. Bugleweed is definitely a "carpeting" perennial that spreads and should be placed accordingly. However, it is also very durable as a groundcover and the nice blue, early spring blooms are of merit as well. We have a dozen or so varieties around the gardens and have rarely regretted planting it.
Today was a light crew with Larry finishing up touches outside for the lights show and Little Jerry pruning crabapples and other woody plants around the gardens. Marianne came in and did a great job cleaning and organizing the office at the horticulture center. It is amazing how much dust settles over here and knowing Marianne, she got it all. Dr. Gredler came in to do some painting on our bike rack (see below) and the reason for the red paint is so it will match our color scheme in the area that it will be placed in 2010. We simply couldn't have blue again! Dick H. came in for awhile to repair a mirror on one of our trucks but otherwise, a nice day for me to bury my nose in seed catalogs and start preparing for my spring talks (18 and counting). If you're looking for gift ideas for your children or grandchildren, the bench quote at the bottom seems like a very valid gift (and decidedly more important than an XBOX or Playstation......). Note the author.

2010 Preparations Begin In Earnest

I'm officially in a 2010 mental state now as I consider what worked for us in 2009 (like this sunken garden border above) and what didn't. With the lights show essentially up and ready to go with the premiere lighting this Friday night, I can sink my teeth in to all the seed catalogs and start putting together some ideas. Despite the fact that some of our summer annuals for next year wont be planted for 6 months, the clock is ticking for selecting, ordering and procuring seed so we can distribute our orders to our four growers. I like to have everything (annuals) selected by January and then move on to woody plants and perennials that we like to obtain locally. We're still in our budget preparations for next year so I need to make decisions based on the approved budget in the coming month or so. It was nice to have four days off but it's time to rock and roll for 2010. Below is a shot of the front of our visitors center a couple of years ago for the Holiday Lights Show, originally called the Winter Wonderland Walk.
While I started my winter preparations for 2010 today, Larry was out "fine tuning" the lights show and helping facilitate Grumpies. Although the Grumpies are on hiatus until spring, we still had a lot of guys here today! The carpenters kept busy while some guys helped with projects out at the other building while some pruned and the remainder mulched. Little Jerry and Urban pruned most of the day and Dr. Gredler continued his journies to the dump. Bill came in for more tidy up work as well. It was a nice day outside and everyone took advantage of it except me! How about the vehicle below for tours around the garden!?

Glad For the Early Start

The swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) leaves caught my eye today with their subtle orange coloration. We had consistent light drizzle throughout the day but managed to continue to test and modify the lights show based on some needs that became apparent last night with our test. We had about ten people (volunteers and staff) join us on our test walk last night and overall, the show looked great. We took the opportunity to mark problem areas with tape that we are addressing today and are modifying some power issues to minimize problems during the show. Nice shot below of the late fall color of a perennial geranium (Geranium cantabrigiense 'Karmina') in our woodland walk (picture from today). The landscape isn't totally brown and I continue to find little "hints" of color.

Larry and I worked on lights today while Little Jerry pruned in the color rooms garden and Bill continued to collect leaves from around the gardens. Marianne and Marv came in today and ran out for some last minute cords, lights, misc. supplies that we needed to complete the lights show. Marianne stayed to make some neat lights decorations for our deer displays. Vern was here for awhile and Dr. Gredler continued his trips to the dump throughout the day. We also saw Maury for a bit as well. Overall, the day was dismal in terms of weather but allowed us to continue with our event progress and garden maintenance. Every day that it's not a blizzard is a gift at this point so we'll continue outside as long as possible although larger projects will wait until spring. Nice shot (below left) in our woodland walk of Italian arum (Arum italicum) in front of variegated Japanese sedge (Carex hachijoensis 'Evergold'). To the right is the fall color of a barberry (Berberis thunbergii 'Royal Cloak') beneath our terrace garden. Many barberries get a nice fall color that should also be considered an asset. Unfortunately, barberries are becoming more frequent in woodlands and birds "disperse" the seed far and wide so do keep that in mind as well. I will now transition in to 2010 preparations which include seed ordering, garden designs, signage, interpretation and preparation for presentations.

"Pseudo-Closure" For 2009

Nice shot of the arched bridge with icicle lights from this morning. We turned the entire show on this morning and with the exception of a few minor problems, the show has not had major outages and we'll see how it looks tonight. Today was our last official Grumpy day and the last day for Marv, Marianne, Terry and Janice. The Grumpies worked on woodchipping (Ron W. and Charlie), cutting downs spireas (Dick W., Bob T. and Ron B.) and putting up the remainder of our deer fencing (Maury, John, Gary and Rollie). All the major hedges are protected and we'll address protection issues for solitary specimens next week. Vern, Jim and Del worked on carpentry projects while Terry T. continued his bathroom painting projects. Dr. Gredler cut up the remainder of the greens and continues to haul loads to the dump as time allows. It was a productive Grumpy morning and we look forward to having the guys back in April. Some guys come in for indoor projects (painting, etc.) over the winter and we hope many will come in January to start taking down the lights show. Nice shot below of yet another neat sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) leaf that caught my eye this morning.
Marv and Terry worked on some lights repairs/exchanges out in the garden and did some odds and ends in preparation for the lights show. They are truly a dynamic duo (when not napping). Janice replaced and repaired lights out in the show and helped Angie string grapevine thru some obelisks for indoor decorations. See picture to the left for Angie's start to the grapevine work last week. These obelisks should look cool inside and will be nice features. Marianne repaired more lights, checked her luminaries and helped get some back-up lights ready to go if needed. Little Jerry continued to prune in the color rooms garden and with the help of Urban and Bill in the near future, should be able to address the majority of our aesthetic pruning over the next couple of weeks. Bill was in this afternoon continuing to collect leaves and debris from select spots. Larry helped check over the lights and displays and is making some improvements and corrections throughout the day. Another one of our quote benches is seen below. I've gotten used to seeing all these benches around the gardens but I imagine a new visitor might note all these quotes and perhaps be inspired in some way.

Our Last Workday (Until April!)

We had wonderful weather this morning for our "day of decoration" workday out in the gardens. Felicia (to the left) was one of about fifteen volunteers that showed up today to help decorate the 180 white pine (Pinus strobus) trees that we put up temporarily for the holiday lights show. We lit up the entire show today so our volunteers could plug in their lights, test them and wrap them around the trees. Tree decorating is a science, particularly with white pines as they aren't as rigid as spruce (Picea) or firs (Abies) or Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Marianne layed out all the lights yesterday so with Janice's supervision (Janice seen to the right) our crew did an awesome job and we're ready for our testing next week. I finished running the last of the cords and both Larry and I did some troubleshooting of lights that were out or nibbled on by critters. The rabbits (or squirrels) seem to enjoy chewing on net lights which really cripples some of our lit hedges. Regardless, nothing new in terms of challenges and we have plenty of time to test, tweak, modify and improve the show prior to the premiere lighting during our taste of chocolate event (www.rotarygardens.org/chocolate.htm). Dr. Gredler was here to work on cutting more greens and ran some loads to the dump. Bill did another nice job collecting leaves and debris from the gardens and continues to be one of the few that continues to be dedicated to clean-up as winter looms. One of our last blooming perennials continues to offer color. The pictures below show the fall-blooming, perennial onion (Allium thunbergii 'Ozawa') that started blooming in late September and continues to send up buds despite all the frosty mornings. The flowers will retain some color after the plant goes dormant but so far, this specimen in the alpine garden, is still "struttin' its stuff."