Monday Juggling

What is this plant to the left with beautiful white, dense apical umbels you might ask? Native Americans called it rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) because the root was used to treat rattlesnake bites. This native perennial can take poor soils and lots of sun. It has yucca-like foliage and tops out around 48" or so. I love the rigidity of this plant and the interesting flower spheres (or apical umbel if you prefer). We have a couple of nice specimens out in the gardens and I would speculate that these would not thrive in overly rich, amended soils. It's a great perennial and very long-lived when placed in a happy spot.

Today was a bit crazy with lots of Grumpy projects going on and various other tasks. The storage shed continues to evolve. We're also getting set for the fall plant sale. Marv and Terry planted 65+? roses while Marianne went on her "tidying tear" throughout the gardens. I never have to double check any of the grounds people as they are so thorough. Little Jerry repaired path washouts and did his early week mowing. It's nice to look around our break room table at the Horticulture Center at 10 am and see four great groundspeople (minus Janice and Larry today) and 14 volunteers. Mondays are very productive but it's a scramble and shuffle to allocate carts, materials and to prioritize jobs. We have a pretty comfortable system that works well and I think the analogy to a "well oiled machine" fits. Just as the blooms peak around the wishing well, we'll be yanking them out soon to put in the new irises...

Below is an image of our koi swirling with anticipation as they are about to be fed. We had a concerned visitor mention that our koi looked severely underfed this year. This gentleman definitely knew his fish and we took his recommendation very seriously. We've increased our feeding schedule and purchased better food and the fish seem to be thriving. I'll be the first to admit that our forte' is flowers, not fish. Hopefully we're doing better. Unfortunately, the koi also swirl and nibble at all the garbage (cheetoes, bread, etc.) tossed at them despite signs to the contrary and they have been caught and removed at night by evil fisherjerks. We now have large, colorful koi in our 6 acre pond around the gardens....