The Plant Sale Looms!

Early fall color on this Japanese maple? I sure wish that was the case. This is one of many trees that have died as a result of the flooding. The high water has receded below our lowest paths, making them passable for the first time since June. Unfortunately, there will be more losses of trees next spring as many times, the damage isn't seen until the following season. Our flood workers (Greg, Rick and Justin) will continue to replace paths this week and we'll start cutting down dead trees as well. The image to the left shows some of our last "damp" paths as the water recedes further. Our shorelines are in need of serious attention. There are some large ones on our north path to take care of as well. We're finding that many of the flood remediation costs will have to be covered internally. Ugh.

Our fall plant sale is coming up in less than two weeks. The mum deliveries this week will keep us hopping, that's for sure. We'll have to make some trips to pick up various plants and other supplies this week. Marianne has always been instrumental in getting this sale organized and running smoothly. She has a superior talent for organization and definitely has an eye for retail set-up and presentation. We hope to have lots of people patronize our sale in the hopes of a successful (and profitable) event.

Our hot pepper (Capsicum sp.) collection is looking really nice. This collection will be featured as part of the Garden Festival on September 6th. I've been taking pictures of some of the really neat ornamental peppers, like 'Marbles' below. We have had a young Hispanic volunteer recently that was working in the collections and was doing a little tasting. He ran in to a couple that made him breathe fire but he said they "were all good!". Next year we'll go back to heirloom tomatoes in this space.