A Day in Milwaukee

Today I headed to Boerner Botanical Garden in Hales Corners, WI (south Milwaukee) to do a talk for Master Gardeners. The day was cool and partly cloudy but I was able to take lots of pictures at the garden. The talk went well (container gardening and using tropicals) and it was an energetic and lively bunch. I recognized many people and had some nice discussions after my talk. I'm sure things went well at Rotary Gardens and touched base with Larry, Terry, Marv, Marianne, Jerry, Rick and Tony before I left this morning. I'm glad I took the time to walk thru the gardens. The staff does such a nice job and were just removing annuals. There was lots to see including some great ornamental grasses below. The image to the left is a nice switch grass (Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal') used to great effect in a large massing. The grass to the right is 'Ferner Osten' silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) that only tops out at 5 feet

tall and is well known for its creamy plumes in fall thru winter. This specimen was visible from a great distance. Ornamental grasses are really coming to the forefront in the fall garden and will become vital "role players" in the winter garden. Observe grasses now for color and form and try to visualize spaces in your winter landscape that could use some visual texture and interest in our "4th season" of garden interst. Don't ever forget winter! I was surprised to still see so much in bloom after some evident light frost damage. The aromatic aster below (Aster oblongifolius 'Raydon's Favorite') caught my eye for obvious reasons. Native to Kentucky and surrounding states, this aster has a slight minty fragrance when brushed and is a hardy, solid bloomer in our climate thru October (24" tall). Fantastic. With current name changes, the Latin name for this aster is now Symphyotrichum oblongifolium. Now isn't that a mouthful!