Temperatures today in the sun were in the mid 70s. It was t-shirt weather which is much appreciated in a Wisconsin November! The colorful leaves above, while looking like maple leaves are actually from the sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua). This specimen is far north of its native range which is in the Eastern U.S., down to Florida and across Texas and Northern Mexico. I remember nice specimens in central Illinois as well but many are surprised by our 35' tall specimen and of course the multiple colors on this tree are a huge asset. The fruit is a woody, spikey ball that I remember using as a projectile in my younger years. Nice fall color below of one of our cutleaf, Japanese maples (Acer palmatum, variety unknown).
We had a great day of productivity with the Grumpies working on electrical work, carpentry, woodchipping, leaf cleanup and other odd jobs. Marv and Terry strung icicle lights and set up more displays. Marianne continued stringing out luminaries while Janice and Jerry focused on gardening which is still very important this time of year. Rick and Tony rototilled, woodchipped and planted bulbs. Larry set up more displays and Dr. Gredler worked on spreading grass seed and mowing. Morale was quite high with such favorable weather! Below is some more fall color. The black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) usually has a decent fall color but it has really turned a bright red this year. This shrub is good in part shade and the shot below was taken in our woodland walk garden. The bottom image is some Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) working up our archway that leads from the reception garden to the sunken garden. This archway is on permanent load from the Rock County Historical Society and was the original archway leading in the Parker Pen World Headquarters (in Janesville). Rotary Gardens includes lots of local history and hardscape elements from around the community.
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