Perennial Plant of the Year! - 2009

Happy New Year to everyone! Despite economic challenges for everyone, hopefully the enjoyment of plants and the environment will continue to be important (and vital) for all of us! The Perennial Plant Association has selected the golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola') as the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2009. See the image above of this shade tolerant perennial grass at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI. I've touted the use and appreciation of this grass (and other Hakone grass varieties) in past blogs but wanted to revisit this special plant. This grass species is native to Honshu Island, Japan and prefers dappled light and rich soils. The soil needs to be well-drained. Growing (slowly) 12-18" tall, this grass has an arching form that resembles a miniature, weeping bamboo. See www.perennialplant.org/ for more information on this winner, past winners and information on the Perennial Plant Association of which Rotary Gardens is a member.

We had a great turnout today for beginning of the mammoth "takedown" of the lights show. We bring a lot of lights and displays inside first to thaw out before we "process" them. We have a pretty good system for taking down the show and will focus on the more easily obtained items at this point. We still have snow and ice that will impede progress for awhile. Jerry, Marv, Marianne and Terry (grounds people) all showed up today to help as did many Grumpies. Even thought the garden is dormant, we sure aren't!!! The "carpentry Grumpies" have plenty on their plate and we will have plenty of indoor work for the coming month or so. I'm ordering seeds and still preparing presentations which is quite fun and makes the days go quickly. No "clock watching" around here. Start going thru that pile of plant/seed catalogs. Lots of great items out there.