I just took this photo laying on my back. It was worth the effort to catch a good shot of Danford irises (Iris danfordiae) blooming in front of our Visitors Center. These irises (native to Turkey) are usually up at
the end of March but have experienced the "warm up" and have decided to announce their arrival. At only 6" tall, we group these irises and usually get a couple good years out of them before they disappear. Considering their early bloom time, we purchase and plant them by the hundreds every year. Not too far away from these irises I found another species iris (not sure exactly which one to be honest) but you can't beat the appeal after a long winter! I wish I could slow down some of the growth as all our plants are saying "What happened to March? Now that it's mid-April, I better get going!". My worry is the imminent frosts that we'll still get over these coming weeks. Oh well, garden clean-up continues!Jean, Barb and Janice worked on office projects this morning and Jenny has been correcting and printing out plant labels for this year. Kay came in to help clean-up out in the gardens and is focusing on all the twigs and branches that fell over the winter. Rose and Urban came in and were quickly recruited to do some painting and
odds and ends. Dr. Gredler has been hauling debris (ornamental grasses) to the dump and Larry is out pruning. I've been bouncing between various small (albeit neglected) projects that have become very time-sensitive. Good crew all around and the rest of the week looks decent for more activity. Nice shot to the right of the 'Flame' willow (Salix hybrida) that gets reddish stems through the winter. This would be a 30' plant but we cut it down in April to 12" and let the new growth shoot up to 6-7' again (green stems) and it then repeats the winter color show on fresh growth each year. This has been a good plant to hold this slope as well.
I did a presentation for the Greentree Garden Club up on the west side of Madison last night. They were an enthusiatic group and it was again nice to expose the gardens to many that have not visited (yet). I only have six more spring talks and then have sporadic engagements in the summer. The value in these talks is certainly education and pursuing our mission of horticultural education off-site. These talks also bring in new visitors and future supporters of Rotary Gardens. We just need to get them here! Nice shot below of moss actively growing down in our Fern & Moss Garden. Hard to believe that most of that garden was under water last spring and the moss came back with no problem!
odds and ends. Dr. Gredler has been hauling debris (ornamental grasses) to the dump and Larry is out pruning. I've been bouncing between various small (albeit neglected) projects that have become very time-sensitive. Good crew all around and the rest of the week looks decent for more activity. Nice shot to the right of the 'Flame' willow (Salix hybrida) that gets reddish stems through the winter. This would be a 30' plant but we cut it down in April to 12" and let the new growth shoot up to 6-7' again (green stems) and it then repeats the winter color show on fresh growth each year. This has been a good plant to hold this slope as well.I did a presentation for the Greentree Garden Club up on the west side of Madison last night. They were an enthusiatic group and it was again nice to expose the gardens to many that have not visited (yet). I only have six more spring talks and then have sporadic engagements in the summer. The value in these talks is certainly education and pursuing our mission of horticultural education off-site. These talks also bring in new visitors and future supporters of Rotary Gardens. We just need to get them here! Nice shot below of moss actively growing down in our Fern & Moss Garden. Hard to believe that most of that garden was under water last spring and the moss came back with no problem!
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