More "Realistic" Temperatures

Temperatures are back to normal and some of the emerging plants that I was worried about have slowed down again. Note the nice reflection of the weeping willow (Salix alba 'Tristis') on the opposite end of our pond. This is an old picture but looks identical today. That yellow is certainly eye catching and fades to green as leaves emerge later in the spring.

We had another great Grumpy day with Gary and Ron hauling out our garbage and recycling bins and the carpenters working on adirondak chairs (see below) for one of our garden spaces. We're not quite ready to sit in them yet and they will also receive some bright blue paint. Urban pruned and Bob T. swept up paths. Dr. Gredler worked on the turf most of the day and Marv and Terry had the arduous task of moving our mailbox (set in concrete). Marianne did all sorts of projects and Janice popped in briefly. Jim H. brought down three RECAPPERS to help clean up the Japanese garden. These gentlemen are part of program to get them out of jail and involved in community service (in exchange for a possible reduced sentence). Jim has been great with this program and really maximized their contribution with motivation and strong supervision.


Jenny also spent a good portion of the day working on labels. She is highly organized and extremely productive (despite the chaos seen below!). The importance of accurately and properly labeling our collections and keeping plant records is paramount to us. We do tend to run short on time to keep up with many of these activities but are looking at other interpretive tools and hope to expand the quality and extent of our labeling in the imminent future.