Wet Contentious April

Thomas Carlyle wrote about the "wet contentious April" and I believe a day like today might have served as inspiration for that quote. Lots of misty showers, intermittent downpours and no bright sunlight. Of course the precipitation is welcome although we were inside most of the day. Above is a nice shot of PJM rhododendron in our Japanese garden. I've seen lots of nice specimens around town and contrary to what many people think, this plant likes more sun than shade. It is very particular about soil and drainage. The Bower City Garden Club (Janesville) hosted their annual luncheon over at the Parker Education Center today and it looked like a large crowd based on the packed parking lot. This group volunteers here and has been very generous with supporting our collections here at the gardens. I was worried that our tulips wouldn't be blooming out front for this event, but as usual, we timed it perfectly (with help from a couple warm days in March and April!). See surrounding images for some recent tulip shots from the front of the building.


Despite showers this morning, we had a nice turnout of Grumpies. Bob, Jim and Vern worked on finishing our blue obelisks while Gary and Maury went on a trip to pick up fertilizer and order some more locks. They later hauled compost and small evergreens. We had a new Grumpy (Ed) start today and he worked with Charlie and Dick H. assembling tables for our plant sale. He also swept up the hort center and seemed to fit in well. Dr. Gredler is out mowing but did some odds and ends this morning. Bill is out raking and Larry is getting things ready for our work day on Saturday. Larry and I went on our first plant pick-up trip to a local nursery and stocked up on 2,000 petunias and some mixed perennials and tropicals. Despite cutting back a bit, these trips (3-5 per week) are essential in securing selection and availability. Janice has been working on plant sale signs among other things.

I'm not sure why people freak out about dandelions (see below). They are beautiful, nutritious and are here to stay! Kids are drawn to them when they bloom and form the "seed spheres." We don't treat all our lawns here at the gardens for dandelions and currently have a nice crop here and there. See www.naturewatch.ca/english/plantwatch/dandelion/fun_facts.html for some interesting dandelion facts and www.nutritiondata.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2441/2 for nutritional information. I had dandelion wine years ago but didn't care for it. However, most people don't realize how nutritious it is. I quote from a website, "This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Potassium and Manganese."