Disconcertingly Warm But Enjoyable

Today was quite warm and mild even in the morning. We had a canna (started plants) delivery yesterday and were able to put them outside for some fresh air right away. That sure seems strange on April 1st! The wind was quite strong but didn't affect everyone heading out and accomplishing a lot of work today. The "Grumpies" welcomed a new member, Roger, who was immediately pressed in to service spreading mulch with Bob C. all morning. Trial by fire as they say. Dick P., Big John and Dick H. continued dismantling the brick wall around the 'Dialogue' sculpture and have a good feel for what needs to be done to renovate that feature. Marv and Terry continued to haul out containers and helped the guys haul back materials from the dismantling project. Marianne did a great job organizing tools and getting ready for our spring rush. Janice worked in in the fern/moss garden. Dave, Bob A., Vern and Jim continued on their carpentry projects and are mounting the daisy projects as they arrive. Gary did some mulching until Ron came in and they both shifted to hauling out benches in the gardens. Del did a nice job tidying up out in the gardens too. With more visitors arriving daily due to this weather, our schedule has been pushed forward to get everything ready and looking good (water features are next on the list). Little Jerry was sick today and Larry worked on all sorts of things including assembling our new push mower. Dr. Gredler worked on his lawns again and I sprayed another 8 gallons of herbicide on early emerging thistles and garlic mustard. Bill did a nice afternoon of clean-up out in the gardens too. Urban, Rose, Lisa, Mike, Julie, Dave, Malcom, June and Shirley (below) were here as well.

We have tulips (Tulipa) in bloom! This is no April Fool's joke! See below for one of about a dozen early tulips starting up in the "warm spots". Microclimates are truly amazing, particularly in how they affect the variability of bloom times. Not sure which tulip this is but note the pink outer petal color. The front of the Parker Education Center with 3,000 red tulips will look dynamite in a month or so (or sooner with this weather). Beneath the tulip shot are the blooms of coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) which has a long history as a medicinal plant. Blooming before leaves emerge, this native of Europe/Asia has been used herbally as a cough suppressant and the crushed flowers for skin conditions. These aren't recommendations as there is also some toxicity issues with this plant as well. I have a long history with this plant which I call "beauty and the beast". Essentially, it spreads quickly and is hard to eradicate. When I worked at Fernwood Botanic Garden in Niles, MI (www.fernwoodbotanical.org/) I planted it in the herb garden and quickly realized my mistake. That was 14 years ago and I'm sure they're still cursing my name. We'll keep on top of it here and it is beautiful but not a plant to "turn your back on"!!!
I'm quickly getting to the point where I can't show everything I've photographed in bloom on that day. Lots going on out there in the gardens. As I was spraying in the alpine garden, I noted one of my favorite early perennials as seen below. This is the pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris formerly Anemone pulsatilla) that has wonderful blooms above feathery, silky emerging foliage. The seed heads of this plant are interesting later in the season but I caught some sweet shots today. I realized that I had this in the blog last year and seem to be noticing some of the same things each year! Look at the center of the close-up flower (3" diameter) shot with the violet "center piece" amongst all the yellow stames. Totally cool. At the bottom is another entry to the daisy art program. Although I don't have the artist's name, do come and see all 27 of these out in the gardens in 5-6 weeks.