I can't believe I forgot to mention Earth Day yesterday considering it is the 40th anniversary of this monumental "holiday"! We used to do more at the gardens (particularly for kids) regarding Earth Day but haven't done much recently. Initiated by Senator Gaylord Nelson (WI), Earth Day was "born" on April 22, 1970 and in 1990, Earth Day went "global". This event continues to emphasize global warming issues and a push for clean energy. Today was overcast and I truly hope it rains although we have a workday tomorrow from 8am unti
l noon so a brief "precipitation respite" during that time period would be welcome. We ran more sprinklers today to make up for that lack of April showers. Today was the second of four days for the Ice Age Trail Alliance and we've all had some nice interactions with conference attendees out in the gardens. Note the neat red tulips (above and left) that while early, are still appreciated and have begun our red/maroon theme already.We had a small but productive crew today with Marv and Terry (below) jumping right in to leveling an area with soil and planting some fernleaf buckthorns (Rhamnus frangula 'Asplenifolia') to form a hedge/separation between an annual bed and the Japanese garden entry. This is not one of the invasive buckthorns and has wonderful lacy texture. The drawback of this woody plant is that it seems to do well for about 10 years then gets thin and wimps out. I still think it has value in this application as we are replacing a previously removed hedge of scraggly junipers that was damaged by the snow/ice storms in December. Consider "living fences" for barriers and privacy out in the gardens.
Marianne worked on weeding, tidying and her cutting display. She also continues on her quest to provide new alpine and fern labeling which is much appreciated. Janice worked on weeding in the gazebo garden, azalea/rhododendron garden and planted Irish moss in the fern & moss garden. Janice is also researching and accomodating the "Weed of the Week" for Marianne's cutting display. I see a lot of merit in educating the public regarding these plants that may look familiar in their landscap
es. Dr. Gredler mowed, ran debris to the dump and did more mulching around the gardens. I can't say enough about his role here at the gardens and he's pretty spry for being 111. Kay spent some time finishing off the weed population down in the wishing well garden, particularly around the irises. We're concerned that the irises are weeks ahead as well but you can't halt Mother Nature (and shouldn't even try). Oh well. We also saw Vern, Donna, Chris and Da
n over here today. I had some computer issues to deal with but was able to get out and scout for next week's projects. Of course I had my camera and was very easily distracted by the double kerria or Japanese rose (Kerria japonica 'Pleniflorus') to the above left. This shrub is extremely durable and will take full sun or quite a bit of shade. It does start to form a colony but also has neat green stems thru the winter. Durable is a one-word description for kerrias and of course, their spring blooms are unrivaled...except by the 'Coral Lake' magnolia (right) that I spotted west of our education center. This magnolia is one of my favorites and has a very unique, coral pink coloration (with a slight fragrance). This variety (hard to find) is also known as a late bloomer, thereby avoiding the frosts. We planted this specimen as a 3' tall stick many years ago and it is now about 10' tall and looks great. The hybrid magnolia below is 'Tranquility' and is known for it's yellow blooms and rose blush at the petal base. We have lots of neat magnolias but I'm extremely impressed with the hardy magnolia collection up at the Green Bay Botanical Garden (GBBG), many of which were bred by Green Bay local, Dennis Ledvina. GBBG started about the time RBG did and is a nice operation (and extremely "visit worthy"). The bottom image is of the foliage of the variegated Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata 'Golden Eclipse'). The variegation is most prominent now and gets washed out in summer. However, this tree looks sharp and always catches my eye despite the fact that it hasn't bloomed yet over these past four years!?.
es. Dr. Gredler mowed, ran debris to the dump and did more mulching around the gardens. I can't say enough about his role here at the gardens and he's pretty spry for being 111. Kay spent some time finishing off the weed population down in the wishing well garden, particularly around the irises. We're concerned that the irises are weeks ahead as well but you can't halt Mother Nature (and shouldn't even try). Oh well. We also saw Vern, Donna, Chris and Da
n over here today. I had some computer issues to deal with but was able to get out and scout for next week's projects. Of course I had my camera and was very easily distracted by the double kerria or Japanese rose (Kerria japonica 'Pleniflorus') to the above left. This shrub is extremely durable and will take full sun or quite a bit of shade. It does start to form a colony but also has neat green stems thru the winter. Durable is a one-word description for kerrias and of course, their spring blooms are unrivaled...except by the 'Coral Lake' magnolia (right) that I spotted west of our education center. This magnolia is one of my favorites and has a very unique, coral pink coloration (with a slight fragrance). This variety (hard to find) is also known as a late bloomer, thereby avoiding the frosts. We planted this specimen as a 3' tall stick many years ago and it is now about 10' tall and looks great. The hybrid magnolia below is 'Tranquility' and is known for it's yellow blooms and rose blush at the petal base. We have lots of neat magnolias but I'm extremely impressed with the hardy magnolia collection up at the Green Bay Botanical Garden (GBBG), many of which were bred by Green Bay local, Dennis Ledvina. GBBG started about the time RBG did and is a nice operation (and extremely "visit worthy"). The bottom image is of the foliage of the variegated Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata 'Golden Eclipse'). The variegation is most prominent now and gets washed out in summer. However, this tree looks sharp and always catches my eye despite the fact that it hasn't bloomed yet over these past four years!?.
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