Today still had some winds but significantly less than the past two days. It was chilly but that's not too unusual for late October. Above is a shot of the south entrance in to the Japanese garden. We have lots of leaves and debris to clean up after the heavy winds but surprisingly, there was very little damage and no trees down. I hear that Green Bay, WI got it pretty bad but thankfully we were spared. Our Thursday crew of Larry, Janice, Little Jerry and I were all here as were many volunteers. My intent was to go mobile with cords today but I had some very time sensitive projects to finish but did manage to get a comprehensive walk out in the gardens where the fall colors are still looking great. I was scouting out some thoughts on cord layouts (which is a true art form) and continued to see some interesting things out in the garden. Larry worked on more lights and helped get the volunteers organized. Larry and Big John took a field trip to a residence that donated some fish to the gardens. The catch was that guys had to get them out of the pond which they did after draining it down. Janice worked on lights repair, obelisk decorating and got our "Grumpettes" in motion. Little Jerry was out pruning and collecting debris. Nice shot below of burning bush (
Euonymus alatus 'Nordine') with the expected pink/red fall color. The next image down touts the superior fall color of the Korean maple (
Acer pseudosieboldianum) of which we have two specimens. While they color up late in October, they are vivid every year.
We had a smaller crew of Grumpies today but Pat, Del, Bob C., Rollie and Urban all went out to clear annuals from some of our remaining beds. With predicted overnight lows in the mid 20 degrees F, we try to get a jum
p on this last minute clearing before things get mushy and less fun to tear out. The fellas did a great job clearing three large areas but for some reason, shied away from the plant to the left. Note the ornamental fruits (1/2" in diameter, toxic!) that are green turning to orange and the intimidating thorns. This is an annual (perennial in warmer climates) called purple spine, purple devil or perhaps more appropriately, "malevolence." This mem
ber of the nightshade family is from South America and we've grown it as a novelty the past couple of years. From 3" plants installed in May, this annual will top 8' in one growing season. We'll need some thick gloves for removing this grove of thorny resistance. Dick P. and Tom C. worked on more power repairs and light replacements while Bob A., Jim and Dave T. continued with some carpentry projects. The guys have finished the new structure which looks dynamite and will keep busy with a list of "to do" projects throughout the winter. Dr. Gredler continued his runs to the dump and we also saw Maury, Sue M. and Mary W. brought down three RECAPPERS to clean up the herb gardens. Robin and Suzy wreaked havoc in the sunken garden as we need to remove annuals and cut back perennials to make room for lights displays. To the above right is the fall color for yet another deciduous conifer on the grounds. This is the amber fall color of the dawn redwood (
Metasequoia glyptostroboides). Dawn redwoods once blanketed a good portion of the Northern hemisphere millions of years ago and were thought to be extinct until a small population of 1,000 or so trees was found in 1941 in remote China (Sichuan). The story of the discovery is quite interesting. Check out
www.dawnredwood.org/HISTORY.htm for an interesting summation of how this tree was "re-discovered" and introduced back in to cultivation. Below is the fall color of our Japanese stewartia (
Stewartia pseudocamellia) which is marginal for our area but is nestled in a protected spot in our Japanese garden. Larger stewartia specimens have dynamite bark and the blooms of this tree (unseen yet on this specimen) are intriguing as well. Further below is the brilliant red fall color of another "marginal" woody plant for our climate. This is the redvein enkianthus (
Enkianthus campanulatus 'Red Bells'). This specimen has been growing, slowly but surely and is in acidic soil with our rhododendrons.
I've always been surprised at how much our visitation dips at the end of October. Granted that the weather can always b
e questionable but this October has been quite mild. We've focused on extending the interest out in the gardens on both ends of the spectrum; early spring all the way thru fall in to winter. I am pleasantly surprised to see visitors this late in the season and I see the merit in enj
oying the late season garden. With our ornamental grasses, fall color, ornamental bark, berries, etc. the gardens look great. When I do talks on landscaping, I emphasize that any landscape should have 12 months of interest. To the left is the fall color of the black chokeberry (
Aronia melanocarpa) and never underestimate the impact of fall color on many of our garden perennials. While hostas will be mush tomorrow, the fall color (to the right), while variable, can be a strong gold. Below is the rusty orange fall color of the three-flower maple (
Acer triflorum) that is one of the best features of this neat, small-scaled maple.
Today still had some winds but significantly less than the past two days. It was chilly but that's not too unusual for late October. Above is a shot of the south entrance in to the Japanese garden. We have lots of leaves and debris to clean up after the heavy winds but surprisingly, there was very little damage and no trees down. I hear that Green Bay, WI got it pretty bad but thankfully we were spared. Our Thursday crew of Larry, Janice, Little Jerry and I were all here as were many volunteers. My intent was to go mobile with cords today but I had some very time sensitive projects to finish but did manage to get a comprehensive walk out in the gardens where the fall colors are still looking great. I was scouting out some thoughts on cord layouts (which is a true art form) and continued to see some interesting things out in the garden. Larry worked on more lights and helped get the volunteers organized. Larry and Big John took a field trip to a residence that donated some fish to the gardens. The catch was that guys had to get them out of the pond which they did after draining it down. Janice worked on lights repair, obelisk decorating and got our "Grumpettes" in motion. Little Jerry was out pruning and collecting debris. Nice shot below of burning bush (Euonymus alatus 'Nordine') with the expected pink/red fall color. The next image down touts the superior fall color of the Korean maple (Acer pseudosieboldianum) of which we have two specimens. While they color up late in October, they are vivid every year. 
p on this last minute clearing before things get mushy and less fun to tear out. The fellas did a great job clearing three large areas but for some reason, shied away from the plant to the left. Note the ornamental fruits (1/2" in diameter, toxic!) that are green turning to orange and the intimidating thorns. This is an annual (perennial in warmer climates) called purple spine, purple devil or perhaps more appropriately, "malevolence." This mem
ber of the nightshade family is from South America and we've grown it as a novelty the past couple of years. From 3" plants installed in May, this annual will top 8' in one growing season. We'll need some thick gloves for removing this grove of thorny resistance. Dick P. and Tom C. worked on more power repairs and light replacements while Bob A., Jim and Dave T. continued with some carpentry projects. The guys have finished the new structure which looks dynamite and will keep busy with a list of "to do" projects throughout the winter. Dr. Gredler continued his runs to the dump and we also saw Maury, Sue M. and Mary W. brought down three RECAPPERS to clean up the herb gardens. Robin and Suzy wreaked havoc in the sunken garden as we need to remove annuals and cut back perennials to make room for lights displays. To the above right is the fall color for yet another deciduous conifer on the grounds. This is the amber fall color of the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). Dawn redwoods once blanketed a good portion of the Northern hemisphere millions of years ago and were thought to be extinct until a small population of 1,000 or so trees was found in 1941 in remote China (Sichuan). The story of the discovery is quite interesting. Check out www.dawnredwood.org/HISTORY.htm for an interesting summation of how this tree was "re-discovered" and introduced back in to cultivation. Below is the fall color of our Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia) which is marginal for our area but is nestled in a protected spot in our Japanese garden. Larger stewartia specimens have dynamite bark and the blooms of this tree (unseen yet on this specimen) are intriguing as well. Further below is the brilliant red fall color of another "marginal" woody plant for our climate. This is the redvein enkianthus (Enkianthus campanulatus 'Red Bells'). This specimen has been growing, slowly but surely and is in acidic soil with our rhododendrons. 
e questionable but this October has been quite mild. We've focused on extending the interest out in the gardens on both ends of the spectrum; early spring all the way thru fall in to winter. I am pleasantly surprised to see visitors this late in the season and I see the merit in enj
oying the late season garden. With our ornamental grasses, fall color, ornamental bark, berries, etc. the gardens look great. When I do talks on landscaping, I emphasize that any landscape should have 12 months of interest. To the left is the fall color of the black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) and never underestimate the impact of fall color on many of our garden perennials. While hostas will be mush tomorrow, the fall color (to the right), while variable, can be a strong gold. Below is the rusty orange fall color of the three-flower maple (Acer triflorum) that is one of the best features of this neat, small-scaled maple. 
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