The primula (
Primula 'Chic in Red') above was spotted by Kay today in the woodland walk garden near the water. I'm sure I featured this same perennial very late last season as well. This variety also looks great in late April and is currently one of the last of our blooming plants out in the garden. Today was the last day for the grounds staff for 2010 with the exception of Larry who continues through the winter. This time is always bittersweet because we had a great year and should be proud of our accomplishments but it's also a bummer to see everyone finish up (until April). However, I'm sure I'll see everyone sporadically over the winter as I know Marv, Terry and John will come in as Grumpies, Jerry will continue to prune, Marianne and Janice have their research projects and Jenny will sink her teeth in to labels. Everyone did a great job and I'm fortunate to have such a close-knit group of dedicated staff that through teamwork and hardwork, accomplish miracles each year. I did reviews for everyone and we had a nice lunch as well. Below is a shot of the bath sedge (
Carex davalliana) still looking nice near the pond. Most sedges will hold their color and structure over the winter but are short enough to be buried (and thereby minimizing winter interest) by an average snowfall.
The day was a bit damper than we prefer but we were all able to get outside and work on the tasks at hand. Marv and Terry put up many of the displays that Randy just refurbished; including the poinsett
ia baskets, holly and the five piece train. The guys gave a solid six weeks to this event and had time today to help wire up some displays too. Larry organized the horticulture center as we had so many odds and ends laying around. He helped trench in cords, secure lights and get our plug ends ready to go too. Marianne spent the entire day helping get the remainder of the cords strung out and between the two of us, we're 95% done. I should be able to finish up on Friday, weather permitting. Tomorrow I'll be presenting in Fond du Lac, WI. Janice worked on her squash proj
ect (for 2011) and was able to get out and garden. Big John spent time accessing our icicle lights that were "out of reach" and getting those wired up. He also spent a good portion of time cutting back roses and accomplishing some other gardening tasks. Shown to the left are the hips of the 'Dortmund' rose behind our French formal garden. I've shown these hips before but keep noticing this rose everytime I walk by. The fruit coloration "impact" rivals the flowers in my mind and are longer-lived! To the right is the perfect, upright form of the fastigiate European hornbeam (
Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata') just getting some chartreusy fall color. I've seen these used in very formal settings and their uniformity is quite impressive. Below is the fall color of the Kousa dogwood (
Cornus kousa). Native to China, Japan and Korea, this small tree is marginally hardy for us and I've not seen our single specimen bloom or form the interesting fruits. However, fall color is nice on this 10 year old specimen in the shade garden..
Kay was here to finish clean-up duties in the woodland walk garden. She hauled out many loads of debris and that garden is ready for winter. Robin continued work in the color rooms garden and we'll see her for the
remainder of the month. Kay and Robin have been huge assets, particularly during recent weeks when we've been involved with the Holiday Lights Show and had little time to garden. We try to do as much clean-up in late fall as p
ossible because our spring become so busy very quickly. Dr. Gredler finished cutting up greens and was out on his mower and running the debris (from Kay and Robin) to the dump. Vern was in to do some carpentry and we also saw Rollie, Dave T., Little Jerry and Jenny. To the left is a nice, extreme close-up of the foliage of 'Plum Royale' coral bells (
Heuchera). I like this variety a lot as well as any maroon leaf varieties with silvering and dark veins. With 300+ varieties of coral bells available, it's important to not only pick your favorites but understand their needs (moist, organic, well-drained soils). To the right is more perennial fall color with the transition to gold on these Japanese irises (
Iris ensata) in the Japanese garden. The night time temperatures over the next couple of nights may be our coldest and will steal much of the remaining color. However, we've been fortunate to have a very mild November. I just hope December is rainless and cold enough that we don't have "moisture issues" with our cords. A nice dusting of snow would be acceptable too. Below are some images of our arched bridge this morning. Note the seven trees that Marv & Terry secured on the bridge. These all have bright blue LED lights that will look great. Next week we'll test the show and see where we have to adjust and tweak.
The primula (Primula 'Chic in Red') above was spotted by Kay today in the woodland walk garden near the water. I'm sure I featured this same perennial very late last season as well. This variety also looks great in late April and is currently one of the last of our blooming plants out in the garden. Today was the last day for the grounds staff for 2010 with the exception of Larry who continues through the winter. This time is always bittersweet because we had a great year and should be proud of our accomplishments but it's also a bummer to see everyone finish up (until April). However, I'm sure I'll see everyone sporadically over the winter as I know Marv, Terry and John will come in as Grumpies, Jerry will continue to prune, Marianne and Janice have their research projects and Jenny will sink her teeth in to labels. Everyone did a great job and I'm fortunate to have such a close-knit group of dedicated staff that through teamwork and hardwork, accomplish miracles each year. I did reviews for everyone and we had a nice lunch as well. Below is a shot of the bath sedge (Carex davalliana) still looking nice near the pond. Most sedges will hold their color and structure over the winter but are short enough to be buried (and thereby minimizing winter interest) by an average snowfall.
ia baskets, holly and the five piece train. The guys gave a solid six weeks to this event and had time today to help wire up some displays too. Larry organized the horticulture center as we had so many odds and ends laying around. He helped trench in cords, secure lights and get our plug ends ready to go too. Marianne spent the entire day helping get the remainder of the cords strung out and between the two of us, we're 95% done. I should be able to finish up on Friday, weather permitting. Tomorrow I'll be presenting in Fond du Lac, WI. Janice worked on her squash proj
ect (for 2011) and was able to get out and garden. Big John spent time accessing our icicle lights that were "out of reach" and getting those wired up. He also spent a good portion of time cutting back roses and accomplishing some other gardening tasks. Shown to the left are the hips of the 'Dortmund' rose behind our French formal garden. I've shown these hips before but keep noticing this rose everytime I walk by. The fruit coloration "impact" rivals the flowers in my mind and are longer-lived! To the right is the perfect, upright form of the fastigiate European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata') just getting some chartreusy fall color. I've seen these used in very formal settings and their uniformity is quite impressive. Below is the fall color of the Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa). Native to China, Japan and Korea, this small tree is marginally hardy for us and I've not seen our single specimen bloom or form the interesting fruits. However, fall color is nice on this 10 year old specimen in the shade garden.. 
remainder of the month. Kay and Robin have been huge assets, particularly during recent weeks when we've been involved with the Holiday Lights Show and had little time to garden. We try to do as much clean-up in late fall as p
ossible because our spring become so busy very quickly. Dr. Gredler finished cutting up greens and was out on his mower and running the debris (from Kay and Robin) to the dump. Vern was in to do some carpentry and we also saw Rollie, Dave T., Little Jerry and Jenny. To the left is a nice, extreme close-up of the foliage of 'Plum Royale' coral bells (Heuchera). I like this variety a lot as well as any maroon leaf varieties with silvering and dark veins. With 300+ varieties of coral bells available, it's important to not only pick your favorites but understand their needs (moist, organic, well-drained soils). To the right is more perennial fall color with the transition to gold on these Japanese irises (Iris ensata) in the Japanese garden. The night time temperatures over the next couple of nights may be our coldest and will steal much of the remaining color. However, we've been fortunate to have a very mild November. I just hope December is rainless and cold enough that we don't have "moisture issues" with our cords. A nice dusting of snow would be acceptable too. Below are some images of our arched bridge this morning. Note the seven trees that Marv & Terry secured on the bridge. These all have bright blue LED lights that will look great. Next week we'll test the show and see where we have to adjust and tweak. 
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