Lights, Luminaries and Bulbs

Despite the fact that today started with some drizzle and cloudy skies, we had another blockbuster day of progress out in the gardens and continued the juggling act of garden work and special events preparations. I was outside much of the day with my camera and the gardens are certainly not lacking in color or interest this late in the season. The top picture is of a variegated sedge (Carex morrowii 'Silver Scepter') in the shade garden. We leave most of our sedges up over the winter and trim them back in spring after we see how winter has affected each specimen. The image directly above is the autumn color of another deciduous conifer. These are the needles of a dwarf larch (Larix sp. 'Little Bogle') that is in front of the Parker Education Center. Our sign indicates that it is a Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) but I've also seen it also listed as a European larch (Larix decidua). Regardless, it is quite showy and is one of many neat conifers and other woody plants that we have positioned around the front of the building. Visitors certainly note our summer color out front with so many thousands of annuals but the framework of woody plants becomes more conspicuous in fall and spring. Another neat conifer in front of the visitor's center is to the left. This is the dwarf, blue alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica 'Nana') that has grown 4" per year and with no pruning, has kept this nice, tight pyramid. This is a top notch, small-scale conifer with plenty of "colorful merit" (365 days per year!). I was in front of the building today running extension cords (I've reached the one mile mark!) and noted other nice woodies like the striped bark maple (Acer tegmentosum 'White Tigress'). To the right is the ornamental bark of this smaller maple (20' tall at maturity) that does well in full or part sun. There is some debate about the parentage of this maple but regardless, it is a great specimen. The nicest (and biggest) specimen that I've seen is up at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI) where the tree is located in an inner courtyard of their visitor's center but can be seen from the library. Below is the fall color of this neat, and fast growing, maple. Above is the vehicle that Marv and Terry use most often and they put it in to service today with hauling obelisks, displays, stakes and other supplies out in to the gardens. The guys continue to put most of their time in to lights show preparations and also hauled back our reception garden containers (see Marv to the right). Marianne continued her luminary work and is almost done with that task aside from some tweaking. She also found time to sweep up the entrance garden and collect debris piles. Larry ran out for supplies, worked on his "lights pavilion" project and helped facilitate the four LP Tree Service guys that came down to help put up lights with their bucket trucks. These guys are veterans and we appreciate their time (and the value of "cherry pickers"!). Little Jerry worked on pruning and began the arduous task of pounding stakes around our tastiest (for deer) specimens in the Japanese garden. These stakes will provide the framework for fencing and/or burlap to help protect or investment. We'll be protecting all our arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) hedges too. Big John continued to cut back daylilies and moved on to some major bulb planting with Robin. They put in over 1,000 grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum), 400 daffodils (Narcissus) and 100 or so ornamental onions (Allium sp.). Robin also did garden clean-up as did Chris and Bob G. down in the sunken garden. Jumbo Jim was here with two RECAPPERS and they did a good job collecting leaves in the Japanese garden which has the highest percentage of our messy cottonwoods (Populus deltoides). Kay continued her onslaught of perennial cutting and leaf collection in an area that quickly becomes knee-deep in leaves (cottonwoods!, ugh). I wish I could instill her attention to detail in everyone that helps here, including myself! We also saw Maury, Beth, Julie and others as well. My work duties can be summed up with the picture to the left. I'll have a solid three weeks of running cords from this point on and if Mother Nature cooperates, we should have the lights show close to done and the gardens put to bed in the next two weeks. We'll see how that goes. Below are some of the remaining vestiges of interest out in the gardens. The top image is of sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) which is a frost-tolerant annual that not only continues to bloom late in the full sun garden but reseeds nicely. I remember as a kid, watching my mom rip out her expanses of alyssum and shake the seeds off to re-populate the same area for the following year. This has been a 30 year routine and I'm sure she's never had to buy seed or plants of this fragrant groundcover. Look for a new hybrid variety called 'Snow Princess' that has lots of merit in the border and/or container. The next image is another "cool season" annual called pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) which blooms strongly in spring and summer, will reseed and has edible flower petals. Pot marigolds have a long herbal history, come in many colors and are easy to find in seed catalogs. The bottom photo is yet another shot of the superior red fall color on our oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia). While the blooms tend to be sporadic in late spring, I would plant this shrub simply for the bold foliage and promise of good fall color (pretty reliable). Great teamwork today (as always).