With the persistent drizzle throughout the day, indoor (or sheltered) work was on the agenda. Up above are D
ick P. and Pat sorting and bagging more trees in anticipation of our extended tree sale (Friday and Saturday, 8 am - 2 pm, all trees $1.25, 10% discount for 50+ trees). They were bundling trees in groups of 5, 10 and 25 to expedite the sales as customers arrive. We actually sold quite a few trees today to t
hose that couldn't make it over the weekend. At least this cool weather is keeping the trees fresh and preserved. I must have had 20 calls today regarding the trees. We are hoping to clear out a couple more thousand trees and finish this fundraiser in time for preparations for the next event on the calendar; spring plant sale (May 13,14,15). The picture directly above includes Janice (far left) with our Thursday volunteer team. They did a nice job potting up small plant plugs that were sent to us from Ball Seed. These are new varieties for 2012 that we'll feature out in the gardens this summer. Nice shot to the right of the "pagoda" in the Japanese garden. This was installed years ago in memory of Tom McKaig, one of our Grumpies and an awesome caretaker for that garden. His wife Karen continues on with that tradition.Big John and Larry were the only staff that braved the elements for most of the day. To the above left is the lower quarter of Larry after str
ing trimming damp grass most of the day. He also finalized repairs on the sunken fountain and that water feature is up and running smoothly. Big John cut back some purple smokebushes (Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple') that will rebound with vivid, fresh growth (although they will lose the flowers). We rejuvenate them like this every couple of years. John also spread both compost and shredded bark and had time to help set-up for the big Bower City Garden 
Club luncheon that had 240 attendees today. I recall last year when our 5,000 tulips in front of the building were three weeks early and were peaking for this annual event. No such luck this year but at least Mother's Day visitors will catch them before they fade! Janice worked on potting up elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta), lilies (Lilium) and other plant plugs. She also worked on other projects and with her volunteers. Jenny was in to prepare annual labels which is a great rainy day project. With more varieties of annuals than ever this year, this is a sizeable undertaking. To the left is a nice shot across our raked gravel "sea" in the Japanese garden to the observation pier in the distance. This shot was from yesterday as I actually didn't leave the Horticulture Center today (delicate constitution). To the right is the ornamental bark of the striped bark maple (Acer hybrida 'White Tigress'). We have three specimens of this woody plant and while there is some debate as to its parentage (most likely a hybrid), I like it for the cool bark, neat leaves and clear yellow fall color. This is another nice smaller scaled maple. Below is the emerging chartreuse foliage of the golden willow (Salix x sachalinensis 'Golden Sunshine') that will get a brighter yellow very shortly with some sun and warmth. We'll be cutting this one back severely in a couple of years to keep it a manageable size.
ing trimming damp grass most of the day. He also finalized repairs on the sunken fountain and that water feature is up and running smoothly. Big John cut back some purple smokebushes (Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple') that will rebound with vivid, fresh growth (although they will lose the flowers). We rejuvenate them like this every couple of years. John also spread both compost and shredded bark and had time to help set-up for the big Bower City Garden 
Club luncheon that had 240 attendees today. I recall last year when our 5,000 tulips in front of the building were three weeks early and were peaking for this annual event. No such luck this year but at least Mother's Day visitors will catch them before they fade! Janice worked on potting up elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta), lilies (Lilium) and other plant plugs. She also worked on other projects and with her volunteers. Jenny was in to prepare annual labels which is a great rainy day project. With more varieties of annuals than ever this year, this is a sizeable undertaking. To the left is a nice shot across our raked gravel "sea" in the Japanese garden to the observation pier in the distance. This shot was from yesterday as I actually didn't leave the Horticulture Center today (delicate constitution). To the right is the ornamental bark of the striped bark maple (Acer hybrida 'White Tigress'). We have three specimens of this woody plant and while there is some debate as to its parentage (most likely a hybrid), I like it for the cool bark, neat leaves and clear yellow fall color. This is another nice smaller scaled maple. Below is the emerging chartreuse foliage of the golden willow (Salix x sachalinensis 'Golden Sunshine') that will get a brighter yellow very shortly with some sun and warmth. We'll be cutting this one back severely in a couple of years to keep it a manageable size. 
Aside from John and Larry getting out in the gardens, the only other activity was some work on the lo
wer pool (future) for the Japanese garden. Our contractors are trying to pump out the "excavation" so they can lay down a liner and continue progress on that water feature. Once the lower pool is complete, they'll be working their way upslope with the culmination being the waterfall rec
onstruction. It will be exciting to see this complete and the weather has really been frustrating with bringing progress to a screeching halt. I heard today that this April (for us) has been the 17th coldest on record and perhaps the wettest on record!? Nice shot to the left of an unfurling tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) in our Hosta Hollow garden. Of course the peak time for these peonies is the 9.3 days of glorious bloom in May but don't miss the progression to that point. To the right is one of our shoreline weeping willows (Salix) showing some nice reflection on the pond.The Grumpies were again very productive with Dave, Vern, Bob and Jim continuing on bench creation while some of the guys braved the elements. Bob C. and Dick H. did some mulching while Ron and Del emptied out a large shed that we're going to relocate. Maury was here to get the guys going on tree processing and worked on some other projects. Roger helped process old labels while Pat bounced between projects as well. Tom C. did some electrical projects for us and we also saw Kris, Kelli, Barb, Mandy and many others. For a rainy day, it was pretty busy and we're looking forward to a sunny respite tomorrow. As seen below, we have some business to take care of shortly....
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