At the top is a picture of the sky for today and it looked like that all day long. We had drizzle this morning then sporadic light rain throughout the day. When I arrive
d at work this morning (6:45 am), it was raining pretty good and I had visions of a poorly attended plant sale. As seen directly above however, it was a crazy morning of activity and we had a great turnout, particularly early on in
the day (between 9 am and noon). The afternoon was steady and we hope to have another good sale day tomorrow. Some tomato and pepper varieties are totally sold out although there is still quite an overall selection out there. Perennials and herbs are moving well although we're still pushing the "plant your own container" option as not too many have taken advantage of that opportunity. Marianne had three registers going this morning and kept the lines moving along while Janice managed the outside volunteers and our customer service was quite comprehensive I must say. Thanks to all the wonderful RBG volunteers that help facilitate these events. To the right are the early blooms of 'Silver Shimmers' lungwort (
Pulmonaria) and to the left is the vivid golden foliage of 'Fire I
sland' hosta which also has neat red petioles (stems). I was able to get out in the gardens today for about an hour as I led a group of volunteers for training regarding our Sunday watering. For many years we've had volunteers (thankfully) accomplish yard and container watering out in the gardens on early Sunday mornings. Leslie, Tammy, Sue, Susie, Gena, Barb and Mary joined me for the training and it was nice to see all the continued color out in the gardens. With the recent heat and rains, I've noticed some major weeds that will require our attention next week. There were two weddings out in the gardens today and I think they both made it thru the vows with only some minor drizzle happening. Just about every Saturday RBG will have outdoor weddings and I think we average three per Saturday during the peak summer months. To the right is another golden Hakone grass (
Hakonechloa macra) called 'Stripe it Rich'. This variety has golden foliage and white striping on the leaves. This is a neat variety and mature specimens have a nice weeping, clumpy form that is quite nice in terms of both color and texture. Directly below are the emerging blooms of the "white redbud" (
Cercis canadensis 'Royal White') which, when at peak, really offer some significant color from a distance. Beneath that image is the Japanese painted fern (
Athyrium niponicum var.
pictum) emerging from the golden creeping Jenny (
Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'). Japanese painted fern foliage is typically more maroon early during emergence and later becomes more green with summer heat. I sure do like maroon and gold together.
Next week will be a week of transition as we juggle the tasks of closing down the plant sale and moving ahead with our planting out in the gardens. We typically need the
most help this time of year as we try to not only keep up our spring planting progress but also have to address weeding and other maintenance needs out in the gardens. Once the plant sale is totally finished, we'll be able to bring in the remaining 7
5% of our plants to the yard so we can start laying out some of the larger areas. Much of our remaining plant orders are waiting at the greenhouses for pick-up over the next two weeks. Our first planting Saturday is next Saturday, May 21st (8 am - noon, meet at the Parker Education Center). This is the first of five sequential, Saturday planting days (same times) in which we hope to plant around 75% of our annuals out in the garden. We plant many during the week too but I sure like having 30-40 people with t
rowels, ready to plant. To the right is the Chardonnay Pearls slender deutzia (
Deutzia gracilis 'Duncan') with gold/chartreuse foliage and emerging blooms. You can see the "pearls" reference as these white flowers look like little pearls before they open (white) on this small shrub (36" tall by 36" wide). I've found this shrub to be very durable and the foliage contribution thru the remainder of the growing season is superior. In late fall, the foliage may turn a nice maroon. Although I don't mind spireas, they are overplanted and this variety of deutzia is a nice substitute for color, form and some interesting spring flowers. Most gardeners don't know deutzia but they should! To the right is the early spring foliage of 'Tiramisu' coral bells (
Heuchera) which really catches the eye this time of year. Below is the 'Silk Tassels' sedge (
Carex morrowii) that has very fine leaves and a nice variegation. We have multiple clumps of this variety in our shade garden and it is a nice "textural punctuation". At the bottom is a shot of our lower pool (new) in the Japanese garden. That is the "pre-liner" which will be followed on Monday with a rubber liner. We're looking forward to continued and rapid progress with this project and further landscaping out in the North Point garden now that the bluestone work is complete. Tomorrow is day 3 of the sale and despite the cruddy weather forecast, we'll hope for some decent traffic.
d at work this morning (6:45 am), it was raining pretty good and I had visions of a poorly attended plant sale. As seen directly above however, it was a crazy morning of activity and we had a great turnout, particularly early on in
the day (between 9 am and noon). The afternoon was steady and we hope to have another good sale day tomorrow. Some tomato and pepper varieties are totally sold out although there is still quite an overall selection out there. Perennials and herbs are moving well although we're still pushing the "plant your own container" option as not too many have taken advantage of that opportunity. Marianne had three registers going this morning and kept the lines moving along while Janice managed the outside volunteers and our customer service was quite comprehensive I must say. Thanks to all the wonderful RBG volunteers that help facilitate these events. To the right are the early blooms of 'Silver Shimmers' lungwort (Pulmonaria) and to the left is the vivid golden foliage of 'Fire I
sland' hosta which also has neat red petioles (stems). I was able to get out in the gardens today for about an hour as I led a group of volunteers for training regarding our Sunday watering. For many years we've had volunteers (thankfully) accomplish yard and container watering out in the gardens on early Sunday mornings. Leslie, Tammy, Sue, Susie, Gena, Barb and Mary joined me for the training and it was nice to see all the continued color out in the gardens. With the recent heat and rains, I've noticed some major weeds that will require our attention next week. There were two weddings out in the gardens today and I think they both made it thru the vows with only some minor drizzle happening. Just about every Saturday RBG will have outdoor weddings and I think we average three per Saturday during the peak summer months. To the right is another golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) called 'Stripe it Rich'. This variety has golden foliage and white striping on the leaves. This is a neat variety and mature specimens have a nice weeping, clumpy form that is quite nice in terms of both color and texture. Directly below are the emerging blooms of the "white redbud" (Cercis canadensis 'Royal White') which, when at peak, really offer some significant color from a distance. Beneath that image is the Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) emerging from the golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'). Japanese painted fern foliage is typically more maroon early during emergence and later becomes more green with summer heat. I sure do like maroon and gold together. 
most help this time of year as we try to not only keep up our spring planting progress but also have to address weeding and other maintenance needs out in the gardens. Once the plant sale is totally finished, we'll be able to bring in the remaining 7
5% of our plants to the yard so we can start laying out some of the larger areas. Much of our remaining plant orders are waiting at the greenhouses for pick-up over the next two weeks. Our first planting Saturday is next Saturday, May 21st (8 am - noon, meet at the Parker Education Center). This is the first of five sequential, Saturday planting days (same times) in which we hope to plant around 75% of our annuals out in the garden. We plant many during the week too but I sure like having 30-40 people with t
rowels, ready to plant. To the right is the Chardonnay Pearls slender deutzia (Deutzia gracilis 'Duncan') with gold/chartreuse foliage and emerging blooms. You can see the "pearls" reference as these white flowers look like little pearls before they open (white) on this small shrub (36" tall by 36" wide). I've found this shrub to be very durable and the foliage contribution thru the remainder of the growing season is superior. In late fall, the foliage may turn a nice maroon. Although I don't mind spireas, they are overplanted and this variety of deutzia is a nice substitute for color, form and some interesting spring flowers. Most gardeners don't know deutzia but they should! To the right is the early spring foliage of 'Tiramisu' coral bells (Heuchera) which really catches the eye this time of year. Below is the 'Silk Tassels' sedge (Carex morrowii) that has very fine leaves and a nice variegation. We have multiple clumps of this variety in our shade garden and it is a nice "textural punctuation". At the bottom is a shot of our lower pool (new) in the Japanese garden. That is the "pre-liner" which will be followed on Monday with a rubber liner. We're looking forward to continued and rapid progress with this project and further landscaping out in the North Point garden now that the bluestone work is complete. Tomorrow is day 3 of the sale and despite the cruddy weather forecast, we'll hope for some decent traffic.
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