National Public Gardens Day!

Today was National Public Gardens Day and RBG was one of 128 gardens around the country that offered free admission to those that downloaded a pass off the internet. Sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens and the American Public Garden Association (APGA), this event turned out to be a big hit. Our Executive Director, Kelli, shared an email this morning that had calculated the number of passes downloaded for all the gardens involved and I think it was well over 100,000 visitors that took advantage of this special day. Nice shot above of the Prairie Gem Ussurian pear (Pyrus ussuriensis 'MorDak') in full bloom near the Parker Education Center. This tree doesn't get traditional pears but small fruits that are not edible. We did see lots of visitors today and had a nice time chatting with many that were new to the gardens. As part of this day, some of our docents (Chuck, Art, Virginia, etc.) were on hand to give tours as needed. Below are two ducks that spent the morning on Kelli's vehicle. We think their nest is nearby. It was a gorgeous day and the type of day that I would prefer 365 days per year. Sunny for the most part (cloudy later in the day, drizzle around 2:30 pm), it was a nice 65 degrees F and warmed up nicely. Almost all of our plants are out in the yard now and are enjoying decent sunlight and air circulation. Next week will be insane with incoming plant sale deliveries, our trips out for plant "pick-ups" and other deliveries of trees, shrubs, annuals, etc. for the grounds. This is the most challenging time for allocating both space for the sizeable plant sale and all of our plants for spring planting. Plant sale ads, both in the newspaper and on the radio, should help bring people to this annual event (fundraiser). We hope for great weather and a nice turnout. To the right is the start of our serviceberries (Amelanchier) blooming and to the left, is a nice close-up of the ornamental mustard (Brassica juncea 'Brazen Brass') that accents almost all of our containers. It continues to get larger and darker daily and we have had many compliments on it thus far. This is an edible green as well but has a strong, tangy flavor. We'll leave these in for another month or so as they don't like the hotter months and we'll need to swap over our container to summer arrangements anyway.


Fridays are always productive and today was no exception. Marv and Terry hauled out four new containers (each 435 lbs.) and set them in the 'Dialogue' patio area. They then added their custom soil blend so they're ready to plant shortly. The guys then worked on various rototilling projects and tidied up before our first outdooor wedding of the year. Big John continued mulching the woodland walk garden while Janice composted the lower azalea/rhododendron garden and watered. Marianne fertilized all of our spring containers and spent quality time tidying up in front of the building. Part of her task out front was to cut and remove all the pink and red tulips that were blooming (from previous years' displays) as they would conflict with our yellow and blue theme. To the right is the early growth and flowers of the golden sedge (Carex elata 'Bowles' Golden'). We have roughly 50 of these spaced in our shadier gardens and they offer wonderful texture and color throughout the growing season. This would be my favorite sedge. Below is one of our saucer magnolias (Magnolia x soulangiana) looking spectactular down near the arched bridge. Further below is the bright foliage of one of the lungworts (Pulmonaria 'Silver Shimmers') which is just starting to flower (blue) but the real asset is the white foliage that offers interest in the shade.

We had lots of volunteer activity out in the gardens aside from our wonderful docents. Shirley spent the entire morning weeding "nightmares" out of the English cottage garden. There are some plants in there that have spread so prolifically that we're removing them entirely. We hope to renovate most of that garden with new plantings and Shirley has a great eye for what should and shouldn't be there. Rose (to the left) and Urban were in to work on painting the small arbor that links the reception garden and Scottish garden. Last year Rose touched up the lettering on many of our signs and benches and has traditionally helped with most of our painting projects. This structure has been in need of a "touch up" for years and should look brand new when Rose and Urban are done. The blue gates on this arbor will be next on the list for "color revival". To the right is Bev W. who has done a dynamite job of maintaining her own garden space at RBG for the past two years. She maintains the SW corner of the sunken garden and is now dabbling in the NW corner as well (thankfully!). She does a great job and has nice attention to detail. Dr. Gredler was in to work on his soil project which he should finish Monday with some assistance. He spent most of the day, however, mowing out in the gardens. With about 6 acres of turf growing very quickly this time of year (I fertilized last week too...), Doc has always been on top of keeping it looking nice. To the left is the golden spiderwort (Tradescantia x andersoniana 'Sweet Kate') emerging with golden foliage with red highlights. These narrow leaves will be bright gold shortly (18" tall) and topped with blue flowers. This is one of the few spiderworts I like but be wary of its seedlings as most are just green. Be wary of all spiderworts as reseeders! Karen M. was in the Japanese garden cleaning up the pathways. We also saw Gary, Maury, Mary W. and Little Jerry popped in for a bit too.

Although the 5,000 yellow tulips (Tulipa) in front of the Parker Education Center wont be at peak for Mother's Day, they will look great for the two weeks after this weekend and the combination of yellows should be interesting. Get the sunglasses out! The windflowers (Anemone blanda 'Blue Shades') have been a big hit although they'll fade in the next week or so. To the right is the Juno iris (Iris bucharica) which I feature every year. This fall planted iris (bulb) does well in dry, part shade and we've had clumps thriving in our shade garden for many years. Granted, when they "leaf out" and bloom, there is plenty of sunlight under a deciduous canopy that hasn't filled in yet to provide shade. This iris is exquisite and does get noticed by visitors frequently. Not much progress in the Japanese garden today as the pump stopped working again and the future lower pool still has water issues (as seen below) to contend with next week before the liner can be installed. The bluestone patio (see bottom picture) under the arbor in the North Point garden is essentially done and once our contractor is done, we'll move ahead with adding electrical service and irrigation to that garden space in short order.