Friday Prep

The top picture is the engaging bloom of the 'Prairie Splendor' purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) with some dew on the petals this morning. This variety was part of our American Garden Award display in 2010 and is also in our display area as a Fleuroselect winner (2007). This compact, rose-pink coneflower blooms the first year from seed and the specimen pictured is no exception. We have about 30 different coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea hybrids) and have no desire to keep up with the newest varieties. We'll wait for trial gardens like the Chicago Botanic Garden (Richard Hawke) sort thru the for us. History has shown time and time again that new introductions are not necessarily tough plants for the landscape. Again, that old adage of "new plants aren't always good and good plants aren't always new" comes to mind. Directly above is Don and Pearl C.'s border looking nice with plenty of lime, pink and the punctuation of smaller, lavender obelisks. To the right is the pink variegated purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Fireworks') which looks great in our reception garden with other pink annuals. In the background is the annual wheat celosia (Celosia spicata 'Flamingo Feather Pink'). This grass was very prevalent in our maroon and red theme last year. It will really start looking cool with the inflorescences (flower/seed heads) coming along. To the left is a luminescent pink-edged, maroon annual called 'Brazilian Red Hots' calico plant (Alternanthera dentata). We've grown this variety for a couple years now (as well as many other varieties of calico plant) and it really catches the eye. To the right is the nice silver of the silver Swedish ivy (Plectranthus argentatus). The leaves of this annual are felty and this plant can reach almost 3' in height in a good summer (full sun, moisture and fertilizer). Note the value of silver as an "illuminator" in the garden.

We had a decent day in terms of weather with overcast skies and temperatures around 80 degrees F. It seemed like it wanted to rain but didn't come down until later this evening. Marv and Terry did a nice job running irrigation and setting up sprinklers as needed. The guys also worked on "perking up" our primary garden paths. This is a big project that involves loosening up the gravel with our end loader (Marv has a good system) then pulling a drag mat over everything to level it off. The guys also added gravel as needed and the paths look as good as new. The guys also edged the sunken garden, tidied up for weddings and watered all the containers. Terry also push mowed. Big John was in to fertilize, spread bark mulch and started a severe cutback on our marigold (Tagetes) collection that Janice later continued. Our marigolds were crowded, floppy and not blooming much so we're cutting them way back and fertilizing them to get another flush of blooms (hopefully). Janice also push mowed, weeded and did the cutting display. We miss Marianne but hope she's feeling better soon. I had a meeting and worked on getting everything ready for this weekend and next Monday as I'll be travelling to MI for my cousin's wedding (no blog on Monday, probably...). More neat foliage can be seen to the left with caladiums in our azalea/rhododendron garden. I don't recall the varieties but we order about 400 caladiums each year that we start in 4" pots in late March. Once out in the gardens (planted in early June) in good soil with ample moisture and fertilizer every two weeks, they really get some size and vivid coloration. They truly are easy to grow (and inexpensive) and in this case, they offer visual interest in a shady location. To the right are the small (3/4" wide) but vivid blossoms of the creeping zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens 'Orange Sprite') which is another Fleuroselect winner and has a solid bloom coverage from June thru September. This is a great sunny groundcover or hanging basket candidate.

As usual, we had a talented volunteer contingent today at RBG. Kay and Mary spent more time in the North American garden weeding, removing spent annuals and planting another 10 flats of "back up" annuals to fill some of the recently created voids. The ladies did a great job. Carrie A. was down in the Smelly Garden weeding and tidying up as well. Bill O. came in and did a nice job mowing the arboretum and beyond. Dr. Gredler was also in to mow. We had our Home Garden Tour committee meeting which included Bill, Jean, Janet, Cora and me. We're already talking about 2012 plans and it's never too soon to start planning and promoting. We also saw Julie G., Kay F., Maury, Hal R., Dr. Yahr and many others. To the left is the 'Spiky Pink' dwarf wheat celosia (Celosia argentea var. spicata 'Spiky Pink') which is another Fleuroselect winner. I like these types of celosia and we have many similar varieties in our pink reception garden as well. Lots going on next week and preparation for the fall plant sale (September 10th and 11th, 9am-5pm at the Horticulture Center) is in full swing. RBG Members get 10% off for the duration of the sale and are invited to a pre-sale on Friday, September 9th, also from 9 am until 5 pm. This sale is abbreviated but has just as much good stuff as the previous 12 years (perennials, mums, ornamental grasses, shrubs, roses, kale, bulbs, pansies, compost, etc.). Directly below is Victoria's (volunteer) raised bed at the Horticulture Center looking awesome this morning. At the bottom is the 'Blueberry Kiss' annual vinca (Catharanthus roseus) which is both an All-America Selections and Fleuroselect winner. This annual always has clean foliage and good bloom coverage.