Back To Gardening

The top image is a shot (shared by Sue M.) of the chalk art work done this weekend by master chalk artist Lee Jones. This was just a small part of the Art Infusion weekend along the Janesville Mile that included many different activities, entertainment, etc. If you look closely, you can see the gazebo and arched bridge in the distance. This was rendered off of a photo that one of our volunteers took years ago that has been on the cover of the local phone book and in many other locations as well. I never thought I'd see a "chalk art" version of this but it sure looks great. Some drizzle I'm sure hampered the event but what can you do. We had sprinkles all day yesterday all the way until around 10 am this morning. The photo directly above is my annual close-up picture of the fruits from the 'Black Pearl' ornamental hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) which also has near black foliage in full sun. Those glossy black peppers will age to a red and while not normally a culinary variety, we know they are nuclear hot as one of our volunteers tasted them and probably still regrets that decision. To the right is my favorite cherry tomato (Lycopersicon) called 'Snow White'. We have a huge plant just outside the Horticulture Center where it is easy to grab a couple of tomatoes when going thru our entry door. This variety won a taste test at the Garden Festival a couple years ago and continues to be extremely popular at our spring sale. The fruits never get true white of course and the yellow one in the picture is ripe and ready to go. To the left is a stonecrop (Sedum hybrida) starting to bloom out in the gardens. This is the variety 'Jaws' which has deeply incised leaves that have a jagged, "shark tooth-like" appearance. Many of our stonecrops (Sedum sp.) are starting to bloom out in the gardens and we certainly rely on them for extended color in to the fall.

We had a nice volunteer turnout today and while most of the tasks involved closure for the fall plant sale, most volunteers (and staff) were able to do some solid gardening today too. The Grumpies were a big help this morning. Ron B., Bob C. and Del took down our plant sale parking lot and worked on myriad other projects. Dennis and Ron W. returned our borrowed plant sale wagons and shifted to other projects after their return. Rollie, Gary, Bill S. and others helped Janice untag plant sale plants and re-arrange the remainder of the plants for final pick-up or processing. Many of the guys later transferred out in to the gardens for leaf collection. Dave, Jim, Larry H. and Bob A. worked on some smaller projects including the re-building of one of our large hand carts. The guys will shift to more edging installation later in the week. Dick H. was here to do some welding and helped here and there as did Bill O. Dr. Gredler was in to mow and aerate while Dr. Yahr was out collecting debris in the gardens (lots of leaves down). There were plenty of odd jobs this morning in the drizzle but everyone kept busy. We also saw Kelli, Geesje and others this morning. To the right is the 'Mona Lisa' Plectranthus (Plectranthus) in our shade garden which has been a huge hit as a house plant but also an annual for shade and part shade. Called spur flower, this annual variety (introduced from South Africa) has been blooming non-stop for us and I really like that flower color. Directly below is the yellow waxy bells (Kirengeshoma palmata) looking great this time of year with many blooms even in partly shaded areas. While not overwhelming from a distance, the flower appeal becomes more conspicuous as you get closer.Directly above is the fruiting structure of the native Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) in our woodland walk garden. These glossy fruit clusters are scattered here and there and we leave them be to help colonize that garden space. Nice shot to the right of the variegated lacecap hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Mariesii Variegated') that only blooms on older wood that survives the winter. Needless to say, this one has never bloomed because it dies to the ground but we've left it in as it sprouts up to 4' (fresh growth) with these showy variegated, tropical-looking leaves. We have a nice cluster of three in the gazebo garden. To the lower left is the 'Red Kuri' winter squash (Cucurbita maxima) getting a nice color. Jump on the internet and you'll find lots of recipes for the use of this squash which seems to be quite popular in Asia as well.

The grounds staff was busy today as usual. Marianne and Janice helped facilitate the dismantling of the plant sale which involved putting signs away, removing price tags, etc. and they had some solid volunteer assistance with this all morning. Some of our leftover perennials will be returned to the supplier although some will also be saved for the grounds for some late season planting. We loaded up the first truck this afternoon. Marianne later moved on to her old job of tidying up the entrance garden in front of the building to extend color and did a nice cutting display with grasses as the featured plant. After plant sale processing, Janice spent most of the morning in the sunken garden weeding, cutting back perennials, removing spent annuals, etc. She did a nice job and that garden is still holding plenty of late season color. I'm glad the frosts missed us as it would be a different story if our annuals were done for the season! Big John was in to cut back some roses, run out for gas and start the removal of a horribly invasive grass (Phragmites) in our fern & moss garden stream. Marv and Terry helped take down and process plant sale signs this morning while it was drizzling but later moved on to lots of cutting and removals. The guys diced up and brought back a downed tree and large branch from the north path and worked on cutting back spirea, ninebark and Scotch roses in select locations. We didn't have to do any watering today which hasn't happened in a while. Larry worked on repairing irrigation and helped with the plant sale tasks as well. I bounced around a bit but mainly continued getting thru my desk work and have to finish a couple presentations in short order. To the right is the silvery foliage of the 'Looking Glass' false forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) still looking nice and offering some silver in the shade garden. Below is a shot of the sunken garden pool and fountain and despite all the cottonwood (Populus deltoides) leaves drifting down every second in that space, there is still plenty of color. At the bottom is the start of fall color on our Tiger Eyes sumac (Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger') near the east entrance.