We hit the ground running this morning with the last of our plant sale preparations before the start of the sale at 9 am for RBG Friends Members. Above is a shot in our
area for perennials that prefer shade or part shade. Marianne took care of most of the details of setting up the checkout area while Janice and I went out to organize the last of the yard. Big John set up some signs while Marv and Terry helped get tables and other essentials all set 
up and ready to go. I think we have the best assortment of plants this year and what we heard from plant sale patrons today confirms our assesment. There are more shrubs, perennial varieties and a wide range of bulbs, mums and other goodies. I continue to be amazed at how well we organize the yard and refine our displays each year. Marianne has some nice retail experience that really helps out too. To the right are the neat, deep pink blooms of a dwarf, hybrid wheat celosia (Celosia spicata 'Kosmo Purple Red') that is covered with these interesting blossoms and is only 15" tall. To the left is the increasingly interesting stem color of the 'Pink Lipstick' Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) in the reception garden. I've shown this in pre
vious blog postings but it seems to be getting brighter. Janice has done a nice job cutting back all the chard and many of our volunteers (and the area food banks) have been the recipients of the fresh produce.Needless to say that we had lots of volunteer assistance today. Out in the gardens, Dr. Yahr was here to do more planting in the Japanese garden while Karen was in to tidy up that garden as well.
Dr. Gredler and Bill O. did their mowing rounds and we had over 30 different volunteers assisting with customer service, watering, loading and cash register help. Our volunteers are such a great group and work so well together. There are too many to name for today but we appreciate all their assistance with the sale and we have many more helpers coming in over the weekend. The "pre-sale" today was steady and we saw quite a few plants leave the yard. However, tomorrow will be the crazy day as the first Saturday of our sale (with good weather) is always our best. The weekend weather looks perfect! I hope tomorrow is no exception in regards to a record sale day! We still have plenty of great plants at affordable prices and hope to see customers in droves. To the right is the 'Red Cherry' marigold (Tagetes patula) in our Marigold Collection this year. After a severe shearing three weeks ago and repeated fertilizer applications, our marigold collection is back for another nice flush of blooms that should go the distance until frost. To the left are perennial asters, a popular item at our plant sale. Directly below are our formal annual beds filling in with a nice centerpiece of the purple elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum 'Prince') which is also called napier grass. We used lots of this grass this year and while it wont bloom for us, this variety can get well over 8' tall in one season.
Directly above is the native, rigid goldenrod (Solidago rigida) near the Smelly Garden. This 5' tall specimen is quite striking and is attracting lots of bees this time of year. With a reputation as a "spreading thug", we'll keep an eye on this goldenrod species although
it hasn't spread much over the past three years. To the right is a shot of our red border that I took this morning. I love the way this border turned out and the obelisks are such great "exclamation points" along that 140' length. Back in April, I had those obelisks painted lavender and later envisioned this red border which prompted the paint change. I did get some "constructive feedba
ck" from our painters but I think they'll agree that lavender wouldn't have worked as well in this combination! To the left is an attractive duo that I've featured many times that can be found in the gazebo garden. This is the golden elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta 'Elena') with the bloodleaf (Iresine hybrida 'Blazin' Rose'). Dynamite! The grounds staff did a great job today. While Marianne, Janice and I were tied to the plant sale, Marv, Terry and Big John were able to get out and collectively did a nice job addressing all of our Friday preparations. Big John and Terry took care of all the push mowin
g and John moved on to some minor projects and was able to water all the containers. Marv and Terry worked on leveling a good portion of the bluestone patio in the formal rose garden. There were some critter tunnels undermining that space and the guys have it looking nice and level and brand new. Marv ran irrigation most of the day to wet things down and he and Terry worked their whirlwind of sprinklers in those areas that don't get hit by our convenient irrigation system. We certainly have that proverbial "well oiled machine" when it comes to our talented grounds crew. I was at the plant sale most of the day but broke away to be on WCLO (with Tim Bremel, thanks Tim!) and Kelli and I put in plugs for the plant sale and all sorts of fun stuff coming up at RBG (see our website at www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org). The flowers to the right and directly below can be found in our plant sale! To the right is the 'Carnival' Helen's flower (Helenium hybrida) that has nice, bicolored red/gold flower petals that are curled, giving a tubular look. This 36" tall perennial loves full sun and blooms throughout August and September. Helen's flowers are often overlooked but are stalwart perennials. Directly below is the 'Sweet Dreams' tickseed (Coreopsis rosea) that has wispy foliage and a high volume of raspberry centered blooms with light pink to white margins. Look closely at the flower petal tips. They are "toothed" which adds some interest. It's all in the details as they say. At the bottom is our boulder wall near the fern & moss garden with the golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold') looking better each year and literally flowing down that 6' tall wall. I'll update my blog tomorrow with Saturday plant sale details. 
g and John moved on to some minor projects and was able to water all the containers. Marv and Terry worked on leveling a good portion of the bluestone patio in the formal rose garden. There were some critter tunnels undermining that space and the guys have it looking nice and level and brand new. Marv ran irrigation most of the day to wet things down and he and Terry worked their whirlwind of sprinklers in those areas that don't get hit by our convenient irrigation system. We certainly have that proverbial "well oiled machine" when it comes to our talented grounds crew. I was at the plant sale most of the day but broke away to be on WCLO (with Tim Bremel, thanks Tim!) and Kelli and I put in plugs for the plant sale and all sorts of fun stuff coming up at RBG (see our website at www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org). The flowers to the right and directly below can be found in our plant sale! To the right is the 'Carnival' Helen's flower (Helenium hybrida) that has nice, bicolored red/gold flower petals that are curled, giving a tubular look. This 36" tall perennial loves full sun and blooms throughout August and September. Helen's flowers are often overlooked but are stalwart perennials. Directly below is the 'Sweet Dreams' tickseed (Coreopsis rosea) that has wispy foliage and a high volume of raspberry centered blooms with light pink to white margins. Look closely at the flower petal tips. They are "toothed" which adds some interest. It's all in the details as they say. At the bottom is our boulder wall near the fern & moss garden with the golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold') looking better each year and literally flowing down that 6' tall wall. I'll update my blog tomorrow with Saturday plant sale details.
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