Relatively Pleasant (For Now)

Today had a mild start with temperatures around 68 degrees F. It warmed up to 85 degrees F and wasn't too bad outside. I've noticed that almost all my recent blog titles refer to the weather and not necessarily all the activity going on out in the gardens. It's been hard not to talk about the weather and I find that my concerns about the drought and watering pale in comparison to that of our farmers who will likely lose much of their non-irrigated crops this summer. While Janice and I were admiring the Ornamental Edible & Compact Vegetable Collection today, we talked about some maintenance and improvements and I took a stroll through this neat collection. The two photos above are of the annual fountain plant or summer poinsettia (Amaranthus tricolor). These two ('Early Splendor' at top and 'Illumination' directly above) are perfect examples regarding how showy foliage can be such a contributing factor for color. These plants have edible leaves and the youngest leaves are the most colorful (and tasty). It is important to note that these annuals (36" tall) look good in to late August but will not "go the distance" until frost. To the right are the purple/blue flower clusters of ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata). Also called the common, smooth or prairie ironweed, this native perennial prefers full sun and will get some size (60"). I think ironweeds (Vernonia) are grossly underused and underpromoted in the industry as tough, long-lived and low-maintenance perennials. Some staking may be required. The best collection of ironweeds I've ever seen is at the trial garden of the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG). I never realized there were so many including some towering specimens around 10' tall! I'll be interested to see what Richard Hawke (trials garden manager at CBG) will have to say regarding his trials of this genus. To the left is one of our quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) plants starting to bloom. Quinoa is part of our Grains of the World Collection and has a long use as a nutritious grain plant. A close relative is lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album) which also has edible leaves (identical to quinoa) but is a common weed. We've had many visitors (and volunteers) say they wondered about our weed patches (the quinoa). The blooms should be quite showy though. The variety pictured is 'Shelly 25 Black'.

The grounds staff had a busy day of weeding and watering. Larry was in at 5:30 am to start our irrigation zones and moved on to push mowing, sprinkler set-up and many other duties. Big John set up many sprinklers around the gardens, watered containers and weeded in the entrance garden. Janice and Pat worked together on some substantial weeding and moved on to other tasks. Pat also push mowed, hand watered, helped with containers and did some major weeding in the Smelly Garden as well. Janice checked on our new moss gardens, watered and spent some time in the edible collection as well. Janice also is cutting and saving some of our grains as seen below. She has samples of wheat, barley and rye thus far this summer. I had some time sensitive desk work and meetings but was able to get outside for some herbicide applications. To the above right is the 'Ruby Parfait' celosia (Celosia spicata argentea) which we planted for the first time last year. I really like the long lasting blooms on this 24" annual. Note the huge black wasp that also is quite interested in this plant!Volunteers continue to be such an important part of our daily maintenance routine at RBG. Of course, I'm always referencing our garden volunteers but it's important to stress that volunteers also help in the gift shop, with tours, education, on committees and in many other capacities as well. Directly above is the 'Just Dorothy' daylily (Hemerocallis) near the arboretum. This is just one in that collection of 300 varieties that are really looking great. Next week, Lisa I. (our volunteer that has managed this collection) and I will tour the daylilies again and address any issues (labeling, identification, removals and relocations) as needed.

Garden volunteers today included Joanne (to the right) who has taken care of the formal perennial gardens for many years with her husband John. John and Joanne were just in the local paper and were recognized for 60 years of marriage. Congrats! Joanne does a nice job and worked out in the gardens after our Garden Development Committee meeting which also included Maury, Iza, Dr. Gredler, Dr. Yahr, Big John, Hal, Christine and Gary. Dr. Gredler also did quite a bit of mowing and helped water some thirsty areas. Kay came in all morning and helped plant annual salvia (filler) in the reception garden. She made quick work of that and then moved on to weeding with Pat in the Smelly Garden. Bill O. was in later for shearing and mowing in the arboretum. Urban and Rose were in for some painting duties and we also saw Deb, Gordy and many others today. To the left is the Carefree Celebration rose (Rosa 'RADral') which is another introduction from Bill Radler of Knockout fame. This coral orange introduction is of course resistant to insects and diseases, a strong bloomer and also has a slight fragrance. It's doing well in our rose garden. To the right is the 'Hot Lava' coneflower (Echinacea) which emerged an orange and has faded to this vivid pink. It's important to note that coneflowers do have a gradation of colors as their blooms age, particularly the oranges and reds. Directly below is a leaf from the 'Thailand Giant' elephant ear (Colocasia gigantea) which we're growing for the first time this year. We hope to get our 30 or so specimens up to 12' tall or more with 4-6' leaves! At the bottom is an artistic shot (thanks Bill!) of bean (Phaseolus) foliage with damage courtesy of our local Japanese beetle population. UGH.