Back To Being Chilly

Today was a reminder of what the temperatures should really be like in January.  Although it was sunny all day, the highs were only in the 20 degrees F with this morning being quite chilly for the Grumpies that headed outdoors.  Above, Jim is putting primer on the garden art project (suns) this morning.  The center circles still have to be affixed but the guys already have a good system for getting these primed and assembled.  Dave T. and Dick H. were helping with this process and Bob A. was off in the wings continuing his painting (violet blue) of the new formal garden obelisks.  Dr. Gredler continued processing cords inside and Del and Maury ran our reindeer displays to storage.  Maury also ran out for some supplies.  Gary continues to assemble or label order for this spring and we'll be getting various samples that will allow us to expand the use of our engraver for other sign needs, name tags, etc.  Our outside crew included Dick W., Pat, Jim, Larry H., Urban and RBG Larry.  The guys continued to haul back trees, displays, obelisks, lights and cords.  The dusting of snow this weekend didn't slow anyone down and thankfully, Larry and Bill pulled up all the underground cords on this past Saturday when it was mild and the ground was unfrozen.   Below are some of the pvc arches that Larry brought back to have the lights removed inside.  We also had a nice visit from Little Jerry and caught up with him.  

This past weekend, I was reading a great article by Marty Ross on the color orange ("Orange Crush") in the January/February edition of Horticulture Magazine.  Keep in mind that orange is the main color of our entrance garden and terrace garden themes this year.  Marty did a nice job describing what orange can do in the garden and described it as versatile, fiery, electric, etc.  She also pointed out that depending on what color you combine with orange, the "effect" can be quite different.  I quote, "Orange is perhaps the most polarizing color - people seem to either love it or hate it.  Often associated with energy, vitality and warmth, it has a real "look-at-me" quality."  I totally agree.  With our combination of maroon, based on Marty's description, we should have a vibrant and flamboyant composition.  Count on it!  Below are just three of the many ingredients that will be used in our collection.  Featured in order are the 'Gallery Cobra' dahlia (Dahlia), 'Pazzaz Tangerine' purslane (Portulaca oleracea) and 'Torch' Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia).  We'll also include plenty of orange foliage annuals and the overall composition should be very showy.

I continued with my seed ordering responsibilities today but also spent time finalizing details for our 2013 Photography Contest.  Last year was our first year hosting this contest with the 24 winning photos (all taken at RBG) included in the 2013 RBG calendar.  We're tweaking the details but are looking forward to more great submissions and a popular 2014 calendar that will also celebrate our 25th Anniversary.  Details will be included on our website in the coming weeks.  Larry continues to help orchestrate the dismantling of the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) which is very organized and ultimately should be finished in the next six weeks or so.  The take down of this event is only second to the actual set-up in terms of the amount of time invested.  I have a presentaton this afternoon on the Landscape Design for Winter Interest in Evansville, WI.  While I also have plenty of meetings this time of year, my primary intent this week is to shorten the height of my "to be perused" catalog stack!  Below are just some of the spruces (Picea) that await mulching after their effective use out in the HLS.