Monday, July 28, 2014

Summer Color In Cool Weather

 
It was another beautiful day at the gardens (see the sunken garden above) although the morning was quite cool and the daytime temperature was only in the mid 70 degrees F.  Oh well...it's out of our hands and it sure helps to be able to catch up with watering and not have it dry up so quickly.  I would like more heat for our summer annuals and tropicals but they do continue to fill in nicely.  It was another busy day out in the gardens with lots of visitors enjoying a stroll.  Many of us (staff and volunteers) have recently shared the observation that this seems like our busiest year yet in terms of attendance.  I hope the numbers (and revenue!) indicate this trend!   It should darn well be our busiest year with the 25th Anniversary and the fact that more and more people are hearing about RBG both far and wide.  It's nice to see this attendance which will encourage the ever-important "word of mouth" advertising.  Lots of tasks were accomplished today by both staff and volunteers.  Below are some additional photos from this morning.
 
the North point garden above is looking sharp!
The "Pollinator's Paradise" theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden is one of the most colorful spots in the garden this summer!
'Vintage Wine' purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) - perennial

Our volunteers were extremely helpful as usual and we had a nice showing of Grumpies and Grumpettes.  Above is Gary B. watering the Thomas Jefferson Collection which is looking pretty good right now as well.  Directly below (left to right) are Kathy, Eva and Taylor.  The ladies tip-toed in to the entrance garden slope and are removing some weedy infiltrators!  They came back with quite a load of weeds!  Karen M. was tidying up in the Japanese garden this morning and Lisa I. arrived this afternoon to take a closer look at the Potter Daylily Collection which is still at peak.  The second photo down shows Ron R. (left) and Bob C. heading out to mulch and water some newly planted trees.  The third photo down shows Ron P. who, along with Dick H., did a nice job edging along the arboretum.  Dick H. also made some trips to the dump (fourth photo down).  Dr. Gredler was in for mowing and Maury ran multiple errands for us too.  Ron Y., Dave, Jim, Bob K. and Vern continued producing new obelisks and had some other carpentry duties as well.  We also saw Bill O., El, Ron W., Dr. Yahr and many others today.






The grounds staff had a full day which included quite a bit of watering despite the cool weather.  We missed our chances of significant rain last Friday and Sunday and are catching up in some areas.  Above is Cindy in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden where she continues to weed, plant and improve the "Pollinator's Paradise" theme which also features All-America Selections (AAS) winners.  This garden display is also entered in the AAS Landscape Design Competition for the third year and we hope to repeat our 1st place showing of the previous two years.  Cindy also had other watering and gardening duties.  Pat (half day) watered, weeded and tidied in the formal gardens.  Terry set up sprinklers, fertilized and bounced between multiple projects.  Big John had similar duties and removed a tree with Larry.  John also had significant watering as well and checked many containers for watering. Larry weed whipped, mowed, ran irrigation and helped with a multitude of projects.  I placed some plants for installation tomorrow and continue to chip away at the "IN BOX" on my desk.  Below are more photos from today...

'Torch' Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) - annual
'Razzleberry' stonecrop (Sedum hybrida) - perennial
'Young Lady' smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) - large shrub
Nice container in the reception garden featuring 'Sky Rocket' variegated fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena), 'Merlin Blue' petunia (Petunia) and 'Diamond Frost' spurge (Euphorbia sp.) - annuals
 
We'll all miss Gerald Wilson ("Muskrat") who passed away recently at the age of 75.  Little Jerry, as he was called, was a wonderful volunteer and worked as a grounds staff member for many years with a strong focus in the Japanese garden.  Jerry was great at tool sharpening, pruning, general gardening and never ran out of jokes.  He was well loved by everyone and will be missed.  RBG is a better place for having Little Jerry involved over so many years.
 

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