Cords Out, Debris In

It was another nice fall day although we had our most significant frost yet overnight as evidenced below on the turf and the cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) in the second photo down.  We haven't had that "hard frost" yet but this would be our fifth light frost and has prompted further removal of annuals from throughout the gardens.  We do continue to make progress daily with our Holiday Lights Show (HLS) preparations.  Fall color is still spectacular as seen above on this oak (Quercus sp.) seen directly above.  I'm not sure which species this is but it's certainly in the red/black oak family. We had some handy volunteer assistance today and enjoyed the sunshine once it warmed up to 55 degrees F or so.

frosted cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) - annual 

frosty turf

fall color of variegated Shantung maple (Acer truncatum 'Akikaze-Nishiki') - woody tree

Green Bay Packer fall color on this ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) looking good - woody tree

Volunteers today included Bob K. above who, along with help from John, Terry and myself, ran a couple thousand feet of temporary electrical lines for the HLS.  These rolls were not light but we unrolled and dragged them in place.  Bob then connected them as needed.  He has been a huge help during his first year as a Grumpy.  Below are Kathy (left) and Eva who continued clean-up efforts in the gazebo garden and entrance garden respectively.  The ladies did a nice job as usual.  The second photo down shows Kay who continued her excellent tidying duties in the shade garden which included perennial cutting and lots of leaf collection.  Urban was in later for more pruning and tree removal and we also saw Maury, Marv, Rollie, Dr. Gredler, Dr. Yahr, Kris K., Cheryl D., Gary S. and many others today.

The grounds staff had a productive day.  Above are Big John (left) and Terry putting up our giant wreath for the HLS.  The guys helped run electrical cords, emptied containers and continued with their daily dose of HLS set-up.  Cindy (half day) continued tidying up in the "Pollinator's Paradise" theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden which is almost cleared out.  I helped with cords for a bit but had some other duties as well.  Overall, we had a pretty small crew today of staff and volunteers but got a lot done.  Below are more photos from this morning.

fall color of Chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii) - woody tree

yellowing fall color of bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) - large woody shrub (thicketing!)

fallen leaves (fall color) of 'Aconitifiolum' fullmoon maple (Acer japonicum) on ferns

 fall color of 'Autumn Brilliance' serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora) - woody tree

colorful fruits on the 'Sparkler' hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) - annual (variegated leaves)

Autumn scene in the fern & moss garden