Madison Excursion

I had a meeting late this morning in Madison and after leaving the gardens in the capable hands of Cindy, Janice, Terry and Big John, I headed up to the UW-Arboretum to see some color at Longenecker Gardens which is a favorite destination. With my travel to Madison for the meeting, my intent was to "bookend" my meeting with a quick visit to Longenecker Gardens in the morning and Olbrich Botanical Gardens in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed both visits and the meeting (with Mike M. and Darcie O.) was fruitful as we finalized plans for our Horticulture Therapy Symposium at RBG on August 11th. The focus will be on incorporating gardening in to a therapy program with a strong focus on the sensory experience, accessibility and gardening as we get older. I saw Eva, Kathy, Shirley H. and Pat M. before I left but know Kay, Dr. Gredler and Maury were in among others.

When I saw the scene depicted in the top photo, I thought that it was extreme deer protection but realized quickly that it was one of many art installations being set-up throughout Longenecker. It was neat to see the art and to catch early color. While the crabapples (Malus) and lilacs (Syringa) were just barely opening up, I caught magnolias (Magnolia sp.) and lots of other plants showing color. Serviceberries (Amelanchier sp.), rhododendrons (Rhododendron sp.), quinces (Chaenomeles sp.) and many other selections were all peaking too. Further below are some highlights of my tour of Olbrich Botanical Gardens which was also looking nice with early color.