Today was supposed to be a reprieve from the rain but it was essentially a "misty continuation" with very few periods of dryness! We had 2.1 inches over the last two days and while the mist wasn't too bad today, there were some times of heavier drizzle. We all ended up soaked as we needed to get out in the gardens to prepare for the weekend but we were surprised to see so many visitors with umbrellas enjoying the gardens. Above is the 'Orange Marmalade' Martagon lily (Lilium martagon) just starting to bloom. It caught my eye from a distance in the gazebo garden. We've been happy to have the recent and timely precipitation as I'm sure the farmers are pleased as well. It's nice to take a day off from running irrigation, dragging hoses and trying to water 50+ containers. We did end up with a productive grounds crew and tough volunteers today.
'Taylor's Sunburst' lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) in the background with Black Beauty elderberry (Sambucus nigra 'Gerda') in the foreground
'Bowles Golden' sedge (Carex elata) - perennial
'Honey Rose' foamy bells (xHeucherella) - perennial
variegated catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides 'Variegata')
Raincoats were the order of business for all of us throughout the day. Above is Bill out mowing and Dr. Gredler joined him as Friday is our day for getting all the lawns ready for the weekend. Shirley (below) was a weeding ninja in front of the building and did an excellent job tidying up. Pat M. (second photo down) had finished his soon-to-be-patented "lights caddy" which will allow us to unspool lights as we go for the Holiday Lights Show (HLS). Hard to believe that we'll start testing lights in August with set-up for this fundraising event beginning again in late September. Vern and Ron Y. came in for some carpentry work and Chuck S. gave Ken C. some training for our cart tours. Gary came in to produce more labels and Bev D. was very helpful preparing labels and starting to match labels to the plants for our Elephant Ear Collection which will be planted next week. We also saw Bob K., Dave G. and many others today.
The grounds staff had a damp and busy day. Cindy helped haul plants, weeded, tidied and spent time matching labels to our new perennials. Janice also did quite a bit of label matching (for annuals) and also did the cutting display and finished planting an area as well as some containers. Terry push mowed, worked on path repair after the rains, checked water features, hauled plants and helped tidy up paths at the end of the day. I hauled and set plants out most of the day in advance of volunteer work days both tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday from 8 am until 12 noon. We'll see how the weather cooperates!
China Snow Peking lilac (Syringa pekinensis 'Morton') at peak bloom
'Saratoga' ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
'Mona Lavender' spurflower (Plectranthus hybridus) - annual
'Silver Heart' false forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) - perennial
'Pretty Belinda' yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - perennial
variegated obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana 'Variegata') - perennial
'Cherry Tomato' plantain lily (Hosta) - perennial
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