The Sun Returns

Today was a beautiful sunny day and quite a departure from the rains and winds yesterday. We were happy that the storm abated before reaching Janesville as we had very little wind damage and received a nice .5" of rain. Our rainfall has been pretty consistent this year and it's always nice to let Mother Nature do the watering as opposed to turning on the sprinklers! The Russo Family Fountain looked great this morning as seen above. We were impressed with the number of visitors out in the gardens today and the summer colors are starting to fill in quickly as the annuals mature with this heat. We had a solid grounds crew today and some excellent volunteers as well. All the photos in this blog were taken today.

Cherry Pie Oso Easy rose (Rosa 'Meiboulka')

variegated zelkova (Zelkova serrata 'Goshiki') - woody tree

'Boule de Neige' double sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica) - perennial

'Little Swain' daylily (Hemerocallis) - perennial

'Mystic Illusion' dark-leaved dahlia (Dahlia hybrida) - annual

Our volunteers had a busy day and continue to do an excellent job planting and primping! Above are Cookie (left) and Resa planting the remainder of the North point garden which is their assigned garden spot. They did a great job planting today. Below is Jenny primping in her assigned garden space: the hosta hollow. She and her husband Dave do a nice job down in this space and we'll be featuring many of these hostas when members of the Wisconsin Hosta Society come through the gardens tomorrow night for a tour. The second photo down shows Eva (left) and Kathy tackling weeds along Palmer Drive. This space really looked great once they finished. Shirley finished weeding in one area and went to help Janice plant and weed in the entrance garden. Kay (third photo down) did a nice job tidying her space and moved on to some other weeding in the reception garden. Both Dr. Gredler and Bill O. came in for their mowing rounds. Karen M. also tidied in the Japanese garden. Alan M. continued to weed the East parking lot border which is looking great and is almost ready for more mulching. We also saw Greg S., Dr. Yahr and many others today.