Road Trip - Day 2

If you ever find yourself driving across South Dakota, make the stop at Badlands National Park as it is awesome.  I enjoyed the flora of this region and recognized quite a bit.  The Visitor's Center had some great information on the plants of this area and we picked up a book on this topic too.  This was my second trip through this unique landscape with the family and we enjoyed it immensely.  Tomorrow we'll head down to Cheyenne and stop by the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and shoot down through Colorado.  Should have more to share but pretty "tuckered out" after all the hiking in 90 degrees F.  Lots of fun though.  RBG is in good hands with our talented grounds staff and dedicated volunteers I'm sure!!!

 snow-on-mountain (Euphorbia marginata)

Glad there wasn't a rattlesnake near the sign and my beautiful daughters!

Road Trip - Day 1

As part of our family Road Trip 2015 out "West", we were able to fit in some nice stops to stretch our legs!  All of the garden shots here were taken at the Riverside International Friendship Gardens in La Crosse, WI (www.riversidegardens.org/).  The garden was beautiful and while I enjoyed seeing it over eight years ago, the gardens had expanded and it was nice to see the progress.  If you are ever in La Crosse, make the stop!  After about 8 hours of driving, we stopped by the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD which was quite interesting!

 'Ruby Spice' summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) - shrub

 'Mojito' elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) - tropical

 'Limelight' panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) - woody shrub

 The Corn Palace (Mitchell, SD)

On Vacation

On vacation but will try to blog as time allows.  I hope to see some other botanic gardens as well.  Great day today at the gardens with lots of volunteers and an excellent grounds crew.

Another Fantastic Friday

It was another excellent day out in the gardens.  What we thought was going to be a very muggy day was actually not bad with a decent breeze and overcast skies.  It was again nice to see so many visitors out in the gardens enjoying seeing plants like this 'Heartthrob' perennial hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) seen directly above.  Talented volunteers along with our excellent grounds crew accomplished lots of projects and have the gardens looking spiffy for the weekend.  More photos from the gardens can be seen throughout this blog.

 'Samurai Sword' Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum) - perennial

 'Lion Fish' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) - annual

'Red Coral' coleus (Solenostemon scutellariodes) - annual

Our dedicated grounds volunteers continue to accomplish so much out in the gardens.  Above are Kathy (left) and Eva in the fern & moss garden where they tidied up and planted 50 or so new ferns.  Kay (below) tidied up many areas and her attention to detail is second to none.  Karen, Cheryl P. and Carole K. tidied in the Japanese garden and Bill O. did his mowing rounds.  Jan R. continued her tidying in the Scottish garden.  Jumbo Jim and Deb G. brought in six RECAPPERS and these gentlemen did an excellent job out in the gardens.  Chuck and Ken took the cart out for some tour training and we also saw Mary W., Elsa, Jean S., Marsha M., Maury, Gary S. and many others.

We had VIPs in the garden today with Jessica (in orange) from Boerner Botanical Gardens (Hales Corners, WI) and Marian from the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory (Milwaukee).  I had a great tour with the ladies and they took full advantage of the giant Adirondack chair in the arboretum (one of two!).  

The grounds staff was hopping today between many diverse projects.  Suffice it to say that Cindy, Big John, Terry, Janice and Trevor had a busy day start to finish.  Tasks included mowing, watering, fertilizing, pruning, planting, etc.  I wasn't much help outside but my pressing desk work is becoming a priority.  It was an excellent Friday!

 'Scarlet' kale (Brassica oleracea) - annual (yummy!)

 fragrant herbs in the Smelly Garden!

 'Jolt Pink' sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) - annual (fragrant!)

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

 wild petunia (Ruellia humilis) - perennial

'Yellowfin Tuna' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) - annual

 'Alpha' pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) - annual

 Incrediball  smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens 'Abetwo') - woody shrub

The Heat Intensifies

It was another warm and sunny day with our high temperature climbing in to the mid 80 degrees F range.  "Bring it on!" I say as the gardens are responding well with plenty in bloom like the gayfeather (Liatris sp.) above.  This weather is more characteristic for late July and while I've enjoyed all the cooler days this summer, the heat should really prompt some color out in the gardens.  Every day I find something new blooming or reaching peak color and it's not hard to snap photos at all!  Our always productive grounds staff was joined by a slew of excellent volunteers today.  All the photos in this blog were taken today.

 fragrant peacock orchid (Acidenthera murielae) - annual

 common madia (Madia elegans) - annual (fragrant!)

 'Summer Beauty' ornamental onion (Allium angulosum) - perennial

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

'Hot Lava' coneflower (Echinacea hybrida) - perennial

My Thursday blogs since May have described how well-attended our volunteer mornings are this time of the week and today was no exception.  There was a wide range of activities accomplished like painting by Gary (above) and obelisk construction by Bobby K. and Dick H. directly below (Dick to the right).  In lieu of the activity synopsis that I usually give, I'd like to recognize the contributions of Gary B., Bobby K., Dick H., Ron Y., Stan, Eva, Kathy, Bonnie, Mary R., Suzie, Ron P., Ed, Larry, Ron R., Dr. Gredler, Dr. Yahr, Rollie, Vicky, Mary W., Roy W., Hal R., Doris R., Bill O., Shirley H., Mary Ann G. and many others!  It was a great day for volunteerism at the gardens and note the captions seen further below under the photos....

The grounds staff had a great day despite the increasing heat over the course of the afternoon.  Janice helped coordinate volunteers, fertilized, worked in the Thomas Jefferson Collection and bounced between some other odd jobs.  Big John pruned more boxwoods (Buxus), moved around a lot of sprinklers, pruned and had some other tasks.  Larry ran irrigation, watered containers and had some other duties.  Nolan (half day) worked with Trevor on some pond cleaning duties and path work.  Nolan also did some string trimming and Trevor continued with path improvements throughout the afternoon.  I had some meetings and have no shortage of stationary projects at my desk unfortunately.  Overall, it was an excellent day though!

 Ron P. (left) and Ed air edging in the Smelly Garden

 Ron R. (left) and Larry H. tidying paths

 Shirley making more progress in the reception garden

 Mary and Roy in the shade garden

 Mary Ann G. in the Thomas Jefferson Collection

 Peg above and Bonnie (left) and Suzie below...

 Dr. Gredler above doing his mowing rounds

 Vicky O. tidying nicely (above)

 Kathy (left) and Eva 

Doris R. (sans Hal)

 'Glow Select Blue Stardust' petunia (Petunia) - annual

 'Bengal Tiger' tickseed (Coreopsis) - perennial

 'King Crab' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) - Under the Sea Series - annual

 'Unstoppable Upright Fire' begonia (Begonia boliviensis) - annual

 'Alpha' pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) - annual

'Cherry Brandy' gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) - annual