Back In Action

It was nice to be back after a week off although it always seems like you come back and aren't one week behind...but three! The gang did an awesome job of keeping up with the watering and the gardens looked wonderful despite not getting any rain in over two weeks. The formal garden above was looking spectacular. It's amazing how quickly plants seem to grow in even one week and I was impressed with how nice the gardens continue to look with such great care from both staff and volunteers. I was able to tour the gardens and continue to catch up with duties related to many upcoming events. Our grounds crew had a solid day of activity which included plenty of watering. We also had some excellent volunteer help as well.

our All-America Selections (AAS) raised bed has filled in nicely

this caladium display is attracting lots of attention - the white variety is 'Moonlight'

the formal annual sections are looking good (seen above)

the hot colors in the terrace garden are peaking nicely

'Ruby Parfait' wheat celosia (Celosia spicata) - annual

'Flamingo Feather Pink' wheat celosia (Celosia spicata) - annual

Directly above is the annual cigar flower (Cuphea ignea) looking good (to hummingbirds too!). This morning we had Eva out weeding in multiple areas and Kay was in later to also tidy up a couple different areas. Pat M. came in to get some supplies for a future project and both Myrt and Patty did some clean-up in the gazebo garden and sunken garden. Betty and Shirley both worked in their assigned garden areas near the gazebo (looking good). Marv B. was in to check on his moss areas. Our Story & Stroll program looked busy and we had a bus tour from Bloomington, IL come this morning. Aside from myself, our other tour guides included Audrey, Layton (see bottom photo), Ken and Chuck. Bill O. fixed one of our carts and we saw a couple other volunteers as well.

Our grounds staff was quite busy. Cindy tidied up in the Smelly Garden theme of the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden (looking sharp) and watered the yard. Cheryl tidied in the Japanese garden while Big John was all over the gardens running irrigation, moving sprinklers, hand watering and watering containers. Nolan and Trevor worked together on path repair, clearing out our water movers (this involves getting in to the pond) and hand watering. It was another productive day and it was so nice to see a healthy crowd of visitors! Below are more photos from this morning.