Finally Some Rain

Our rain gauge read 4/10" this morning after some rain last night which is more than we've had in the last month or so. The gardens looked fairly damp and that allowed us to focus on more garden related tasks instead of perpetual watering. Our water leak was fixed (thanks Evergreen Irrigation) and while we still ran irrigation in some spots, we didn't need to put out any sprinklers. While the day was a bit cooler, it was still quite muggy and humid when the sun appeared. There is another chance of rain later tonight that looks promising . We had a nice crew of volunteers today and most of the grounds staff was in to help out as well.

the Japanese garden continues to look great

'Fireball' hibiscus (Hibiscus hybrida) - perennial

'Pesto Perpetuo' variegated tall Greek basil (Ocimum x citriodorum) - annual

'Haight Ashbury' annual hibiscus (Hibiscus acetosella)

'Heavenly Blue' morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) - annual

'Sun Lady' black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia hybrida) - annual

Above is photographic evidence of the threat of hand pruner violence against me by Eva. Eva and Kathy did a nice job tidying up multiple spots out in the entrance garden. Kay was in to tidy up her portion of her assigned garden space in the shade garden and she then shifted to some serious weeding along the west access road. Maury (below) ran some errands and worked on the water features in the English cottage garden. Bill was in for his mowing duties and also collected garbage. We saw Tina, Dr. Yahr, "Daylily Lisa", Gary S., Pat M. and many others today as well.

We had a pretty solid grounds staff today with Cindy, Cheryl, Janice, Big John, Bob K. and Larry H. Everyone had a busy day with multiple tasks. Cindy worked on tidying up in and around the Smelly Garden theme of the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden. Cindy also did a nice job planting some shrubs and potting up many of our new daylilies (Hemerocallis) that will be installed in our collection soon. Cheryl focused her tidying efforts in the azalea/rhododendron garden and fern & moss garden. Janice tidied multiple areas but had a strong focus in the Thomas Jefferson Collection which will be featured as part of our Walk & Talk program tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 6 pm. She also did the cutting display and some other tasks. Big John helped the irrigation guys, ran irrigation, re-graveled, pruned, mowed, etc. He had a busy day bouncing around. Larry H. worked on mulching, shrub planting and push mowing while Bob K. spent a good portion of the day working on pumping out and cleaning the new water feature in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden. I was able to place plants for installation, had meetings and continue to address my "never diminishing" desk pile. More rain tonight would be good! The gardens are still at peak so come visit!