October In August

Today was primarily overcast with a cool breeze. Temperatures only made it to the low 70 degrees F which was perfect gardening weather although a little more heat would be nice for our annuals and tropicals. We saw lots of visitors today including a bus tour from Waukesha, WI.  The gardens continue to look great.  Above is the Druid in the distance (reception garden) with silver spurflower (Plectranthus argentatus) and feathertop grass (Pennisetum villosum) creating a nice combination in that space which is primarily blue, white and silver.  We had an excellent volunteer turnout today and our grounds crew had a very productive day as well.

 'Polar Bear' zinnia (Zinnia elegans) - annual

 fruiting structure of umbrella magnolia (Magnolia tripetala)

 'Taishan Yellow Improved' African marigold (Tagetes erecta) - annual

 capsules of 'Carmencita Red' castor bean (Ricinus communis) - annual

 'Minerva' Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) - woody shrub

 the warm border on the terrace looks great!

 four o'clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) are going strong- annual

 variegated giant reed (Arundo donax 'Versicolor') in composition

Thursday continues to be a strong day for volunteerism. The photo above featuring Myrt (left) and Mary was from late yesterday as the ladies did a nice job weeding in multiple areas.  Directly below are Larry H., Ron R., Ron P., Gary and Lloyd putting up tents for the Fall Plant Sale which begins in about three weeks.  The sale is on Saturday and Sunday, September 12th and 13th (9 am - 4 pm daily) although RBG Friends members are invited to a pre-sale on Friday, September 11th (same hours) where they receive "pick of the litter" and 10% off (discount extended throughout the entire sale).  We get the tents up early so we can get the yard arranged and ready to accept the influx of plants!  The guys moved on to some other activities after putting up six tents.  Alan M. was in for tidying in the sunken garden and Hal and Doris primped their assigned garden area.  The second photo down shows Suzie (left) and Bonnie who were working also with Winifred and Peg on some serious weeding issues along our frontage berm.  The ladies collected lots of weeds and debris.  The third photo down shows Sandi, Kathy and Eva (left to right) as the ladies did a great job tidying up the front slope which needed their attention.  Pat C. (fourth photo down) was here most of the day working on inventorying and producing labels for three garden areas.  She does a nice job and we're slowly catching up on the more permanent labels (perennials, trees and shrubs).  Dr. Gredler (fifth photo down) was in for his mowing duties and I think Rollie was here too.  Our carpenters (Dave, Jim, Vern and Ron Y.) were in for a wide range of projects.  We also saw Patrea, Bev D., Pat M. and many others today.

Our grounds staff today included Big John, Terry, Janice, Larry H. and myself.  We had a wide range of duties including watering, weeding, tidying, bench leveling, water feature cleaning, mulching, etc.  A lot was accomplished and the gardens are looking excellent.

 the Alphabet Jungle Garden is looking good

 a beautiful (unknown) morning glory today (Ipomoea sp.) - annual

'Redhead' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) was looking vivid today - annual

Last night the "Walk & Talk", featuring the Thomas Jefferson Collection, was very well attended.  We had 32 attendees enjoy both the indoor and outdoor components of this display.  Janice provided history while I went through a presentation developed by Patrea.  Mary Ann (RBG volunteer) was also on hand for questions and it was a lot of fun.  Directly below was just one of the many plants that Jefferson grew that was featured last night!

 devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) - annual