July Returns On September 1st

Today got sticky very quickly! The morning wasn't too bad but we had weather more reminiscent of July by noon or so. It was quite hot but the recent precipitation has made it humid as well. Our tropicals, like the elephant ears (Alocasia) seen above in this copper cheese vat planter (English cottage garden), should enjoy this warm up! The entire week looks quite warm with a chance of rain late in the week. We haven't had to run any irrigation since last Friday and are riding this "recent saturation" as long as possible. We've had so many visitors recently which is wonderful to observe and they are sure catching some nice late summer color. We pride ourselves in extending our seasonal color all the way until hard frost and this year will be no exception. Our excellent staff and volunteers provide plenty of "sweat equity" as they accomplished a wide range of projects in the sticky heat today!

'Hot Biscuits' amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) - annual

variegated obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana 'Variegata') - perennial

bloody dock (Rumex sanguineus ssp. sanguineus) - perennial

sweet Autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) - perennial vine

'Waterfalls Encanto Orange' begonia (Begonia boliviensis) - annual

'Costoluto Genovese' tomato (Lycopersicon) - annual

We had some excellent volunteer help on a day that became quite hot quickly! Above are Kathy (left) and Eva weeding in one of many areas that they targeted today. Bill was in for his mowing duties too. Kay came in for some more planting and tidying and Vern worked on some carpentry projects. Maury ran errands which included picking up more supplies for the Holiday Lights Show (HLS). We also saw Tina B., Bev D. and a couple others today.

The grounds staff had a busy day with everyone here except Terry (who apparently needed a day off...). :) Janice worked on tidying, watering, freshening up the cutting display and pre-Fall Plant Sale duties. With the sale starting next Friday, September 11th (9 am - 4 pm) for RBG Friends Members only, our window is getting tighter for preparations. The sale does extend through the weekend and RBG Members will have a 10% discount over the duration of the sale. Cindy worked on tidying multiple areas, yard watering and did a nice job mulching a border in the terrace garden that really needed it! Cheryl continued her tidying excellence in the rose garden and woodland walk garden throughout the day. Larry H. continued with both composting and mulching and ended up covering a lot of square footage today. Big John worked on fertilizing containers, clean-up, planting and many other tasks. Bob K. had some electrical projects, re-graveling duties and some odds and ends. I was able to place plants for installation (by Kay) and continue to prepare for the looming Fall Plant Sale. It was another great day!