Cloudy and Cool

We finally received some nice rain which has been missing us over the past week or two.  It was quite chilly though but we had plenty of cozy indoor projects to start the day.  Marsha M. shared her photo above of a very pink Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica) we noticed yesterday on our tour.  Virginia bluebells will have pink buds that open to blue flowers that become more intensely blue over the course of two weeks or so.  I'm going to keep an eye on this one to see if it turns blue (I can see a smidge of blue on one of the flowers...)...this was quite fetching to the eye though!  The huge assortment of 100 varieties of tulips (Tulipa) in front of the Parker Education Center continues to look great and the color is being preserved by the cooler weather.  Some additional varieties can be seen below.

Larry and John had a wide range of activities, most of which involved indoor work earlier in the morning.  Larry was out mulching most of the afternoon though while John had a wide range of indoor tasks that have been waiting.  Bob K. was in to get the big fountain up and running and worked on another water feature as well.  Volunteers included Eva, Peg, Alan, Dr. Gredler, Dave, Vern, Ron Y., Dick H., Maury F., Gary S. and many others.  Many Golden Kiwanis members were on site too for off-loading of the trees for their Tree Sale this Friday and Saturday (8 am - 4 pm) - see further below.  We also saw Kris K., Dale S. and many others today as well.

 'Couleur Cardinal' tulip (Tulipa)

'Tropical Lady' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Banja Luka' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Innuendo' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Chopin' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Continental' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Alibi' tulip (Tulipa)

'La Bella Epoque' tulip (Tulipa)

'Virichic' tulip (Tulipa)

above and below are some of the trees that will be sold by the Golden Kiwanis Club this Friday and Saturday (8 am - 4 pm) for $2 each (10% off for 50 or more)

tomatoes (above) and peppers (below) have arrived to be sorted for our big Mother's Day Plant Sale next weekend (see our website for details)

Our Giant Aquarium project is partially inspired by the book above which will be part of the StoryWalk program this year in conjunction with the Hedberg Public Library.  The brain coral (donated) below will be one of the many elements of this fun space