A Nice Day To Avoid Gardening

Today was a nice touch of summer with highs in the mid 80s. Instead of gardening at home (I still have spring-purchased perennials to plant yet...), we took our annual autumn trip up to the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. This wonderful oasis of ecological restoration and plant collections encompasses 1260 acres. The image above was taken in the Longenecker Gardens, a portion of the Arboretum. This stellar woody plant collection has over 2,000 specimens and was started in 1934. It is an internationally recognized woody plant collection with many interesting woodies, including a huge collection of crabapples, lilacs and viburnums. Dr. Edward Hasselkus, Horticulture Professor Emeritus, has managed and improved Longenecker for many years and his past and present influence can be seen in every direction. The fall color was stellar and I couldn't stop taking pictures! I was mesmerized (annually) by the intense fall color of the black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica). See images below. Also known as blackgum, pepperidge, sourgum and beetlebug, this woody plant is native in portions of the Eastern United States from Florida and Texas up to portions of Canada. It prefers damper situations but is quite tolerant of a wide range of conditions (although alkaline soil should be avoided). The foliage is large, glossy, free of insect and disease issues and turns a spectacular range of bright fall colors. The Longenecker has a dozen or more specimens, including a 40' tall specimen. We have one at Rotary Gardens but it hasn't colored up yet.


Aside from impressive woodlands, the remainder of the Arboretum includes wetlands and prairies. The 60 acre Curtis Prairie (see below) is the world's oldest prairie restoration. This prairie is simply engaging this time of year and we found time to walk thru this as well. This section has lots of sumac (Rhus typhina) that is coloring up in this wet prairie.

A Last Hurrah!?

What a great day! Mild morning with temperatures around 75. Just perfect. Perhaps this is the last "best weekend" of 2008 (and next 6 months too!)? Sunday should be just as nice. I'll actually try to garden and not get too distracted. I counted about 12 pumpkins in our backyard that are a result of what we thought was planted cantaloupe last year, later found to be pumpkins that the squirrels destroyed and apparently left some seed for 2008. The grass above is the fall color of flame grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Purpurascens') that just started a week ago. Usually the coloration is maroonish but we've all noticed the pronounced "orangey" color this year. Usually you'll see the flower/seed heads as well but they haven't formed on this one yet. The native sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) turns yellow with the first light frost (hence the name "sensitive"). This fern has course fronds and thrives in damp situations. This shot was taken in our fern & moss garden. I wish we had more time to evaluate all the ferns in this garden as was the original intent. We have some rare ferns in that garden and have one of the largest fern collections in the midwest if not the nation.

A Walk In The Woods

The image above was taken today at the Schmeekle Reserve in Stevens Point, WI. This 275 acre natural area was breathtaking with the fall color and beautiful weather. This reserve is part of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and is surrounded by other development. It is truly an "island of beauty" and I haven't enjoyed it for over 12 years when I would walk thru as a student. I gave a presentation (spring blooming bulbs) last night to the Portage County Master Gardeners and my wife and younger daughter came up with me. Today we went on a nice hike thru this area and my daughter was happy to observe a garter snake, turtle and four deer. The setting was wonderful and we enjoyed the day. I thought the statement seen below on a sign in the reserve was quite poignant and continues to become even more so with each passing year...Gaylord Nelson, the primary founder of Earth Day, did so much for the environment and if you don't know who he is, look him up (he passed away in 2005) and see what one person can accomplish in a lifetime. Enjoy the rest of the pictures of Schmeekle at its "Autumn Peak"! The bottom picture shows the confetti-like blooms of our native witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) in full bloom with accompanying golden fall color.

A "Pseudo Friday" (For Me)

Nice fall color starting on the Tiger Eyes sumac (Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger') above. It will get a brighter orange with more hints of red in the next week or so. This is my favorite stage though. This is the golden version essentially of the native staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) that you see colonizing the slopes along our highways (and is just starting to turn brilliant scarlet). This variety, like the species, does spread by runners which is important to note but not enough in my estimation not to use it for a splash of color from May thru October!

The image to the right is of our golden Irish moss (Sagina subulata 'Aurea') which is not a true moss, but a flowering perennial (mosses don't flower). It looks great this time of year! Tony and Rick worked on replacing a path in our Japanese garden. This is a tough path to access with our utility vehicles so they were scraping out old gravel by hand and will bring in the fresh stuff tomorrow. Definitely a tough job but one with many benefits. Marv and Terry were bouncing around between projects and continued to help clear some of our fading annual beds. The picture below and to the left is of the perennial (and very invasive) blue lyme grass (Elymus arenarius) that was in our "pillar planters", taken down today by Marv and Terry. Look at that root system! It took up all 18" of potting soil. Glad it was contained and imagine what it would do in rich, open garden soil... Marianne pulled 5 times her weight in annuals today. I don't know what she weighs but she brought back cartful after cartful today. Heck of a worker. Jerry continued clean-up and pruning in the Japanese garden which is one of our most labor intensive spaces. Kay was a whirlwind of destruction (in a good way) with removing annuals. She has great attention to detail and when she cleans a bed out, every weed and leaf is out of there as well. She is a good argument for cloning.


I have a talk up in Stevens Point tomorrow and will head up with my wife and younger daughter. We'll hang out in that area on Friday where fall color should be at peak. I lived in Stevens Point in 1994-1996 while going to grad school at UW-Stevens Point for Urban Forestry. What a great community and beautiful area of WI. Also the home of Point Brewery....


Next week will be crazy with preparations for our annual Halloween Walk, the start of putting up lights for our Holiday Lights show and of course, continued gardening. We should have 7,000 tulips en route as well that will also need a home! Interesting shot below (clipped from an email). I hope no one is offended!

Steady Progress

You might see this native vine turning a brilliant fall color right now. As you travel along highways and roadsides, look in to the deciduous woodland for signs of Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) as it becomes quite conspicuous as it appears as an upright "beacon of crimson" as it clings to tree trunks and can climb as tall as any of our tallest trees. This vine has a wide native range and is an important food source (berries) for birds although the fruits are toxic to humans. This vigorous vine has leaflets of five although juvenille foliage frequently will have three lobes and look "poison ivy like". This vine will climb trees and even adhere to surfaces like brick and siding. Be wary of the vigor of this vine as it can be fairly aggressive and even engulf neighboring trees and shrubs in the landscape. There is a very ornamental variety of Virginia creeper with variegated, cream-blotched leaves called 'Star Showers' that has similar vigor and a nice look (including some reddish fall color as well). Unfortunately this variety has some green reversions that need to be removed. It does well in part shade too though... Below is a wooly bear caterpillar (Pyrrhartica isabella) that my daughter found this weekend. Folklore holds that the severity of winter is related to the width of the brown center band. A wide band means a mild winter and a narrow band means a tough winter. This myth has been proven to have no value but I like to think the one we found (with a wide band) means a milder winter than last year!
Tony worked on more pressure washing while Rick kept busy hauling and placing boulders to shore up some of our previously flooded paths. Larry did lots of projects including weed whipping in the rain. Sprinkles came down all afternoon and continue this evening. Jerry worked on winterizing one of our ponds and collecting debris. Janice had a great crew of Kay, Heidi and Barb. The ladies did some major clean-up and their productivity is something to behold! Great day despite the weather (and we could use the rain anyway). Below is another shot of Virginia creeper (just turning red) that is working up a large tree. Always garden in three dimensions and look for "vertical opportunities" with vines. Know your vine though before it's planted!!!

It's Here!

The fall color really was triggered in the past week or so! I realize that "day length" has a lot to do with it but the light frost was a factor as well. The leaf above is from a Celebration Freeman maple (Acer x freemanii 'Celzam') that is a cross between a red maple (Acer rubrum) and a silver maple (Acer saccharinum). This tree benefits from the quick growth of the silver maple and the harder wood and excellent fall color of the red maple. I'm travelling up to Stevens Point this Thurs. and Friday and am looking forward to seeing the progression of fall color. It should be peak up there right now! Another neat picture from Santos McGill below. This green heron (Butoroides virescens) has been working the pond for years and is fairly bold. Look across the pond to the left of the arched bridge. Santos pointed out another photographer taking a long-distance shot of the heron as well!

Marv and Terry did a lot of path repair, regraveling and edging today. This is the type of work we normally don't have a chance to do but are trying to squeeze it in this week before our special events preparations (holiday lights show) begins. Tony pressure-washed the reception garden wall (stacked and mortared lannon stone) and it looks as good as new. Rick worked on boulder edging and cutting down some trees. Janice and Marianne did a lot of tidying today as we removed lots of annuals with the Grumpies (see below), Shirley and a new volunteer; Kathy. Jerry and Larry bounced around with various odd jobs as did Jumbo Jim. It was a very productive Monday with a full break room of 15+ volunteers this morning! Nice ornamental fall color on the native Toxicodendron radicans in the bottom photo. That's poison ivy by the way!

Berries Galore!

Didn't get to go camping as my daughter was ill although we were able to go on some short hikes both Thursday and Friday. We ran in to lots of the native cranberrybush viburnum (Viburnum trilobum) which looks so showy this time of year. The berries are extremely tart but are edible. Birds will typically leave them alone until late winter when they taste the best. Unfortunately, the berries seen below are also consumed by birds and "dispersed" throughout the woodlands. This is the notorious European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) that has invaded woodlands throughout Wisconsin and much of the Midwest. This buckthorn forms such thick colonies that it shades out and "out-competes" native vegetation. The reproduction rate is amazing as it is distrubuted near and far by birds. Late October is a good time to identify and eradicate this plant as it is one of the last to loose its leaves. In fact, it is still green when most other deciduous plants have turned their fall color and dropped leaves. We cut buckthorn at the garden in late October and immediately "paint" the fresh stump with full strength, concentrated RoundUp. This has been quite successful in eliminating target plants as it is difficult to dig them out and simply cutting them results in many more sprouts the following year.