Another Busy Day Around Here

The redbuds (Cercis canadensis) are looking nice out in the gardens and will peak this weekend. The specimen above is one of our best at 25' tall and is located in the Japanese garden (all three photos). The flowers are exquisite when viewed up close and we also have the weeping form, white-blooming variety and some specialty varieties as well scattered here and there. The weather was downright chilly this morning at 34 degrees F and some of us had frosted windshields. We had brought in all our tender plants last night and I'm glad we did. While it took awhile to warm up out in the gardens, it was a lovely day with plenty of active volunteers, grounds staff and vivid colors out in the gardens. It was nice having Jan (to the left) back in action in the Scottish garden and we talked about some weed control tactics in this popular garden. Jan has done a wonderful job in the garden for well over 12 years and we're fortunate to have her helping out. Mary D. was here to help weed and Janice's volunteer group came and helped weed today as well. Little Jerry kept busy with pruning and clean-up while Larry was again involved with many projects including bringing back our terrace furniture, picking up supplies and running the last of our daisy art pieces to be seal coated. Janice kept busy with weeding and we had Bill in the afternoon composting and spreading soil. Doug and Gary hauled mulch out to the main parking lot and we had Bill, Jim (new Grumpy), Del and Ron spreading mulch near our east entrance. Bob C. and Roger did a nice job composting and Big John, Dick P. and Dick H. worked on the 'Dialogue' area after helping with the furniture moving. Rollie helped haul furniture and ran the endloader to keep up with our material hauling priorities today. Dr. Gredler mulched and mowed and the the carpenter quartet (Vern, Jim D., Bob A. and Dave) continued to put up the new arbor (see below). We also saw Mark M., Geesje, Bill O., Richard and John P. today. It was truly crazy but it was a good rhythm and much was accomplished. The Ice Age Trail Alliance was here today for their conference and will be around until Sunday. What a great organization for an important state resource and amenity.Yellow is well-represented out in the gardens today with the flowers of 'Yellow Lantern' magnolia below (featured in an earlier blog) and golden bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Goldheart') foliage (do you like the pink with gold?). Further below, note the vivid, emerging foliage of golden boxelder (Acer negundo 'Kelley's Gold'), yes a boxelder!, and variegated Norway maple (Acer platanoides 'Drummondii') respectively.

Another Nice One Out There Today

Today was another perfect day with plenty of warmth and sunshine. We're a little concerned with the threat of frost tonight but will take our chances as we can do little to protect so much tender growth that is out in the gardens. We had a load of tropical plants come in today and will certainly keep them safe indoors until warmer weather arrives. The image to the left was taken in our fern & moss garden which is very similar in style to the Japanese garden here. Lots of spring color and the Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are starting to really leaf out well. We had another productive day with Kay weeding the shade garden and iris beds with Marianne. Marianne also worked on other weeding,the cutting display and helped Lisa inventory the daylily collection. Mel and June composted in the sunken garden and Magda and Sara cleaned up their garden space in advance of some composting. Rose was out touching up paint here and there and we also saw Dave T., Maury, Mary D., Laura, Robin, Art and many others. There were lots of visitors out there today too including many little ones that were part of a "story time" program. Marv did a great job rototilling about 4,000 square feet of bed space and smoothed it out nicely (see below). The plan is to see what weeds germinate out here first and deal with them before we plant in late May. Terry and John worked together most of the morning and did a nice job filling the culvert planters with potting soil and amendments. We realized early on that the "lip" of the culvert would be sharp and may affect plants coming over the edge. Marv came up with using a foam tube (pipe insulation) that was painted the same color, blends in perfectly and is a soft point for weeping/creeping/dangling plants. See Terry to the right filling up the containers. We're not done with the ladder work yet as we'll have to plant these and there are still three smaller culver planters that will be installed in front of the visitors center after the tulips are done blooming. It's now officially impossible to photograph everything in bloom as I think we are currently at peak. There is lots of color out there and my only regret is that the bloom windows for the bulbs are extremely narrow this year due to the heat. To the left is the checkered fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) that always strikes me with its interesting patterns and toughness. This shot is taken from ground level as this bulb is only 12" tall or so (needs perfect drainage). The image below is from late last week when the masons were renovating the walls around our 'Dialogue' sculpture. They did a nice job and we should have everything cleaned up by early next week. We're considering benches and/or large containers in this space although it's use has changed from the primary entrance years ago to a patio space to start tours and provide occasional access and egress for visitors. Other pictures below include our first iris in the collection blooming ('Reddy Set') down in the wishing well garden, some jonquils (Narcissus) and a nice shot of the seating area in the Children's garden.

A Perfect Mother's Day (19 Days Early)

Last spring I remember going up to the UW-Arboretum to enjoy the the crabapple (Malus sp.) collection at Longenecker Gardens on Mother's Day weekend. Well, our crabapples are starting to bloom now (see above, unknown variety). Lilacs will be opening very soon as well. What a weird spring. By the way, Longenecker Gardens has a top notch collection of woody plants that includes large collections of spring bloomers (magnolias, lilacs and crabapples). Today would have been the perfect weather for Mother's Day and I hope we can replicate it again! I was able to get outside and spray herbicide in some of our weediest areas. It's nice to catch a warm, sunny day with very little wind in April. I'm not a big chemical fan to be honest but realize that my three hours of spraying today will save hundreds of weeding hours this summer. We had a solid volunteer crew today with Kay weeding in the shade garden, Rose out doing some painting touch-up, Dr. Gredler mulching and working on lawns and Bill out spreading shredded bark mulch and compost. Jenny worked on weeding and tidying up a huge area (above left) and John (as a rookie) warmed up by digging out spireas and moved on to push mowing with Larry. Larry bounced between projects while Little Jerry worked on pruning and tidying in the Scottish garden and Japanese garden. Marianne came in to work on her alpine labels and Marv processed some compost from his pile for immediate use. Janice prepped our containers with fertilizer and moisture retention crystals. She also put out more containers out on the terrace garden (see below). The containers are structural foam and very light. They will necessitate some "internal anchoring" of bricks to keep them steady as they become more top-heavy with growing plants. We also saw Becky, Bev, Deb, Janet, Georgia and Julie over here today.

I actually carry my camera around with me when I spray so I can catch all the quick changes out in the gardens. I have really made it a habit to have my camera with me to catch all those things that make you wish you had a camera with you in the first place! To the left are the gorgeous blooms of the double flowering plum (Prunus triloba 'Multiplex') in our entrance garden. This large shrub has been sheared in to a rounded form and when covered with blooms, this 7' tall by 9' wide shrub is an eye catcher although the blooms are all too fleeting. To the right are the dangling blooms of summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant') with its white petals, each with a drop of green. Multiple visitors asked about this one out in the garden. Buy it as a bulb in fall and plant them by the dozens! We're always trying to keep up with our labeling around here and when visitors keep asking about the same plant, we know we're "label deficient" and try to address it immediately. Chartreuse in the garden caught my eye today with the blooms of donkeytail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) and cushion spurge (Euphorbia polychroma) below (respectively). In both cases, most of the flower color for these spurges are from bracts (modified leaves). I like both of these perennials for many reasons. More May weather on the way!

Lots of "Busy Bees" Around Here

Mondays are certainly the busiest day with a combination of staff and volunteers. It was nice to get back out in the gardens and see the progression of blooms since just last Thursday. To the left is the 'Yellow Lantern' magnolia looking good although most magnolias have peaked already inlcuding the saucer magnolias (Magnolia x soulangiana) seen below with the neat bench quote ("Do not dishonor the earth lest you dishonor the spirit of man") in the distance (down in the fern & moss garden). I was able to get outside today and spray some herbicide here and there and am amazed (and dismayed) at how quickly the weeds are keeping up around the gardens. The rest of my day involved playing "catch up" from last week. Mary O. and Mary D. worked together on some serious weeding and both Marianne and Janice also spent time on weeding. Janice went around and did our first round of pre-emergent weed application and spread Sluggo around our hostas (to deal with the imminent slug population). Marianne continues to clean up the iris beds and did another nice job on the cutting display. Larry worked on mowing and weed whipping while Little Jerry worked on clean-up and took the new riding mower out for a spin. Marv and Terry worked on composting and brought the culvert "pillars" up for installation. To the right is Terry at 6'3" (note how good he is at bossing people around) so you can see the scale of our pillars that do extend 36" in to the ground. We still have three small pillars to install in front of the building once the tulips finish up but for the most part, our planters will be ready. We still need to figure out what we'll put in them though... The Grumpies worked primarily on backfilling the soil around the new retaining wall near the 'Dialogue' sculpture and will be challenged with putting the bluestone "paver puzzle" back together. The masons did a very nice job and we'll continue to repair and replant that area once everything is cleaned up. Many guys then shifted to mulching or composting. We had Gary, Pat, Roger, Del, Ron, Maury, Dave T., Bob A., Bob C., Vern, Jim, Dick P., Dick H., Big John, Urban, Rose, Julie, Mike, Polly and Dave J. over here today as well. It was a full crew with lots of activity occurring. Visitation continues to increase and the gardens are looking quite colorful and tidy. We still have much to do with water features and event preparations and we'll start to see the yard fill with plants over the coming months. At the bottom are two of the last three entries for our daisy art display. We'll have all the flowers out with signs by Mother's Day if not sooner.

Rice Lake & The Chippewa Moraine

My daughter and I had a great hike through the Chippewa Moraine Natural Area (East of New Auburn, WI) on Friday as we headed up to Rice Lake for my Saturday presentations. It was a neat experience and they had a nice visitor center and we learned alot about glacial activity in this area in the past. Interesting that, as part of the Ice Age trail, we noted that we've been to the ends of the Ice Age Trail system(http://www.iceagetrail.org/) and this trail also passes through our hometown of Janesville, WI. Lots of neat things emerging although that area looked to be 4-5 weeks behind us as plants were just breaking ground up there. My daughter is truly a nature girl and as seen below, was easily distracted by acorns, moss, etc. She even waded out in some of the small lakes looking for frogs although the water was ice cold. I hope the day never comes where she doesn't want to explore and get a little dirty! We stayed overnight in a hotel in Rice Lake which is a nice little town. My talks for the Barron County Master Gardeners went well and the crowd of 150 or so was an enthusiastic bunch. I knew I was in Northern WI when a lady was mentioning that the Irish Spring soap she put out to deter deer from nibbling on her tree just caused the local bear to get mad and knock down the tree! The event was at the conference center of Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College which is adjacent to the UW-Barron County campus. I had read of a small Japanese garden on the UWBC campus and we tracked it down during the lunch hour. It was small but quite well done (see pictures at the bottom). Only after my daughter's rock climbing (bottom picture) did we notice the sign reading, "Parents, please keep care of your children in this garden. No climbing on the rocks." She sure thought that was funny.

Gone On Friday!

Forgot to mention that I wont be around Friday as I have a speaking engagement up in Rice Lake, WI for the Barron County Master Gardeners. I'm looking forward to heading up north and plan on scouring the woods for wildflowers. My 10 year old daughter will join me and we'll travel up tomorrow, two talks Saturday (Vines and Containers) then back home. The clay people above are guarding Big John's garden (very nice). For my two blog followers, more on Monday!

Hitting Full Stride

We had a great crew here today. It was a very well-attended Grumpy day today (see Gary and Pat above joy-riding in the new Gator...). The weather was again beautiful although I hope the possible rain tonight becomes a reality. We're actually running irrigation today to keep things damp and fresh. Larry bounced between projects while Little Jerry worked in the Japanese garden. Janice organized some things in the hort center, weeded and worked with her youth group on potting up some transplants that came in a couple days ago. Ron, Del, Charlie, Gary, Pat, Bob, Roger and Bill all worked on spreading shredded bark mulch and/or compost throughout the course of the morning. Lots of vehicles running materials around the garden. Dick H., Big John and Dick P. started some preparation for the new fence extension that will be started on Monday. Dick P. also helped resolve an issue we're having with our automatic gates. Maury was also a jack-of-all-trades today too. Dr. Gredler was out mowing and we had Shirley here weeding the iris beds. Vern, Jim and Bob A. worked on putting up a new arbor structure in the wishing well garden and we also saw Dave, Bob, Donna, Geesje and many others. It was a truly a crazy day. Jumbo Jim and four RECAPPERS worked on cleaning out water features which is a tough but essential task. I was able to get outside and walk the gardens today and brought my handy camera to catch many new things peaking and/or showing color out in the gardens. Above and to the left is the 'Lady In Red' lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum forma rubellum) that has prominent red stipes (fern stems). I'm cheating with this shot as it is from Janet's (a volunteer) home but we have it here at RBG as well. The image to the right is of 'Purple Prince' barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum 'Purple Prince') in the gazebo garden. Below is my favorite patch of wind anemones (Anemone blanda 'White Splendour') near the gazebo. Only 6" tall, these flowers are almost 3" wide! Nice looking but will be very fleeting with this heat unfortunately. Many of our most vivid colors out in the gardens are contributed by fresh foliage right now. Below is the start of the 'Sutherland Gold' elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) that is really a beacon. I like the orange/pink cast of the newest foliage as it unfurls. This image shows a 24" tall plant that was pruned back severely in winter to that height. The new growth will shoot up 5-6' in one season. We treat all our elderberries the same way to encourage fresh growth and to minimize their "leggy" nature that seems to occur with age. Below are just a smattering of some of the neat blooms that are peaking right now. The bright yellow daisy is from leopard's bane (Doronicum orientale 'Little Leo') that is a very early bloomer and doesn't resent part sun (need moisture though!). The flowers themselves are about 3" in diameter and will certainly catch the eye from a distance. Beneath the leopard's bane are a nice batch of trout lilies (Erythronium sp.) that I saw at Janet's house yesterday. Not sure if this is Erythronium americana or Erythronium hybrida 'Pagoda'. We don't have a lot of trout lilies but I sure appreciate them when I see them. Regardless. what caught my eye from the distance was the silvery sheen of the leaves. Neat. At the bottom is Dr. Gredler giving the "thumbs up" as he headed out on the riding mower.