Overcast With A Smidge Of Rain

We had a light drizzle thru most of the morning today that started last night. It was nice to get at least some precipitation but it wasn't real significant. We continued to run irrigation around the gardens today to keep things damp in advance of the looming heat wave arriving Sunday and Monday. Nice shot above of the 'Red Fox' katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Rotfuchs') with it's burgundy spring foliage that will turn more green thru the summer. This variety is a deep maroon though for a good three weeks in early May. Katsura trees are tough with very few insect and disease problems. We have one of these varieties in the ground currently but purchased another today! Nice shot to the left of 'White Dove' hosta in the woodland walk garden.


We had a small crew today but were able to get ready for our planting workday and plant sale clearance (both tomorrow). Terry and I picked up perennials (The Flower Factory) and conifers (Stonewall Nursery) today and we'll have another 4-5 runs next week to keep the flow coming in to the yard. Marianne helped run plants out for our planting tomorrow, did her cutting display and prepared for the sale tomorrow that she will coordinate while Janice and I work with the volunteers. Marv worked on running irrigation, edging, getting the koi pond filled and ready, etc. Terry joined him later and we had Little Jerry mowing the arboretum today. Janice worked on various projects and is getting ready to plant her cucumber and gourd seeds tomorrow after the work day. Dr. Gredler was here mowing and we also saw Vern, Deb G., Pam, Maury, Kay and others. To the right is our "Hakone Grass Wall" which was planted years ago with little plugs of golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold') that is a wonderful cascading, shade tolerant gap. I can't wait to see this wall each year as it gets "softer" with the grasses filling in more space as time progresses. Below is the "late to emerge" foliage of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) which is always nice to see and will turn a nice shade of yellow in October and drop (being a deciduous conifer). I saw some neat bald cypress at the Chicago Botanic Garden and noticed they had formed the "knees". The ones up at Olbrich (Madison) also have "knees" and there is still lots of debate and theories regarding their function (support, air exchange, both?...).The image below the bald cypress is one of my favorite smaller ornamental trees. This is the Gold Bullion (TM) pagoda dogwood tree (Cornus alternifolia 'Bachone') that is a native species with the twist of having bright gold foliage. Found and introduced by Kris Bachtell of The Morton Arboretum, this understory tree looks great along woodland edges and the natural "tiered" form looks dynamite, particulary when blooming. The shot below is mine at home but we have 4 or 5 out on the grounds as well. The bottom photo is a sweet shot thru the fern & moss garden to the Ma' Chii'. The tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) look great this year.

The Palette Increases...

Today was another busy day around here with lots of staff and volunteers. We made two more plant runs and brought back another 12,000 annuals or so.. It was quite sunny, warm and windy so we're spending lots of time watering in the yard as we have lots of flats that will dry out very quickly in this type of weather. It looks like possible rain tomorrow but a hot and sunny weekend. Nice shot above of one of the irises (Iris germanica) in the collection that caught my eye recently. It doesn't have a variety name yet but is one of many that are currently blooming now. It looks like peak bloom for the majority of the irises will be in a week or so if the weather stays warm. Two Madison Area Iris Society representatives were here yesterday and thought things looked good and would still have some color for the early June tours by the conference attendees. Below is a shot of the seating area in the children's garden. We have lots of bright colors down there including the obelisks and the tree to the left is a golden Norway maple (Acer platanoides 'Princeton Gold') that is becoming one of my favorites for consistent golden color thru the summer.

Larry spent the day working on the koi pond and had some help from two RECAPPERS that Jumbo Jim brought down. Janice worked on some clean-up, watering and had her volunteer group here this afternoon for planting impatiens in the gazebo garden. Little Jerry worked on pruning in the Japanese garden while I did odds and ends between both plant runs. Being gone this morning, I'm not sure what the Grumpies did individually but we had a big crew (Ron W., Ron B., Gary, Ernie, Roger, Jim, Dick H., Big John, Bob C., Vern, Bob A., Jim D., Maury, Dr. Yahr, Dr. Gredler and Rollie). Projects included removing more plants from the formal perennial garden, mulching, composting, carpentry, etc. We also had Shirley, Glenna and Mary all working in the fern & moss garden clearing out old mulch and weeds. Big John (later joined by Ron W.) continued to compost this area. We also saw Dave, Bev, Mary W. and others over here today as well. The hosta to the left is called 'Designer Genes' and is known for its solid gold foliage and rich, red petioles. We have this in the woodland walk garden with another 50 or so interesting varieties. The small tree to the right is in the hosta hollow garden and catches my eye every year. This is the dwarf, golden vine maple (Acer circinatum 'Sunglow'). This tree, a native species to the West, has bright golden foliage in spring, chartreuse foliage in summer, then a nice plum color in fall. I love the leaves and this variety shouldn't get much over 8' tall and is very slow growing. Below is the native fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) that is just starting to bloom at RBG. The sample below is from the Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL) and check out that close-up. Both the males and females bloom but the females will get ornamental blue fruits in mid-summer. This tree is quite shade tolerant and really looks great this time of year. At the bottom is Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) which is a neat, durable, native plant that is not commonly known.

The "Annual Annual Influx"

Today was a very busy day of running for plants, planting and taking care of all sorts of projects. Speaking of projects, above is one of Little Jerry's recent creations. We've had a "cow path" for years in this Japanese garden bed where people would cut thru and decided to accomodate their inclinations. Jerry had some help from Jumbo Jim and the RECAPPERS but did an awesome job and is finalizing the details. We've seen people use it already and it was definitely a nice improvement. Larry and Bill ran for plants this morning with Larry accomplishing another quick run to finish the order from that supplier (Jenka Blossoms in Lima Center, WI). Marianne and I ran out for impatiens and wax begonias as we'll probably plant many of these at our workday this weekend. So, the "annual annual influx" will continue unabated thru next week as we accumulate all our custom-grown plants that began as seed packets ordered six months ago. Nice shot to the left of yellow archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon 'Herman's Pride') and to the right, the beautiful foliage of the 'Lady in Red' ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) that has some really deep red/maroon spring foliage and looks to be quite different from the more maroon varieties like 'Diabolo' and 'Summer Wine'.

John worked on composting the hosta hollow garden which was long overdue but addressed nicely by John today. It is a challenge working around the obstacles of plants, trees, signs, etc. He also planted roses and some perennials along with watering and other duties. Marianne tidied two areas, one of which was later rototilled and prepared by Marv and Terry. She also planted many perennials in the woodland walk area. Larry continued his work on the koi pond after his plant runs and Little Jerry started pruning many of the pines that are showing vigorous growth early this year. Marv and Terry rototilled, hung our hanging baskets, prepared containers and planted two of our large phormiums in the formal gardens (see below). The horse trough was being delivered for Larry to put our fish in temporarily during his pond cleaning process.We had many great volunteers here again today with Kay working in the fern & moss garden, preparing it for composting. Jan did a nice job tidying the Scottish garden and we had Dr. Gredler here working on mulching with Bill (after his morning plant pick-up with Larry). Julie was over here today and we met Josh, another UW-Extension guy who will be helping Julie facilitate her youth and nutrition programs. Dr. Yahr was here today and we saw some others as well. I was pleased with our progress and the momentum continues. Two more plant trips tomorrow and two on Friday... Nice shot to the left of one of our ornamental locust trees (Robinia x slavinii 'Hilleri') in the fern & moss garden and to the right, is a nice combo of shasta daisy (Leucanthemum sp.) and 'Globemaster' ornamental onion (Allium). Despite the four acres of flower beds that we haven't planted yet with annuals, there is lots of color in the gardens and we've had many visitors. Marianne and I were agreeing that neither of us is having trouble finding samples to either photograph or include in the cutting display. Below is a shot of 'First Frost' hosta and I've been taking lots of hosta shots while the foliage is fresh, young and not yet nibbles by the slugs!.

Warm & Windy

Nice peony shot above of an unknown variety. This is one of many varieties that we have in a large section along Palmer Drive. These were all donated by Roger Anderson over 15 years ago and look great. Those in "peony circles" would recognize Roger's name for his contributions to peony breeding; particularly intersectional hybrids (of which we have many from Roger as well). It was warm and windy today and we had a very small crew with John, Larry, Little Jerry and myself. It was nice to have Kay and Margaret here and they teamed up to work in the fern & moss garden. They are doing a fabulous job of weeding the beds and clearing off the old mulch in anticipation of a new layer of compost. They have so much fun together and are a great advertisement for the comraderie that our volunteers experience out in the gardens. Bill was a great help today and Dr. Gredler was here for a bit as well. We saw Dr. Yahr, Carrie, Joanne, Dick P., Maury, Gary and Dave over here for a meeting and various people popped by as well. Nice shot to the right of my favorite sedge (Carex elata 'Bowles' Golden') that we use in many partly shaded spaces (here in the fern & moss garden) for golden color and nice texture. To the right is a nice double columbine (Aquilegia sp., variety unknown) that caught my eye yesterday. Below is a nice shot of the variegated hedge maple (Acer campestre 'Carnival'), also taken in the fern & moss garden.
John and Larry took a trip out this morning to pick up our 27 hanging baskets. We design these the previous fall and they are grown for us at a local nursery. Little Jerry mowed and worked on some rock work in the Japanese garden. Bill and I took another run for plants after lunch and had some major (deafening) muffler issues. Bill and Dick H. fixed the problem late in the day as we need this truck for the other six trips this week. John worked later on planting some yellow waxy bells (Kirengeshoma) while Larry planted some meadowrue (Thalictrum sp.). We are trying to get perennials in the ground prior to the mad rush with annuals. It is now "crazy time" and we hope to have lots of help with planting over the coming weeks and Saturday work days. My day involved lots of tasks and I did a two hour presentation tonite on "Ornamental Edibles" and had a nice and receptive crowd (only 1/2 fell asleep...). Nice shot to the left of the flowers of the ornamental rhubarb (Rheum palmatum var. tanguticum) that also has some nice, bold foliage. To the right are the flowers of a bugleweed or carpet bugle (Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow') with blue flowers and variegated leaves. I like this durable groundcover but it "knows no bounds" and will continue to spread..Below is a nice shot of the formal gardens with violet obelisks, irises and allium, all perfectly planned to coordinate. At the bottom is one of our neat daisies with a mirrored center that allowed me to have some face time (look closely).

Refocusing

Nice shot above of our golden English oak (Quercus robur 'Concordia') in the Scottish garden that was a 2' twig when planted 10 years ago and is now about 12' tall! This variety originated in Belgium at Van Geert's Nursery around 1843. Looking good and certainly an eye-catcher. It does turn "chartreusy" in summer though. Most visitors don't appreciate what we have in the Scottish garden which includes a highland and lowland (moor) section as well as over 200 plant species native to Scotland. Jan, our volunteer in that area, has always done a nice job maintaining that space. When we revised that garden 10 years ago, we sent our plan to the Royal Botanic Garden at Edinburgh and their horticulturists approved the plant content and thought our "rugged layout" was nice. I'm sure they had to get a map out to find Janesville! Many nursery owners in Scotland also sent plants and there are still some neat little treasures in that space. Two more plants that I photographed in the Scottish garden can be seen here. To the left is variegated moor grass (Molinia caerulea 'Variegata') with carpet bugle (Ajuga pyramidalis) in the background with blue flower spikes. To the right are the beautiful English bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) that while planted many years ago in this space by the hundreds, have really started to look good in recent years.

Today was another crazy day around the gardens as we shifted out of "plant sale mode" in to our gardening mode. The grounds crew and some Grumpies dismantled some of the plant sale elements but we will be having a clearance sale (30% off plants and seeds only) this Saturday, May 22nd from 9 am until noon. There are enough plants left that we'd like to extend the sale and any final remnants will go to community gardens and those in need. Marv and Terry did a nice job installing our last three culvert planters in front of the building and ran for plants as well. Larry started pumping out the koi pond for cleaning (a two day endeavor) and weed whipped. Little Jerry worked in the Japanese garden while Janice bounced around with weeding and various tasks. I was able to get out with herbicide to address our increasing weed problem after last weeks rain and Marianne, among other things, led Shirley, Mary and Mary thru the iris beds for tidying and they sure look good with the ornamental onions (Allium 'Purple Sensation') hovering over the rows (see below).The Grumpies accomplished lots of work today with guys working on lifting tulips, taking down the plant sale parking lot, digging out perennials in two large areas that will be renovated, mulching, installing the fence, "air edging", carpentry, etc. I could give the "play by play" but suffice it to say that the guys (Rollie, Big John, Dick P., Dick H., Dr. Yahr, Dr. Gredler, Bill, Ron W., Ron B., Gary, Charlie, Bob T., Bob A., Bob C., Vern, Del, Urban, Dave and Jim) did a wonderful job on myriad tasks. We also saw Dave, Chuck, Rose and many others today. We had some other visitors as well with Shelly B. from the Janesville Gazette (http://gazettextra.com/) at the gardens to get information on upcoming events (irises and peonies) and Eric was here to do some filming for a video on the gardens. We saw plenty of visitors and are quite pleased with the appearance of the gardens at this point in time. Marv and Terry started our epic series of trips today (for tropicals) that will be followed with seven other trips this week for most of our plants. With upcoming volunteer days that involve plenty of planting, we need our full palette here so we can roll with it. Included in close proximity are some other neat plants out in the garden today. To the left is the gasplant (Dictamnus albus 'Rubra') that is always striking this time of year with gorgeous blossoms. I avoid the foliage as I've had a horrible, "poison ivy-like" reaction when I've brushed by the foliage (rashes, etc.). To the right is the vivid spring foliage of 'Coppertina' ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) which has some nice "orangey" overtones. At the bottom is the bloom from one of our hybrid magnolias that is part Oyama magnolia (Magnolia sieboldii). I just love the blooms and am actually surprised it has survived our climate for the past seven years.

Perfect Weather To Conclude The Sale

Nice shot above of our 'Toba' hawthorn (Crataegus x mordenensis) near the observation platform. I've never seen it look nicer in spring but unfortunately, it is susceptible to all sorts of leaf problems later in the summer, particularly if it is cool and damp. Today is the last day of our spring plant sale and started fairly slow. We expect traffic to increase after church and the lunch hour. We have another nice group of volunteers here under the direction of Janice and Marianne. Marv was also here and sifted compost for four hours. I was able to go thru the garden this morning and aside from the inevitable weed issues, the gardens are quite colorful. Next week starts the transition of planting annuals although we have about six trips to run to pick up our orders that are waiting at four greenhouses. This amounts to another 50,000 annuals or so including a couple hundred more perennials. It's an exciting but crazy time. Nice shot of Hosta 'Lakeside Neat Petite' below. The brighter hostas do catch my eye in spring but the subtley of a good blue hosta should never be underestimated. Beneath the hosta is foamflower (Tiarella 'Spring Symphony') with its light blue flower spikes. These are great en masse!We still have plenty of work to accomplish out in the gardens this spring as there were many projects that are just being wrapped up. The Grumpies will continue installing the fence addition and this week we'll be able to clean and prep the koi pond system as we had more waterproofing done on the fountain portion over the past two weeks. We hope to get our 'Dancing Waters' fountain up and running and are finding the water features to be quite time consuming this spring. We have volunteer work days the next four Saturdays (May 22, 29 and June 5,12) and hope to get the majority of our annuals in place. In some areas, it has become a "waiting game" as we still have bulbs showing color in those locations and have to wait until they go sufficiently dormant. The iris collection will really start blooming this coming week but recent cool weather makes me think that the American Iris Society visit (June 4,5) might still catch some color (hopefully). The 27 daisies look great out in the gardens (see to the left) and we've observed many visitors taking pictures of these unique pieces of art. Yesterday was another prom evening so the gardens were inundated for prom pictures. To the right is 'Lemon Lights' azalea (Rhododendron). We have this variety on the grounds but this image is cheating as I took it last night up in Madison at the Longenecker Gardens (UW Arboretum). Lots of beautiful shrubs and trees in bloom this time of year. Immediately below is a close-up of Jacob's ladder (Polemonium caeruleum) in our shade garden. We have dozens of these out in the gardens and I've never appreciated the individual blooms until today when I "zoomed in". The bottom photo shows the flowers of yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium) which is a large shrub/small tree. This specimen was planted in memory of Judi Kneece, a wonderful woman that passed too early but made an impact on our community (including RBG).

The Sale Continues

Day 2 of the plant sale has gone very well. The morning was quite busy and tapered off to a steady hum in the afternoon. Many of our herbs (pictured above) and tomatoes have been picked over but a nice assortment remains for our shoppers tomorrow. Once again, Janice and Marianne ran a tight ship and our 30+ volunteers did a great job helping facilitate the sale. Members of the Janesville Area Herb Society have been assisting customers too and their herbal knowledge has most definitely led to increased sales. Dave J., Gary and Gil took turns soliciting plant sale visitors as potential members and did quite well. Larry and Bill worked out around the gardens tidying up for two weddings and we'll have another set of prom kids coming thru the gardens this evening for photos. Big John, Maury and Dave T. were all here volunteering on other tasks as well. To the right are my best helpers of the day. Alex and his sister Sadie came with their grandma Judy, one of our volunteers and the kids helped get out boxes for customers, hauled containers, organized herbs and spaced our petunia flats. They did a nice job and their pay rate (one cookie each) was well worth the hard work. Below is the seed assortment of heirloom cucumbers and gourds that Janice prepared and Margaret organized. We don't make much money on the seeds but are simply excited for people to try them out at home. We had many enquiries about beans as that was a popular seed offering at this sale last year.Our "beauty and the beast" plant, dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis) is blooming right now and sure looks gorgeous along roadsides, woodland edges etc. Of course it is a "vigorous" non-native perennial that has many concerned. Check out www.dnr.state.wi.us/invasives/fact/dames_rocket.htm for a local WI perspective on this plant. A large patch of dame's rocket is blooming along the edges of the horticulture center so I went out to take some pictures. I knew that flower color could be variable but was surprised to not only see a wide variation of pinks, whites and lavenders but also some "bi-colors" (see below). Weird. Few can contest the beauty but consider this mustard-family relative a thug. Below is the dark foliage of the black-leaved ligularia (Ligularia dentata 'Britt Marie Crawford') that is quite bold and looks great in damp, part shade. Yellow-orange daisies will follow in summer but I love this perennial for its durability. Some have warned of a spreading nature but I've not seen that personally. The bottom picture shows a large patch of these perennials used en masse at the Chicago Botanic Garden although this might be the variety 'Othello' (also with dark leaves). Neat. I'll try to get the summer picture when they are all in bloom.