Easter Planting

The weather wasn't too bad today so after our "egg hunt" this morning (plastic eggs with candy, etc.), my younger daughter and I went out in our garden for a little bit. We still have lots of clean-up to accomplish next week and look forward to a fun year in our small, home garden. Nice shot to the left of our grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) starting to bloom as they are at RBG. As with most young gardeners, our younger daughter likes to pick out seed packets with abandon at the garden centers. We've rarely discouraged her but end up with enough seeds for a 10 acre farm. We decided it was a good time to get outside and sow our lettuce (Lactuca sp.) seeds and carrots, both of which will be in containers at this point in time. We planted three windowboxes with each of three different lettuces and look forward to some quick germination. The carrots (Daucus carota) we planted included 'Dragon' and 'Scarlet Nantes'. 'Dragon' was from the Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org/) and these carrots have a red/purple exterior and a yellow/orange interior. 'Scarlet Nantes' is an heirloom variety known for shorter carrots (6" or so) but quick growth (62 days to maturity) and a nice sweet taste. Carrots in containers need to have consistent moisture to develop properly. We also planted some cat grass (Avena sativa) that our cats enjoy nibbling and maybe this will distract them from the houseplants! Cat grass is really just the common oats and is very easy to grow from seed. In a couple of weeks, our daughter will help mom sow other seeds around the gardens (poppies, zinnias, nasturtiums, etc.) as has always been the tradition. We will be enlisting her help with "weed patrol" as we find it difficult to keep up, even with our little space. Growing our vegetable in containers has been fun and rewarding and we hope both of our daughters will become home vegetable gardeners when they are older and pass that interest on as well to their children. It can all start with a simple pack of seeds and encouragement.

I was reading the Wisconsin State Journal today and their was an article entitled "Sowing Terror" by Virginia A. Smith of The Philadelphia Enquirer. The article focused on the increasing market for "survivalist seeds" further precipitated by all the world turmoil, disasters, etc. There are many companies cashing in on people's fears and selling these survivalist seed collections for "apocalypse gardens" after world calamity strikes. I think the value of traditional seed banks also includes the consideration that recovery from world disasters also includes the safety of our food sources, namely vegetable seeds. Some of these offered seed collections are sold in "military-grade" containers that are virtually indestructible. Other concerns of those purchasing these seeds include government distrust and the theory that large companies might corner the market in seeds thereby affecting availability and cost. I don't begrudge people the option of purchasing such collections but don't see myself doing it. The recent disaster in Japan has helped spur sales of these "survival seed collections" and skeptics of this "angle" point out that growing food in a "post disaster" world goes beyond seeds to include soil considerations, the availability of water, basic gardening knowledge, insect/disease awareness, future seed saving knowledge, etc. Interesting. I just finished the book seen at the bottom. I recommend that everyone read Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale (2010) and get some insight in to some of the "behind the scenes" information regarding chemical companies and the need for all of us to champion more sustainable agricultural practices like embracing organic methods thereby saving our planet from further damage.

Earth Day Redeux

To the left is the 'Stresa' tulip (Tulipa) blooming strongly today. The weather was nicer today but started chilly, overcast with a touch of misting rain. I left the tree sale (day 2 of 2) in the very capable hands of Marianne and her volunteers. Maury recruited a bunch of Grumpies to help at the sale as well. Janice helped as needed between both the tree sale and Earth Day activities. She also had time to tackle a significant weeding project in the formal garden and attended some of the seminars. Larry worked on some projects and it sounds like the tree sale went well again with another 3,000+ trees.

The seminars didn't have a huge turnout (total bummer) but all the speakers did a great job Dr. Robert McCallister (UW-Rock County) did a nice talk on "Green Energy", Chuck spoke on "Rain Barrels", Mary Kay on "The Benefits of Trees", Jumbo Jim on "Composting Basics" and I spoke on "Landscape Design for Energy Efficiency". Mike M. (seen to the right) came for gardening "questions & answers" and we appreciate his time. Mike is the UWEX Rock County Horticulture Educator and was part of the RBG staff for over 7 years as well. Despite strict rules at RBG regarding proper chair etiquette, Mr. Maddox decided he would sit (as seen above) and disregard our policies that were established for his safety and our liability. Below are some images from today. Thanks to all the volunteers, organizations, RBG staff, RPMGA members and attendees of our Earth Day event. Thanks to those buying trees too!

Damp Earth Day

Today was cool and damp with precipitation ranging from a light drizzle to a steady downpour. Above is a shot of the start of the tree sale that had steady traffic all day. I believe we have sold about 1/3 of the trees and have plenty more for tomorrow's customers. Despite the weather, our enthusiasm for both our Earth Day activities at the Parker Education Center and our tree sale was still there. Unfortunately, I'm sure the bad weather affected attendance at both events. I'm glad that both opportunities continue tomorrow (tree sale from 8 am - 2 pm and Earth Day activities from 9 am until 3 pm) and the weather looks a bit more favorable. Below are the early cones of one of our larch (Larix sp.) trees out in the gardens. Those sure are pretty and note the bundled needles emerging from those short spurs. Larches are deciduous conifers and while in the pine family, they lose their needles in fall after they turn yellow to yellow/orange. Marv and Terry braved the weather and installed another 20 or so of the butterfly art projects around the gardens. I flagged some suggested locations and the guys did a nice job of installation. We had to consider proper support for some of the heavier ones and because many of these have equally nice "back sides", we're trying to position them for maximum visibility. I think the guys will have another seven or so to go next week. Big John was here for a couple of hours and finished his excavation project which involved creating a new planting bed behind one of benches that has one of the best views across the water. Marianne ran the tree sale with prowess and efficiency and had time to do her cutting display as well. Janice helped orchestrate the Earth Day set-up and worked on processing our new gardening books for the reference library. Marianne had some of our surplus tree sale volunteers working on smaller, indoor projects and we had many Golden K members and RBG volunteers assisting at the Horticulture Center. The only intent of the three pictures below is to show you how nice yesterday was in the gardens....Hopefully we'll see a quick return to similar weather!Earth Day set-up began this morning just before 8 am. The Youth Education Committee did a nice job setting up all their activities and the majority of the organizations that were going to be featured at booths did show up despite the weather. We have plenty of free trees left for the kids and Mary set that up nicely. Take a look at some of the neat displays below. Janice, Mary W., Deb and Jumbo Jim really kept things moving along smoothly and we did have steady attendance in the Parker Education Center. If the weather had been more kind, many of these activities would have occurred outside. However, we set up everything inside and while it was a bit tight, we were able to accomodate everyone. Tomorrow should see more attendance with warmer weather and the weekend. We have a free lecture series occuring throughout the day ("Exploring the World's Green Energy Innovations"(9am), "Rain Barrels" (10am), "The Importance of Trees" (11 am), "Composting Basics" (noon), "Gardening Questions & Answers"(1 pm) and "Energy Efficient Landscape Design" (2 pm). Lots of fun and our free garden tours should have more interest once the sun peaks out.

Many years ago, we had Earth Day activities and we had hundreds of children and families involved. It's nice to reinstate this event and Kris K. (RBG Education Coordinator) and I hope to make this an annual event and of course RBG is a logical venue to support this endeavor (and Arbor Day for that matter). A big thanks to all the organizations that are participating and providing volunteers and thanks to our volunteers and RPMGA (Rock Prairie Master Gardener Association) members for all the assistance. I'll have plenty more pictures of tomorrow's activities.

Major Multi-Tasking

This morning started out frosty with the use of an ice scraper on my vehicle windows. The turf at the Horticulture Center (above) looked picturesque though! In summary, it was a crazy day with plenty of activity. The nice, sunny weather helped keep everyone's spirits up as there was plenty of multi-tasking for staff and volunteers alike. Tomorrow looks damp but that's April for you. Becky Nickel's talk on Perennial Division went very well last night and we had 67 attendees enjoy her presentation and demonstration. See Becky to the right. I assisted Becky at times and we made a bit of a mess with the demo but attendee reviews were very positive and there were lots of very good questions. Our next lecture on Perennial Favorites by Dr. Frank Greer (May 25th, 6 pm - 8 pm) should be equally well-received and timely. Frank's knowledge of plants makes me look like an amateur. All of our attendees were invited to take home two freebies each of some recent divisions from the gardens.

We had great Grumpy morning (see Bob A. to the left staining one of the eight new cedar benches) that only had a minor disruption when a semi-load of compost arrived and we had to shuffle cars out of the way so the truck could make its "swing" and subsequent unloading. The truck driver, Paul, is top notch and has backed in to places few would try. Paul has delivered compost to the gardens for over 12 years now. Del and Roger worked on spreading shredded bark in the Scottish garden and we've now spread about half of our huge pile (with plenty more areas to target). Pat worked on adding sand to some of the beds in the alpine garden while Ron, Ron and Bob C. did a nice job sweeping up the remainder of our paths and patios that still have some winter debris, sand (spread on icy paths), etc. This is an annual task and they did a very nice job in time for the influx of visitors. Dick H. and Dick P. worked on some various projects and Tom C. is back to size up some of our electrical needs. Maury was bouncing around as well. Gary had the laser engraver humming along this morning and has entered another 100 or so perennials. Bob T. and Joe continued air edging and worked on edging along some of our brick paths where the grass has overgrown the edges. Nice shot of some moss to the right sending up seta (stalks) that will have capsules ready to release spores. I love moss in the spring and our fern & moss garden is looking quite striking with all the recent rains. Bob A., Vern, Dave and Jim continued work on the benches and did a project over at the other building. They are coming up with a nice project that will be donated to the Dinner Dance (July 16th) auction. Each year the guys make something (bench, etc.) and it always fetches a nice donation. To the left is the umbrella plant (Syneilesis palmata) poking out of the gazebo garden border and looks like a collection of poised umbrellas waiting to be opened (for a day like tomorrow...!). Once the leaves unfurl, this perennial looks quite tropical with lots of foliage texture and interest despite the green leaves and moderately interesting flowers.

Larry and Big John started the day by hauling back all the tools, materials and plants that were left over at the other building from last night's seminar. Larry went on to work on the sunken garden water fountain and pool. This is the time of year where he preps our water features and gets them up and running (before Mother's Day). Big John did quite a bit of mulching with shredded bark and also helped set-up for our Earth Day activities that run Fri. and Sat. (9 am - 3 pm). Jenny was in to help straighten garden signs and she continued her monumental clean-up in the woodland walk garden. Janice worked on some seed starting this morning (see to the right). She started moonflower (Ipomoea alba) seeds as well as two kinds of four o'clocks (Mirabilis jalapa). One of the varieties, called 'Limelight', is my favorite as it has brilliant chartreuse foliage (most are just green-leaved) and bright pink flowers. Janice worked out in the gardens and also worked with her volunteer group this afternoon. Unfortunately, some of them were caught sitting down on the job as seen directly below! They did a nice job with weed removal in the Horticulture Center beds and some composting duties. We saw Marv briefly as he stopped by to show off his impatiens (started from seed) that are ready to bloom. He has impressive "green thumbs" and tries all sorts of neat plants at home too. His "better half", Marianne, came in to finish the spreadsheets for the tree sale that runs tomorrow and Saturday (8 am - 2 pm) at the Horticulture Center. Marianne has really done a superb job of figuring out how we're going to track the sales of trees, compost, worm tea, etc. and keep everything running smoothly. Janice will help her and both ladies will be involved over the next two days. We also saw Deb G., Mary W., Carrie, and many, many others. It was crazy. Our vistors, aside from Paul and his 18 wheeler, also included Jerry with a delivery of plants from Bluebird Nursery (NE) that Larry forked right off (see two pictures down). They'll have to sit inside thru the weekend as they are fresh out of a 80 degree F greenhouse. The Golden "K" Blackhawk Kiwanis club was out in full force today getting trees processed for the big tree sale this weekend. Gordon (Golden K) and a helper headed up north 120 miles (one way) to pick up 10,000 trees. They came back with a large trailer-load of evergreens including Norway spruce (Picea abies), Black Hills spruce (Picea glauca 'Densata'), blue Colorado spruce (Picea pungens glauca) and Eastern arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis). We're selling them for $1.75 each plus tax with a 10% discount for quantities of 50 or more. Maury had set up a nice system for processing the trees as they came in and a group of 15 or so Golden K members was on hand to bundle the trees in groups of 5, 10, 15, etc... We have pre-orders for about 2,000 trees and hope to have a good showing of customers looking for some high quality, affordable trees. These are 2-3 year old transplants (12"-18"hight) and the price is right. This is a joint fundraiser and we hope the combination of our Earth Day activities, the tree sale and the gardens looking colorful will be the "trifecta" to bring people here. This has been a record blog! Fingers...getting...tired... Must rest for the next two days.

Cloudy, Cool and Productive

While it was still chilly today, at least we didn't have more rain! Everyone was able to get outside and really tackle some projects. Marianne (above) potted up our sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) seeds which will be utilized in our Smelly Garden this year. We didn't have many volunteers today but were able to catch up with some of our outdoor projects. We did spend quite a bit of time getting ready for the presentation on Perennial Division by Becky Nickel this evening. We have plants, tools and other supplies all ready for her presentation. John and Janice had previously divided up and potted some perennials that will be freebies for the attendees. I anticipate this will be a popular topic and I hope to report about a big crowd in the blog tomorrow! The butterflies have landed! Marv and Terry put up three of our 34 butterflies out in the gardens and did a nice job figuring out the best way to anchor them. The daisies last year taught us about the issues of wind and proper anchoring. Each butterfly will have three stakes which will certainly be vital for those butterflies that are heavier because of stained glass, beads, etc. We'll have the rest of them out next week with signs so they're ready to be enjoyed by the visiting public in May.

Marv and Terry also set-up and secured obelisks, worked on container inserts and finished the day by replacing the gravel in one of our "weedier" paths that has a lot of soil and weeds already starting. Big John dug out and divided some grasses early today and helped prepare for the event this evening. He also spread plenty of shredded bark mulch and continued some of his digging projects. Marianne, aside from her seed starting, helped me with all sorts of handout preparations, tree sale tasks, her cutting display and a sign inventory that will be converted shortly to the new, "fancy" labels. Larry ran some errands for me, checked over our valve system for the irrigation (leaking...) and spent this morning unloading 900 bags of blended compost that will supplement our current supply for our upcoming tree sale and spring plant sale. We also saw Maury, Little Jerry and some others over here as well. Below are the swelling buds of yellow buckeye (Aesculus octandra) which is a darn nice tree. We have one near the horticulture center and we should see blooms within the next three weeks. Further below is the ground level bloom of the American (or Canadian) ginger (Asarum canadense). I spent a good portion of the morning producing a wide assortment of handouts promoting upcoming lectures, Earth Day activities, the Spring Plant Sale, Home Garden Tour, etc. Marianne was very helpful in keeping everything processed and organized. I was also able to order some more plants and have to search for alternate sources for some items that weren't available and are essentials. We have some plant deliveries coming in later this week that will necessitate keeping them indoors until we get some sun and warmth. This annual "spring dance" involves moving literally thousands of plants outside and back in almost every day in late April and early May. We keep an eye on the weather and our intent is to give our new plants some light and fresh air but not to torment them with potentially freezing temperatures at night (or day!). Nice shot to the right of Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) blooms which are prevalent right now on this durable groundcover. We have about 3,000 sq. ft. of this groundcover around the gardens although primarily in the Japanese garden. To the left are the blooms of one of our grape hyacinth (Muscari latifolium) species in the woodland walk. I read that this species is native to the pine forests in Turkey. I love this species and it's not shy on a significant contribution of blue. There is actually quite a bit of color out in the gardens including the vivid yellow of the marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) seen to the right. When our shoreline flooded back in 2008, this was one of the few plants that didn't "bat an eye" (or die) and it's common name certainly lends credence to its ability to withstand significantly damp soils. The weather doesn't look the best over the next couple of days and I hope it doesn't affect the enthusiasm for our Earth Day activities or tree sale. Details for both events are on our website. Progress in the Japanese garden is at a halt because of all the rains. Below is the new, lower Japanese garden pool that is currently unworkable at this point. Oh well.

Precipitation Prevails

Cold. Rainy. Dismal. That sums it up for today. It pretty much rained all day and the only change in weather was when it alternated between rain and sleet. We had a nice cozy day inside although both Big John and Larry went out in the gardens for a bit and lost to Mother Nature's "bite". Above is Big John potting up castor bean (Ricinus communis) seeds. We start a couple hundred of these for use around the gardens as they add a nice tropical look. They are poisonous plants (primarily the seeds) so we place them accordingly as backdrop specimens. John planted the variety 'Carmencita Red' that has deep maroon foliage with red seed capsules and he also planted 'Zanzibariensis' which is the largest variety with green leaves that can easily reach 12'++ in one season with leaves over 30" wide. These will be put outside next week and should start to sprout in the coming weeks. Our Horticulture Center is looking cluttered with 300 potted caladiums, 400 specialty annuals, shrubs, small trees and now, 200 pots of castor beans. It's doubtful we'll take anything outside until next week when the days are more sunny and warm. John also potted up bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) divisions and was working on an excavation project outside until it became "saturating." Below are some of Janice's herb and vegetable pots that she's preparing with variable soil "recipes." We're trying out some variable mixes with different amounts of compost and worm castings added. We'll evaluate the results of our mixes by planting identical veggies/herbs in these specifially prepared containers. Further below are some of the worm castings that we're selling in 2.5 lb. bags ($5 plus tax). This looks to be a good amendment and we've already spread 1000 lbs. out in the gardens.
Larry ran out for some supplies today as did Big John. Larry also worked on some of our new tree signs and did some work around the gardens. He also moved our remaining pallets of bagged compost to make room for an incoming delivery of 20 pallets (900 bags) arriving tomorrow morning. Our compost sales have been going very well and we're bulking up both for the tree sale this Friday and Saturday (8 am - 2 pm daily) and our upcoming spring plant sale. Larry also picked up some donated fish that we released in our lower pool in the fern/moss garden. Janice worked on Earth Day preparations, plant sale tasks and updated our memorial tree inventory which is a annual task. Jenny (see to the left) was in to work on her annual label preparations and helped organize and water the free DNR trees that were donated for Earth Day (see to the right). We'll be giving these out to kids while supplies last but have a nice batch of sugar maple (Acer saccharum), Northern red oak (Quercus rubra), white pine (Pinus strobus), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) and black walnut (Juglans nigra). Mary W. was here to help out and brought more donated trees as well. She'll run this activity during the Earth Day celebration (9 am - 3 pm on both Friday and Saturday). We also saw Maury, Chuck and Pat was around painting the newly repaired art boards. I had time today to meet with Kris regarding some upcoming events (like the Perennial Division lecture tomorrow night, see our website) and met with Sue regarding the marketing of upcoming events. Sue made a really nice poster for the Home Garden Tour (July 23) that we'll be utilizing very soon. I also presented a grounds update to our Board of Directors and we established a monthly tour that I'll provide for interested Board Members before their meeting.