Warmer Thoughts With Alocasias

Today was another cold one (18 degrees F with some wind) although we did have some activity both out in the gardens and in the Horticulture Center.  This was a rare day where I didn't take any photos but wanted to share some additional elephant ears (Alocasia sp.) that we hope to include in our 2015 Elephant Ear Collection (like Alocasia odora seen above).  After our Holiday Lights Show (HLS) test last night, we did have some modifications to make and Big John, Larry, Bob K. and I were out doing our tweaking.  This fine tuning should add some closure before the premiere this Saturday at the Taste of Chocolate (get your tickets before 12 noon tomorrow, Nov. 21st!!!).  Pat M. was in for some significant lights/cord repairs and Maury ran more errands for us.  Peg and Carl came in and helped get sand loaded for our winter path treatments and did some odd jobs as well.  We also saw Gary S. and some others today.  Below is some more eye candy showing some fun Alocasias that we will be hoping to display next year. 

'Malaysian Monster'

'Stingray'

 'Black Stem'

 'Gloss Black'

 'Shock Treatment'

 Alocasia longiloba

 'Jurassic Dark'

Alocasia x amazonica

Alocasia macrorrhiza 'Lutea'

'Frydek'



HLS Testing

We had our first test night for the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) this evening (see above and below) and it went very well.  We had some staff, volunteers and two photographers from the Janesville Gazette come down to take a look.  My photos don't do it justice and the 20 or so of us that toured thought it looked significantly better than last year.  Big John and I had finished running cords and were doing some tweaking of the HLS during the day.  We actually had the entire show turned on all day to see what we could address.  The importance of the test night is to see what isn't working right or correctly and to identify additional tweaks that we'll accomplish over the next two days prior to the Taste of Chocolate (TOC) event his Saturday.  There are still tickets for the TOC available and this event will also feature the premiere lighting of the show.  We added another 25,000 or so LED lights this year and they look great (see below).  The LEDs have certainly helped with our past power issues in that they don't draw much "juice" and we've amassed them in certain areas this year including the Japanese garden.

It was another cold day although we had some sunshine and it was about 15 degrees warmer than the last two days.  Big John and I spent the day working on the HLS.  Above is a massing of 'Karl Foerster' feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden.  This grass has a nice upright form and can withstand some snow too.  The perennial grasses are looking quite nice (see further below) and there is still some other interest out in the gardens.  We also saw Maury (ran errands), Dr. Yahr, Chuck, Bill O. and Pat today.  It's nice to have some closure with the HLS although we'll do some final improvements tomorrow and Friday.  Below are some additional shots from today.

 late fall color on the 'Chanticleer' callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) - woody tree

 inforescence of 'Silver Tower' maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) - perennial

 curled leaves of rhododendron responding to cold temperatures

 evidence of our breeze today with this row of 'Blondo' maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) - perennial

 Big John and I saw this mass of birds over in Lion's Pond (on thin ice) and John said, "Now that's a Flock of Seagulls"...and we couldn't remember any of their songs.....

here's Bill O. (photo editor for the Janesville Gazette) practicing safety this evening

Of Frost & Colocasias

Due to another brutally cold day (-1 degree F wind chill) and the fact that my camera froze (before I dropped it), I thought I'd show some "warmer" photos.  These are all elephant ears (Colocasia sp.) and my reason for showing them is twofold.  We have done well growing them (like 'Royal Hawaiian Maui Gold' above) over the years and in 2015, we'll have a large collection of these on display (including everything you see here and more!) in the three demonstration beds.  We'll include all types of Colocasia sp. and Alocasia sp.  I hope to acquire 50+ kinds for display.

With the premiere of the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) looming this Saturday as part of the Taste of Chocolate (tickets still available!), we tested the show today and finished both set-up and running cords.  Big John, Larry and I spent the entire day outside and became living ice cubes.  We had electrical help from Tom C. and Bob K. and also saw Maury (ran errands), Mark S., Marv B., Vern and a couple others.  We'll be testing and tweaking the show over the remainder of the week.  Below are some shots to make you think "summer"!  These are all Colocasias (with Alocasias to be promoted in a future blog).

 'Royal Hawaiian Black Coral'

 'Elena'

 'Royal Hawaiian Hawaiian Punch'

 'Royal Hawaiian Blue Hawaii'

 'Coffee Cups'

'Coffee Cups' (side view)

 'Royal Hawaiian Diamond Head'

 'Illustris'

 Colocasia gigantea 'Thailand Giant'

 'Mojito'

'Midori Sour'

standard Colocasia esculenta (from behind leaf)

 'Heart of Darkness'

'Red Eyed Gecko'

 'Electric Blue Gecko'

'Puckered Up'

Colocasia gigantea 'Thailand Giant'

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

"Winter is nature's way of saying 'Up Yours'."  Robert Byrne

It was cold today with wind chill temperatures around zero degrees F.  Regardless, we still had some work to do outside for the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) and some indoor projects were completed as well.  A dusting of snow over the weekend added to the effect but the wind was biting and we all "layered up" for this arctic experience.  Our carts (see above) are also ready for the holidays and the HLS will be premiered this Saturday as part of the Taste of Chocolate event.  We'll be testing the entire show this week and making modification as needed based on power load issues. All the cord running (my contribution) will be completed tomorrow.  The "gargoyle" head below sure expresses our sentiments after a couple hours out in the cold!  We had a small turnout of volunteers today but they were all very productive, helpful and tough.

 the kale (Brassica oleracea) above is still offering color but has taken a hit with this severe cold

the English cottage garden above will look spectacular at night!

Above are Bob K. (left) and Dave T. finishing up the trim work on the elf house (back right).  Dave, Vern and Ron Y. also had some other work back at the Horticulture Center and brought out the steps to secure to our giant Adirondack chairs (for safety) with the help of Dick H.  Bob K. also helped replace some outlets as seen directly below.  Alan M. and Carl (our two newest Grumpies) hand shoveled the entire route of the HLS which was extremely helpful so those paths will melt as opposed to becoming compacted ice.  Pat M. (should have been a polar explorer) went out for some pruning and Larry, Big John and I all worked on final HLS tasks.  Janice (second photo down) had some desk work and Maury ran some very timely errands for more cords and other HLS supplies today.  Del swept up the Horticulture Center and we also saw Dr. Yahr, Dr. Gredler, Rollie, Kris K. and some others today.  Further below are more photos from today and last Friday (sans snow).

 Larry can be seen above in the sunken garden today modifying lights

 lights are even on our culvert pipe planters!

color still is provided by this frozen 'Foxy' foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) stalk - perennial

 'Triple Play' phlox (Phlox glaberrima ssp. triflora) still offering color last week - perennial

 our Japanese lanterns are part of the HLS too!

 'Flame' willow (Salix hybrida) showing intensifying winter stem color - woody shrub

just some of our cords poised and ready...

 this "heated plastic igloo' was removed today from the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden to unveil our newest garden feature (more tomorrow)

our newest bench will be installed next Spring featuring a nice Thomas Jefferson quote.  Back by popular demand, our Thomas Jefferson Collection will also return for year two as well!