Piercing Winds Prevail

The beautiful tree above doesn't "visually express" the experience of being windswept all day.  It was a cold day and the difference between being in a sunny, sheltered spot and an open, windy spot was about 10 degrees F easily!  The great fall color above is on a Pacific Sunset hybrid maple (Acer truncatum x platanoides 'Warrenred') out in the arboretum.  We're still seeing some excellent late fall color out in the gardens although 90% of the leaves have come down already.  The bitter weather didn't stop our stalwart grounds staff and toughest of volunteers though!  We had a great day both inside and outside and with the threat of snow this Friday night, we're winding down our Holiday Light Show (HLS) preparations just in time and should be done tomorrow.

fall color of American beech (Fagus americana) both above and below

fall color of Sunjoy Gold Pillar barberry (Berberis thunbergii 'Maria') - woody shrub

donkeytail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) shrugs off cold - perennial (spreading!)

The volunteers were a big help today as well.  Above are Dave (left) and Gary heading out to do some composting.  The guys did a nice job spreading a lot of compost on one of our entrance garden berms.  This sifted compost was from debris collected and composted at the gardens.  Directly below is Alan collecting leaves and tidying (many locations) which is also what Peg (third photo down) accomplished in the English cottage garden.  Vern, Jim and Ron Y. were in for multiple carpentry projects and Dick H. also helped with some projects around the Horticulture Center.  Dr. Gredler continued priming some new Adirondack chairs (on sale now at the Garden Gallery!) and we also saw Maury, Gary, Cindy, her daughter Kristen and many others today.

Suffice it to say that Big John, Larry and I were out in the wind all day tweaking the HLS with plenty of progress!

this 'Kuschen' compact Serbian spruce (Picea omorika) looks great 365 days per year!

'Brass Lantern' foamy bells (xHeucherella) -  perennial

paper birch (Betula papyrifera) looking nice with a blue sky background - woody tree

creeping yellow archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon 'Variegatum') - perennial (spreading!)

'Citronelle' coral bells (Heuchera) still looking colorful - perennial

Winding Down In Heavy Winds

With the exception of a couple small problems and future alterations, the 2015 Holiday Light Show (HLS) is up and ready to roll.  I took the photo above as I was running cords today and have always liked this hummingbird sculpture.  Oddly enough, we'll have a Humminbird Haven theme next year in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden.  We had another test night this evening and it looked great.  The grounds staff (John, Terry, Cindy, Larry H. and Bob K.) spent the day tweaking some components of the show and putting the final touches on some of the details.  We'll do the same tomorrow and Friday as the HLS will premiere as part of the Taste of Chocolate this Saturday which I believe is sold out (don't take my word for it though and call to check on that!).  Our garden volunteerism slows this time of year but we did have some nice help and once the morning rain abated, we headed out in the soggy and very windy garden.  There are still some neat things to look at out there too!

 fall color on bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) looking good above - perennial

 the stubborn leaves of 'Gold Rush' variegated weigela (Weigela florida) haven't fallen yet and still look great!

 fall color on fernleaf buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula 'Asplenifolia')

 Italian arum (Arum italicum) likes to send out foliage in late summer too

Dr. Gredler (above) worked on putting primer on some of our new Adirondack chairs (being sold at the Cottage Garden Gallery).  Bill O. was a big help with collecting garbage and other duties specifically related to the HLS.  Stan K. was in to size up an approach for protecting some of the remaining choice specimens in the Japanese garden and Jumbo Jim brought in four RECAPPERS and they did an excellent job with composting, processing plants for the winter and garden clean-up.  Urban was back in action for more tree pruning near the gazebo.  We also saw Maury, Gary, Pat M., Joe and many others today too.

'Running Tapestry' foamy bells (xHeucherella) - perennial

 fall color of the Judd viburnum (Viburnum x juddii) - woody shrub

'Honey Rose' coral bells (Heuchera) - perennial

A Blast from the Past

Today was a miserable, rainy day outside which thwarted most of us (except Larry and John).  Larry, John, Cindy and I saw Kathy, Patrea, Dr. Gredler, Pat M., Maury (errands), Mark S. and a couple others today.  We had no shortage of indoor tasks although Larry was the toughest for outdoor work in the rain with John a close second.

A gentleman brought in some old slides of the gardens earlier this year and Doug V. scanned them for me and recently dropped them off.  While I had seen some of them before, many were new to me like the one above.  This is a shot from the slope above Lion's Pond looking back towards the gardens.  The slope itself was formed as a side of the sand and gravel operation (pit) back in the early 1900s.  The narrow opening in the top center is where the arched bridge would go, the sandy spot to the far right is where the the alpine garden would be constructed and that little "island" is some scrub foliage on the sand bar that still exists under deeper water (where all the punk kids swim out and stage their attack on our fountain).  It's fun to see the history and enjoy the images below.  We should never forget our humble beginnings and I'm glad we have such great records and volunteers that still remember those early years!  Some of you might remember the gardens (or "pre-gardens") back when the photos below were taken (way before my time here!).

 pond debris and weeds near the future gazebo garden (to the right of the image)

 debris near the old BMX bike track (the future sunken garden)

laminated beams on site that would later form the supports for the Japanese arched bridge (Lion's Beach is in the distance)

 original debris and future home of the herb gardens (Lion's Beach is in the distance)

 original site (near current larch area) looking back to building

 early Japanese garden both above and below

 Rotarians above helping with reclamation and clean-up efforts

former Janesville City Manager, Steve Sheiffer, above with other volunteers

 the koi pond construction (1990) above

renovation of the old Wilcox Sand & Gravel building to create the Rath Environmental Center (1989)

 this garage (here facing the English cottage garden) would house the horticultural operations between 1990 and 2001 and has since been removed when the Parker Education Center was built in 2001

A Day Late!

Nice fall color on the Pacific Sunset hybrid maple (Acer truncatum x platanoides 'Warrenred') out in the arboretum Monday.  This hybrid is a cross between the Shantung maple and Norway maple and "colors up" quite late but in vivid fashion!  I had all of these photos loaded yesterday with the intent of finishing the blog last night.....Well, I forgot and was wrapped up in preparations for my talk tonight (Tuesday) on Late Season Interest in the garden.  We turned the entire Holiday Light Show (HLS) on and went around to adjust, correct and tweak.  We have some issues but nothing out of the ordinary.  Our test early in the evening went well and the show is spectacular!  The updates below are for Monday, November 16th.

Lloyd (above) and Alan (below) continued working on leaf and debris clean-up out in the gardens.  Kay and Kathy (second photo down) also continued gardening in a couple areas and have no trouble collecting a cart-load of debris quickly!  Dr. Gredler and Rollie were out mowing and Bill O. came in to check garbage cans out in the gardens.  Eva (third photo down) cleaned and organized tools while Patrea (fourth photo down) continues to repair and pack away lights.  We like to keep extras ready and everything we don't use for the HLS is still tested, repaired and ready for action.  Urban (fifth photo down) came in for some pruning in the afternoon.  Maury ran more errands for us and we also saw John J. and many others today.  Maury and Dick H. also worked on some projects. The grounds staff of Big John, Terry, Bob K., Cindy, Larry H. and myself all worked on HLS tasks as we're almost ready to ROCK & ROLL.  Most of the staff finishes the 2015 season this week.

fall color of 'Varied Directions' larch (Larix sp.) - deciduous conifer

recent warmth encouraged this non-hardy cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) to resprout!

'Sugar Plum' coral bells (Heuchera) are still looking great - perennial

'Blondo' maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) is still looking sturdy! - perennial

curled leaf parsley (Petroselinum) shrugs off the cold!

fall color on the 'Blue Sparkler' larch (Larix laricina) - deciduous conifer

Larry H. did a nice job decorating this espaliered apple (Malus) along the Rath Center

Bonus Day Outside

The forecast earlier this week called for a rainy day today but we were all happy to enjoy a sunny and mild day with the rain coming later in the evening.  Unfortunately the weather prediction also includes very strong winds up to 40 mph which might affect some elements of the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  We had a very productive day out in the gardens and the HLS is now 92.3% set up and we have 89.5% of the cords out as well.  We'll test this event next week and hope that we don't have to contend with any rain throughout the duration of the light show.  We had some excellent volunteer assistance today as well.  Nice fall color on the Fireball burning bush (Euonymus alatus 'Select') seen above.  Burning bushes are spreading seed far and wide in many States which is a big problem particularly in woodlands.  However, few can dispute the beauty of peak fall color for this species.

'All Gold' golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) - perennial

'Bloodgood' Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) leaves on American ginger (Asarum canadense)

inflorescences of a maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis, unknown variety) - perennial

silvery backing on the leaves of white poplar (Populus alba 'Fialaspire')

Our volunteers made great progress today. Above (left to right) are Eva, Kathy and Dave.  This trio did a great job collecting the leaves along the woodland walk garden where they have accumulated. Dr. Gredler (directly below) was in for some mowing and Dick P. was checking on some memorial bricks and made a very timely run for more drop cords for today.  John J. and Steve L. came to hang more icicle lights in the Japanese garden and we also saw Gary, Chuck and many others today.

Dr. Gredler above still mulching leaves

It's been nice having Bob K. (above) on the grounds staff this fall as he has done an excellent job with a wide range of projects and is extremely handy.  His background as an electrician has been advantageous as well.  Today he worked on HLS projects and the installation of some nice night lighting in front of the Parker Education Center.  Cindy worked primarily on gardening as her quest to place the last half gallon milk jug luminary has been successfully completed.  Larry H. hung a lot more lights today and ran quite a few cords.  Big John and Terry installed signs out in the HLS, secured more trees, put up lights and finished getting our displays in place.  I ran cords and should be done by Monday!  More interest from the November garden can be seen below and throughout this blog (and previous ones!).

fruits of 'Indian Summer' crabapple (Malus) looking colorful

common witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) continues to bloom!

the fall color of 'Sweet Tea' foamy bells (xHeucherella) - perennial

'Black Scallop' bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) - perennial

Golden Raindrops crabapple (Malus 'Schmidtcutleaf')

Beyond Blue fescue (Festuca glauca 'Casca11') - perennial