STUGGY

Above is a nice shot of the formal gardens this afternoon from the back porch above the English cottage garden.  My blog title of STUGGY refers to my new word combination of STUFFY and MUGGY.  I think it was appropriate as it was pretty brutal out there today with the heat and humidity.  While we did see some visitors, the bulk of the activity involved our wonderful volunteers "toughing it out" in this hot weather.  The gardens continue to look awesome including that front slope planting of red/orange/yellow as seen below.  Our day started out with a semi-load delivery of bagged compost at 6:30 am for the Fall Plant Sale (see below).  Larry was in to unload it as he is excellent with the skid loader.  Thankfully Bob (in blue) and Larry (in white) were there to help out as well (with Alan and Leo too!).  We had another excellent day out in the gardens and while it hasn't dried up entirely yet from the rain last Saturday, I wouldn't mind some rain in the next day or two.  All of the photos in this blog were taken today.

 'Thailand Giant' elephant ears (Colocasia gigantea) - tropical

 fruiting structure of the Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) - perennial

 'China Town' plume celosia (Celosia plumosa) - annual (can't stop photographing this plant!)

annual sneezeweed (Helenium amarum 'Dakota Gold')

Our volunteers were so numerous and productive today that I wont go in to too much detail on activities.  Above is Alan who was one of two dozen or so volunteers we had helping today and many of them are featured in the photos below.  I'd like to offer a collective thank you to Alan, Lloyd, Ed, Larry O., Bill O., Maury, Ron P., Dick H., Gary B., Vern, Ron Y., Dave, Jim, Vera, Bonnie, Suzie, Marilyn, Peg, Karen M., Sandi, Eva, Kathy, Vicki, Dr. Gredler and many others that continue to be so important to this special garden.  It was a very productive day.

The grounds staff put in some sweaty hours too.  Bob K. helped with the compost unloading this morning and then spread mulch just in advance of our second mum delivery for the Fall Plant Sale.  Larry H. also helped unload compost and moved on to some serious mulching in two areas including the formal rose garden.  Big John ran irrigation, set up sprinklers, sheared, watered, unloaded mums, etc.  Janice helped organize our volunteers, watered, tidied and continues with preparations for the Fall Plant Sale (in 9 days!...see our website!).  It was nice to have Larry O. back helping out (see below) and we hope to see more of him soon.  I was able to get through the gardens a couple times for different reasons but am also preparing for plenty of upcoming projects and events.  It was another great Thursday which I've come to expect and fully appreciate!

 Larry (left) and Big John

 Vera

 Bonnie working her kung fu

 Suzie's awesome smile

 Marilyn H.

 Eva, Kathy and Sandi (left to right)

 Lloyd

 Ron P. (driving) and Gary B.

Ed doing some serious raking above

 'Raspberry Tart' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) - annual

 'Evening Fragrance' angel's trumpet (Datura meteloides) - annual

 'Fireball' hibiscus (Hibiscus hybrida) - perennial

 variegated obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana 'Variegata') - perennial

Autumn "crocus" (Colchicum autumnale 'The Giant') starting up - perennial

Muggy But Beautiful

Today ended up being another very hot day although the morning was still comfortable (albeit muggy)!  The gardens continue to look great with many perennials and annuals still at peak bloom.  Our late season perennials are just getting started and most of our annuals are still hanging in there.  Above is the relatively new hybrid foxglove (Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame') which still looks excellent!  We had a VIP visit from Chris (below) of K&W Greenery here in Janesville, WI.  Chris grows a lot of plants for us every spring (including baskets) and we toured the gardens and are preparing our 2016 strategy!  Our staff and volunteers had a great day and the gardens continue to get the best treatment with weeding, tidying, mulching, planting and additional TLC.

Our volunteers were real troopers today in this heat.  Kathy and Eva worked on weeding in the Japanese garden while Don and Pearl touched up their area at the east end of the shade garden.  Dr. Gredler was in for mowing duties and Bill O. had some projects as well.  Jenny and Dave gussied up the hosta hollow garden (looks great) and Kay was in to tidy up her area of the shade garden which is now experiencing the start of six weeks of cottonwood (Populus deltoides) leaves drifting down daily!  Jenny also worked on a labeling project for our incoming tulips (Tulipa).  Marv tidied up our moss areas nicely.  Stan spent some significant time in the Japanese garden and Dick H. was in for some equipment and vehicle repairs.  Mary, Myrt, Nancy and Patti came in after lunch for some weeding and tidying out in the shade of the gazebo garden.  Janice was in to give a tour and orientation to our fall crop of Chestnut House volunteers (two photos below from Janice).  We're looking forward to their help during this busy time.  We also saw Maury F., Dr. Yahr, John J., Glenn D. and many others today.

 the raised planters both above and below were recently built by our Grumpies!

The grounds staff continues to show their toughness (not me as I was in air-conditioned comfort all day) out in this heat.  Cindy worked on a clerical project, watering and tidying.  Cheryl also had tidying duties in two locations and watered the yard.  Larry H. was a mulching and composting demon today and probably hauled a record amount of those materials on this hot day.  Big John and Terry worked as a team today on planting, mulching, pruning and watering.  They had a full day with a wide range of tasks.  My primary focus is currently the Fall Plant Sale which is coming up in two weekends.  See www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org for more details on this fun event.

 'Red Stem Rhubarb' elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) - tropical

'Hilo Beauty' elephant ear (Alocasia sp.) - tropical

 fruits of the cranberrybush viburnum (Viburnum trilobum) are changing to bright red

 'Tinkerbell' flowering tobacco (Nicotiana hybrida) - annual

 Bismarck palm (Bismarckia nobilis) - subtropical

variegated giant reed (Arundo donax 'Versicolor') - not hardy

July Returns On September 1st

Today got sticky very quickly!  The morning wasn't too bad but we had weather more reminiscent of July by noon or so.  It was quite hot but the recent precipitation has made it humid as well.  Our tropicals, like the elephant ears (Alocasia) seen above in this copper cheese vat planter (English cottage garden), should enjoy this warm up!  The entire week looks quite warm with a chance of rain late in the week.  We haven't had to run any irrigation since last Friday and are riding this "recent saturation" as long as possible.  We've had so many visitors recently which is wonderful to observe and they are sure catching some nice late summer color.  We pride ourselves in extending our seasonal color all the way until hard frost and this year will be no exception.  Our excellent staff and volunteers provide plenty of "sweat equity" as they accomplished a wide range of projects in the sticky heat today!

 'Hot Biscuits' amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) - annual

 variegated obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana 'Variegata') - perennial

 bloody dock (Rumex sanguineus ssp. sanguineus) - perennial

 sweet Autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) - perennial vine

 'Waterfalls Encanto Orange' begonia (Begonia boliviensis) - annual

'Costoluto Genovese' tomato (Lycopersicon) - annual

We had some excellent volunteer help on a day that became quite hot quickly!  Above are Kathy (left) and Eva weeding in one of many areas that they targeted today.  Bill was in for his mowing duties too.  Kay came in for some more planting and tidying and Vern worked on some carpentry projects.  Maury ran errands which included picking up more supplies for the Holiday Lights Show (HLS).  We also saw Tina B., Bev D. and a couple others today.

The grounds staff had a busy day with everyone here except Terry (who apparently needed a day off...).  :)  Janice worked on tidying, watering, freshening up the cutting display and pre-Fall Plant Sale duties.  With the sale starting next Friday, September 11th (9 am - 4 pm) for RBG Friends Members only, our window is getting tighter for preparations.  The sale does extend through the weekend and RBG Members will have a 10% discount over the duration of the sale.  Cindy worked on tidying multiple areas, yard watering and did a nice job mulching a border in the terrace garden that really needed it!  Cheryl continued her tidying excellence in the rose garden and woodland walk garden throughout the day.  Larry H. continued with both composting and mulching and ended up covering a lot of square footage today.  Big John worked on fertilizing containers, clean-up, planting and many other tasks.  Bob K. had some electrical projects, re-graveling duties and some odds and ends.  I was able to place plants for installation (by Kay) and continue to prepare for the looming Fall Plant Sale.  It was another great day!

 crested male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas 'Grandiceps') - perennial

tatting fern (Athyrium filix-femina 'Frizelliae') - perennial

 silver cloak fern (Cheilanthes argentea) above and below (underside) - perennial

 'Malaysian Monster' elephant ear (Alocasia portei) - tropical

 'Portora' elephant ear (Alocasia hybrida) - tropical

 balsam apple (Momordica balsamina) above and below in the Thomas Jefferson Collection - annual

 purple hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab) - annual vine

'Thailand Giant' elephant ear (Colocasia gigantea) with 'Blazin' Rose' bloodleaf (Iresine hybrida) - tropicals