A Pleasant Day

When out at the Scott Arboretum (Swarthmore College), I rounded a corner to see the Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha) in full bloom (see shots above), covered in bees. This tree was native to a very small section of the southeast but doesn't exist natively anymore, only in cultivation. There were three large (30') specimens and while we can't grow it here due to hardiness issues, it is a great example of a showy native that also has great fall color and lots of history. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklinia for more information. I saw some very neat woody specimens but experienced severe "zone envy" as so many wouldn't be hardy here!
We continue to get compliments on our color schemes this year and as seen above, the chartreuse/pink combo has weathered well in to the summer. We continue to weed but are also focusing on removing unsightly plants, deadheading and fertilizing to keep our annual displays looking nice thru September. Kay and Magda were here today weeding while Rose and Urban continued to prep and repaint the lettering on our environmental quote benches. Dr. Gredler was here to mow and work on other projects and we also saw Vern, Maury, Russ and some other volunteers throughout the day. Janice was off for her birthday but Marv, Marianne, Jerry and Terry kept everything looking nice. We did some watering, mowing, fertilizing, weeding, tidying, re-shearing, etc. Everyone had plenty of action today and we're ready for the weekend visitors, including the four outdoor weddings! I worked on organizing the rest of our plantings for installation next week and am designing our hanging baskets for next year. We are now starting to put in orders for next year and have a "feel" for what we're going to do in terms of color. Enjoy some shots of the gardens taken this morning.