Today was another beautiful day albeit a bit on the cool side this morning. We had left somewhat tender plants out overnight and I was happy to see they were all relatively ok this morning. However, we brought all questionable plants (mostly tropicals) inside for tonight which is calling for a slight chance of frost. Nice shot above from yesterday of some proud parents bringing their kids on a coastal tour of the gardens. I came in this morning to see Larry (below) already unloading 22 more pallets of mushroom compost. We needed to bulk up as we've already gone thru 16 pallets (45 bags per pallet) at our sale and this compost continues to be a hot seller. We like to have lots on hand at our spring plant sale (May 14, 15, 16) and are hoping for a nice weekend (both weather and attendance!). However, we do continue to sell this product every Saturday and have noted many repeat customers over the years that are hooked on the benefits of this compost in their gardens.
I wont keep lamenting about the early spring as we're all experiencing it daily. All I can do is enjoy the ga
rden and various plants as they peak. They are doing what they have done for a long time and aren't worried about the calendar. We've been enjoying the 3,000 red tulips peaking in front of the Parker Education Center and while there wont be many left for Mother's Day visitors, the luncheon this Thursday, hosted by the Bower City Garden Club (Janesville) should experience some nice color. To the left is a close-u
p of a fragrant spring bloom of fothergilla (
Fothergilla gardenii 'Blue Mist') that is also known for bluish leaves and unfortunately, has variable vigor. Our specimen is ok but the spring blooms look great right now. We have about 15 or so various fothergillas around the gardens and I like them all, particularly those with superior fall color. If you decide to plant forthergillas, do provide appropriate soils, pH and drainage for these as they can be a bit "persnickety" (spelling?). The shot to the right is one of my favorite plant combos in my own yard with golden bleeding heart (
Dicentra spectabilis 'Goldheart') in the background with Virginia bluebells (
Mertensia virginica) in the foreground. Once the bluebells go dormant (mid to late June) we overplant with annuals. See below for a close-up of the exquisite blooms of bleeding heart. Gorgeous.
We had a very busy day with a small (but talented crew). Jenny worked on labels, organized our new roses and did a nice job digging/dividing daylilies and weeding the sunken garden. Janice spent a lot of time spreading pre-emergent herbicide in our target areas that we've had trouble with i
n the past (with weed seedlings). We truly minimize our chemical usage around the gardens but have realized we don't have the manual resources to hand weed the entire gardens thru the summer. The influx of problem weeds last year (due to reseeding) was unbelievable so our hope is that we caught a good window to minimize weed issues later in the year. Janice did a great job and worked on other projects as well. Little Jerry continued his spring clean-up in the Japanese garden while Larry worked on push mowing, planting and some many other tasks. We were happy to have Kay and Margaret working together weeding the Japanese g
arden. What a great, motivated team and a great representation of how hard our volunteers work out in the gardens. Terry and John started the day planting some trees and shrubs then John and I went out to Song Sparrow Nursery (
www.songsparrow.com) to pick up our spring order. Located just east of Janesville, Song Sparrow is a dynamite, mail-order nursery and we got a nice tour from Renee', the nursery manager and a wonderful plantswoman and friend. John worked on some other projects later while Terry and I went mobile again and went out for 3,000 petunias and some other goodies from a local nursery. We also saw Dr. Gredler, Chuck, Shirley S., Sally and many others today as well. Crazy day but lots of fun. Above and to the left is a close-up of the Tatarian honeysuckle (
Lonicera tatarica) that is still used as a common landscape plant. This specimen is located in a yard along my primary dog route and the flowers are quite beautiful. Native to Central Asia and Southern Russia, this plant was introduced into North American cultivation in 1752 and has spread far and wide due to "bird distribution." We have this shrub at RBG but not as a specimen plant but as a woody invader in the surrounding woodlands. While not as annoying as European buckthorn or Japanese barberry, this shrub is a big concern and four Eastern states list it as noxious, prohibited or even banned in cultivation. The image to the above right is of garlic mustard (
Alliaria petiolata) starting to bloom at the gardens. Janice has included this as her weed of the week and we're hoping that gardeners will make a concerted effort to help remove and eradicate this horrible weed from their gardens and native areas. Check out
http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/garlic/htm for more information on this thug. Nice shots below of 'Jack Frost' false-forget-me-not (
Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost') at my in-laws and a close-up of dwarf flowering almond (Prunus
glandulosa 'Rosea Plena') that looks great for 10 days or so in spring but has a real informal look and not much interest in my mind beyond spring.
Today was another beautiful day albeit a bit on the cool side this morning. We had left somewhat tender plants out overnight and I was happy to see they were all relatively ok this morning. However, we brought all questionable plants (mostly tropicals) inside for tonight which is calling for a slight chance of frost. Nice shot above from yesterday of some proud parents bringing their kids on a coastal tour of the gardens. I came in this morning to see Larry (below) already unloading 22 more pallets of mushroom compost. We needed to bulk up as we've already gone thru 16 pallets (45 bags per pallet) at our sale and this compost continues to be a hot seller. We like to have lots on hand at our spring plant sale (May 14, 15, 16) and are hoping for a nice weekend (both weather and attendance!). However, we do continue to sell this product every Saturday and have noted many repeat customers over the years that are hooked on the benefits of this compost in their gardens.
rden and various plants as they peak. They are doing what they have done for a long time and aren't worried about the calendar. We've been enjoying the 3,000 red tulips peaking in front of the Parker Education Center and while there wont be many left for Mother's Day visitors, the luncheon this Thursday, hosted by the Bower City Garden Club (Janesville) should experience some nice color. To the left is a close-u
p of a fragrant spring bloom of fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii 'Blue Mist') that is also known for bluish leaves and unfortunately, has variable vigor. Our specimen is ok but the spring blooms look great right now. We have about 15 or so various fothergillas around the gardens and I like them all, particularly those with superior fall color. If you decide to plant forthergillas, do provide appropriate soils, pH and drainage for these as they can be a bit "persnickety" (spelling?). The shot to the right is one of my favorite plant combos in my own yard with golden bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Goldheart') in the background with Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) in the foreground. Once the bluebells go dormant (mid to late June) we overplant with annuals. See below for a close-up of the exquisite blooms of bleeding heart. Gorgeous.
n the past (with weed seedlings). We truly minimize our chemical usage around the gardens but have realized we don't have the manual resources to hand weed the entire gardens thru the summer. The influx of problem weeds last year (due to reseeding) was unbelievable so our hope is that we caught a good window to minimize weed issues later in the year. Janice did a great job and worked on other projects as well. Little Jerry continued his spring clean-up in the Japanese garden while Larry worked on push mowing, planting and some many other tasks. We were happy to have Kay and Margaret working together weeding the Japanese g
arden. What a great, motivated team and a great representation of how hard our volunteers work out in the gardens. Terry and John started the day planting some trees and shrubs then John and I went out to Song Sparrow Nursery (www.songsparrow.com) to pick up our spring order. Located just east of Janesville, Song Sparrow is a dynamite, mail-order nursery and we got a nice tour from Renee', the nursery manager and a wonderful plantswoman and friend. John worked on some other projects later while Terry and I went mobile again and went out for 3,000 petunias and some other goodies from a local nursery. We also saw Dr. Gredler, Chuck, Shirley S., Sally and many others today as well. Crazy day but lots of fun. Above and to the left is a close-up of the Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) that is still used as a common landscape plant. This specimen is located in a yard along my primary dog route and the flowers are quite beautiful. Native to Central Asia and Southern Russia, this plant was introduced into North American cultivation in 1752 and has spread far and wide due to "bird distribution." We have this shrub at RBG but not as a specimen plant but as a woody invader in the surrounding woodlands. While not as annoying as European buckthorn or Japanese barberry, this shrub is a big concern and four Eastern states list it as noxious, prohibited or even banned in cultivation. The image to the above right is of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) starting to bloom at the gardens. Janice has included this as her weed of the week and we're hoping that gardeners will make a concerted effort to help remove and eradicate this horrible weed from their gardens and native areas. Check out http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/garlic/htm for more information on this thug. Nice shots below of 'Jack Frost' false-forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost') at my in-laws and a close-up of dwarf flowering almond (Prunus glandulosa 'Rosea Plena') that looks great for 10 days or so in spring but has a real informal look and not much interest in my mind beyond spring.
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