It was a nice day "temperature-wise" although a bit on the warm side with the sun blazing down. However, the winds from yesterday have continued unabated and it's been downright breezy all day. As of lunch-time, the dark clouds are looming so we do hope we have rain but not as quick storm events. We prefer the slow, soaking rains and could use it. There was lots of debris (branches, twigs, etc.) out in the gardens as a result of the recent winds. Above is one of the yellow/charteuse leaved perennial geraniums (Geranium hybrida 'Blue Sunrise') that will have blue flowers soon and has the best yellow in spring before the summer sun makes it more chartreuse (still a nice combo with the blue flowers).We had another nice productive day out there with plenty of volunteer assistance. We had 17 teenage volunteers from Oakhill Christian School (Janesville) come to help out with two adults from the school. They did a wonderful job of spreading over 30 cubic yards of shredded bark over our daylily collection and beyond. This was a difficult task as the proximity of plants, labels and other obstacles necessitated carrying in and spreading the mulch with buckets. Janice and Marianne helped keep the troops moving while Marv, Terry and Dr. Gredler kept hauling out mulch for the kids to spread. They did a great job and were even smiling at the end (see below). Kath (lower left) works at the school and is also one of our volunteers here at the gardens.
Aside from our large mulching project, the grounds crew kept busy with our Friday tasks. Marv and Terry installed three more benches and later moved to mowing and other duties. Putting up the daisy projects is on their immediate list as well. Janice, after helping with the vol
unteers, worked on daylilies, mowing and transplanting among other things and Marianne did her entrance garden tidying, cutting display and started some castor bean (Ricinus communis 'Carmencita Red') seeds. Dr. Gredler mowed and worked on various tasks. Margo came in today and was a huge help for Janice as she continued to organize and arrange daylilies for our upcoming plant sale and had some time to water the yard as well. Margo has been a volunteer a
t RBG as long as I've been here and we always appreciate her help. Kay was here and did another awesome (and thorough!) weeding job near the gazebo garden and we hope she continues to come often! We also saw Nancy, Mary and Gil over here today. The image to the left is of my neighbor's lawn and while most of us have been taught that this is "bad", I think it's quite colorful with violets, dandelions, etc. My comment, previously mentioned in other blogs, is simply that we spend way to much time, money, resources, etc. on our lawns. Having said that, we spend time, money and resources on our lawns here at the gardens as they are part of the "experience" and are highly trafficked. Look for opportunities to incorporate other plants like groundcovers and minimize lawn areas that aren't actively used (or needed). To the right is a nice stonecrop (Sedum rupestre 'Angelina') that covers space nicely and here in our woodland walk, softens a path edge and space between rocks. However, it will start to grow across the path and like many groundcovers, should be held in check as needed. Another groundcover that is very colorful this time of year is creeping phlox (Phlox subulata). Below is the variety 'Candystripe' that is quite beautiful for about 3 weeks this time of year. Below the phlox is one of our 8 or so irises that have started to bloom early. This is 'Two Thumbs Up' and we anticipate many more starting to bloom next week. The "floodgates have been open" with this warm spring so we'll just enjoy it as it comes. The bottom photo was taken today in the wishing well garden and shows the start of another 1000 late season tulips along the shoreline. 
unteers, worked on daylilies, mowing and transplanting among other things and Marianne did her entrance garden tidying, cutting display and started some castor bean (Ricinus communis 'Carmencita Red') seeds. Dr. Gredler mowed and worked on various tasks. Margo came in today and was a huge help for Janice as she continued to organize and arrange daylilies for our upcoming plant sale and had some time to water the yard as well. Margo has been a volunteer a
t RBG as long as I've been here and we always appreciate her help. Kay was here and did another awesome (and thorough!) weeding job near the gazebo garden and we hope she continues to come often! We also saw Nancy, Mary and Gil over here today. The image to the left is of my neighbor's lawn and while most of us have been taught that this is "bad", I think it's quite colorful with violets, dandelions, etc. My comment, previously mentioned in other blogs, is simply that we spend way to much time, money, resources, etc. on our lawns. Having said that, we spend time, money and resources on our lawns here at the gardens as they are part of the "experience" and are highly trafficked. Look for opportunities to incorporate other plants like groundcovers and minimize lawn areas that aren't actively used (or needed). To the right is a nice stonecrop (Sedum rupestre 'Angelina') that covers space nicely and here in our woodland walk, softens a path edge and space between rocks. However, it will start to grow across the path and like many groundcovers, should be held in check as needed. Another groundcover that is very colorful this time of year is creeping phlox (Phlox subulata). Below is the variety 'Candystripe' that is quite beautiful for about 3 weeks this time of year. Below the phlox is one of our 8 or so irises that have started to bloom early. This is 'Two Thumbs Up' and we anticipate many more starting to bloom next week. The "floodgates have been open" with this warm spring so we'll just enjoy it as it comes. The bottom photo was taken today in the wishing well garden and shows the start of another 1000 late season tulips along the shoreline. 
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