The weekend was quite pleasant and we did reasonably well at our spring compost sale. We hope that sales will increase as more people get out in their gardens. I remember some years when the daffodils had barely started to bloom by April 12th, now we're seeing lots of tulips (to left). The tulips in front of the building are just starting to show their red coloration. Marv and Terry started putting up the "pillar planters" and some obelisks today to help accent our color theme (see to right).
We had, I believe, our most productive Monday yet this year. We had most of the grounds crew, the Grumpies and both Mary and Shirley here too. Marv and Terry put up pvc pillars (see below) and started mulching th
e Scottish garden. Little Jerry was out pruning and Marianne bounced between tidying the entrance garden, weeding iris beds and managing her cutting display. Larry pushmowed and did some leaf clean-up in the parking lot islands. Janice worked with Mary on cutting back some dead rose canes and weeding. Big John and Dick H. continued to clean off our cap stones from the 'Dialogue' wall with a jackhammer. They later worked on finalizing the holes for our culvert planters. Roger, Dick K., Charlie, Bill, Bob C., Del, Ron W., Gary and Pat (new guy) worked on spreading shredded bark in the woodland walk and arboretum. They did a great job. Urban and Rose worked on repainting our parking lot lamp posts and Maury, Dick P. and Rollie went off site to pick up more fencing materials. Vern, Bob A., Dave and Jim kept busy with three carpentry projects that they are rotating through. 
Overall, it was an extremely productive day and we hope to take advantage of the nice weather this week although there is a chance of light rain later tonight. I went on a nice hike this past weekend with my daughter and noticed the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) was leafing out and those interesting brown flowers were very apparent. The leaves of this plant, when crushed or bruised, are what gives it the name "skunk cabbage". This plant is also very unique in that it actually produces heat (thermogenesis) to allow the flowers to pierce snow (late March) and attract carrion-feeding insects to help pollinate the plant. Skunk cabbage also has "contractile" roots that essentially push the older part of the plant further underground. There is a Western and Asian species of this plant. I'll never grow tired of seeing this plant and after the leaves achieve full size in those boggy situations, it becomes a very bold, visual plant. The marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) are also in full bloom as seen below in their favorite habitat (with skunk cabbage) and a close-up. 
As a side note, one of the more disappointing things about our walk thru the local woodlands was the prevalence of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). This deciduous shrub has invaded woodlands around the country and is dispersed by birds and readily roots from lower, horizontal branches. In the picture below, everything green is a barberry. This plant is outcompeting and shading out our native vegetation and joins the list of European buckthorn and honeysuckle as problem invaders. On a lighter note, I had a hard time describing the bottom photo to my daughter who clarified it by saying "that's how we get all the spring peepers..." Apologies to anyone offended by these spring activities. 
e Scottish garden. Little Jerry was out pruning and Marianne bounced between tidying the entrance garden, weeding iris beds and managing her cutting display. Larry pushmowed and did some leaf clean-up in the parking lot islands. Janice worked with Mary on cutting back some dead rose canes and weeding. Big John and Dick H. continued to clean off our cap stones from the 'Dialogue' wall with a jackhammer. They later worked on finalizing the holes for our culvert planters. Roger, Dick K., Charlie, Bill, Bob C., Del, Ron W., Gary and Pat (new guy) worked on spreading shredded bark in the woodland walk and arboretum. They did a great job. Urban and Rose worked on repainting our parking lot lamp posts and Maury, Dick P. and Rollie went off site to pick up more fencing materials. Vern, Bob A., Dave and Jim kept busy with three carpentry projects that they are rotating through. Overall, it was an extremely productive day and we hope to take advantage of the nice weather this week although there is a chance of light rain later tonight. I went on a nice hike this past weekend with my daughter and noticed the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) was leafing out and those interesting brown flowers were very apparent. The leaves of this plant, when crushed or bruised, are what gives it the name "skunk cabbage". This plant is also very unique in that it actually produces heat (thermogenesis) to allow the flowers to pierce snow (late March) and attract carrion-feeding insects to help pollinate the plant. Skunk cabbage also has "contractile" roots that essentially push the older part of the plant further underground. There is a Western and Asian species of this plant. I'll never grow tired of seeing this plant and after the leaves achieve full size in those boggy situations, it becomes a very bold, visual plant. The marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) are also in full bloom as seen below in their favorite habitat (with skunk cabbage) and a close-up. As a side note, one of the more disappointing things about our walk thru the local woodlands was the prevalence of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). This deciduous shrub has invaded woodlands around the country and is dispersed by birds and readily roots from lower, horizontal branches. In the picture below, everything green is a barberry. This plant is outcompeting and shading out our native vegetation and joins the list of European buckthorn and honeysuckle as problem invaders. On a lighter note, I had a hard time describing the bottom photo to my daughter who clarified it by saying "that's how we get all the spring peepers..." Apologies to anyone offended by these spring activities. 
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