Last spring I remember going up to the UW-Arboretum to enjoy the the crabapple (
Malus sp.) collection at Longenecker Gardens on Mother's Day weekend. Well, ou
r crabapples are starting to bloom now (see above, unknown variety). Lilacs will be opening very soon as well. What a weird spring. By the way, Longenecker Gardens has a top notch collection of woody plants that includes large collections of spring bloomers (magnolias, lilacs and crabapples). Today would have been the perfect weather for Mother's Day and I hope we can replicate it again! I was abl
e to get outside and spray herbicide in some of our weediest areas. It's nice to catch a warm, sunny day with very little wind in April. I'm not a big chemical fan to be honest but realize that my three hours of spraying today will save hundreds of weeding hours this summer. We had a solid volunteer crew today with Kay weeding in the shade garden, Rose out doing some painting touch-up, Dr. Gredler mulching and working on lawns and Bill out spreading shredded bark mulch and compost. Jenny worked on weeding and tidying up a huge area (above left) and John (as a rookie) warmed up by digging out spireas and moved on to push mowing with Larry. Larry bounced between projects while Little Jerry worked on pruning and tidying in the Scottish garden and Japanese garden. Marianne came in to work on her alpine labels and Marv processed some compost from his pile for immediate use. Janice prepped our containers with fertilizer and moisture retention crystals. She also put out more containers out on the terrace garden (see below). The containers are structural foam and very light. They will necessitate some "internal anchoring" of bricks to keep them steady as they become more top-heavy with growing plants. We also saw Becky, Bev, Deb, Janet, Georgia and Julie over here today.
I actually carry my camera around with me when I spray so I can catch all the quick changes out in the gardens. I have really made it a habit to have my camera with me to catch all those things that make you
wish you had a camera with you in the first place! To the left are the gorgeous blooms of the double flowering plum (
Prunus triloba 'Multiplex') in our entrance
garden. This large shrub has been sheared in to a rounded form and when covered with blooms, this 7' tall by 9' wide shrub is an eye catcher although the blooms are all too fleeting. To the right are the dangling blooms of summer snowflake (
Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant') with its white petals, each with a drop of green. Multiple visitors asked about this one out in the garden. Buy it as a bulb in fall and plant them by the dozens! We're always trying to keep up with our labeling around here and when visitors keep asking about the same plant, we know we're "label deficient" and try to address it immediately. Chartreuse in the garden caught my eye today with the blooms of donkeytail spurge (
Euphorbia myrsinites) and cushion spurge (
Euphorbia polychroma) below (respectively). In both cases, most of the flower color for these spurges are from bracts (modified leaves). I like both of these perennials for many reasons. More May weather on the way!
Last spring I remember going up to the UW-Arboretum to enjoy the the crabapple (Malus sp.) collection at Longenecker Gardens on Mother's Day weekend. Well, ou
r crabapples are starting to bloom now (see above, unknown variety). Lilacs will be opening very soon as well. What a weird spring. By the way, Longenecker Gardens has a top notch collection of woody plants that includes large collections of spring bloomers (magnolias, lilacs and crabapples). Today would have been the perfect weather for Mother's Day and I hope we can replicate it again! I was abl
e to get outside and spray herbicide in some of our weediest areas. It's nice to catch a warm, sunny day with very little wind in April. I'm not a big chemical fan to be honest but realize that my three hours of spraying today will save hundreds of weeding hours this summer. We had a solid volunteer crew today with Kay weeding in the shade garden, Rose out doing some painting touch-up, Dr. Gredler mulching and working on lawns and Bill out spreading shredded bark mulch and compost. Jenny worked on weeding and tidying up a huge area (above left) and John (as a rookie) warmed up by digging out spireas and moved on to push mowing with Larry. Larry bounced between projects while Little Jerry worked on pruning and tidying in the Scottish garden and Japanese garden. Marianne came in to work on her alpine labels and Marv processed some compost from his pile for immediate use. Janice prepped our containers with fertilizer and moisture retention crystals. She also put out more containers out on the terrace garden (see below). The containers are structural foam and very light. They will necessitate some "internal anchoring" of bricks to keep them steady as they become more top-heavy with growing plants. We also saw Becky, Bev, Deb, Janet, Georgia and Julie over here today.
I actually carry my camera around with me when I spray so I can catch all the quick changes out in the gardens. I have really made it a habit to have my camera with me to catch all those things that make you 
wish you had a camera with you in the first place! To the left are the gorgeous blooms of the double flowering plum (Prunus triloba 'Multiplex') in our entrance 
garden. This large shrub has been sheared in to a rounded form and when covered with blooms, this 7' tall by 9' wide shrub is an eye catcher although the blooms are all too fleeting. To the right are the dangling blooms of summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant') with its white petals, each with a drop of green. Multiple visitors asked about this one out in the garden. Buy it as a bulb in fall and plant them by the dozens! We're always trying to keep up with our labeling around here and when visitors keep asking about the same plant, we know we're "label deficient" and try to address it immediately. Chartreuse in the garden caught my eye today with the blooms of donkeytail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) and cushion spurge (Euphorbia polychroma) below (respectively). In both cases, most of the flower color for these spurges are from bracts (modified leaves). I like both of these perennials for many reasons. More May weather on the way!
No comments:
Post a Comment