The Fern Garden Is Full Again

With a high probability of rain tonight, we jumped on planting over 90 ferns in the fern & moss garden today with the hopes that a nice soaking ran will be timely after installation. After Marv and Marianne hauled the ferns, I placed them out, then Marv, Marianne and Janice planted them right away. We filled all the gaps that were created years ago when flooding damage killed many of the ferns in this space. To the left is the linear male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas 'Linearis') that is one among many that catch my eye with their interesting texture. That garden has two beds each for the general fern catagories of Asian, European and North American origin. We also have a small space for ferns from regions that don't neatly fit in to those general categories. To the right is Marianne just getting started with planting this morning. All our ferns are now "double labeled" and will be mapped as well so we don't lose track of what is out there. While down in that area, Janice was able to touch up her moss area and I caught here sitting down on the job again (which is really the only way to avoid squatting on the moss).

Aside from planting ferns, Marv also worked on running irrigation, pulling thistle and various other tasks. Marianne also planted more containers, did her cutting display, weeded and tidied up here and there. Dr. Gredler was here mowing and we had Shirley and her grandson, Wes, out planting two areas this morning (see to the right). They were here yesterday too and I mentioned that I hope we see them Monday if they are going to make this a habit, which would be ok with me! Dick H. was here fixing one of our utility carts and worked on a truck as well. His next project is an overhaul of our Cushman utility vehicle which will benefit from his attention. Mary H. was here tidying up her garden area and we also saw Maury, Ray, Urban, Rose, Cindy and Scott. LP Tree Service was here at the gardens today removing a large cottonwood (Populus deltoides) near the pond. This tree needed to be removed prior to the work involved with the new retaining walls that will go along that shoreline in the coming weeks. The tree crew did a nice job and made quick work of that tree and did a nice job cleaning up as well.

Coming up on July 16-18 at the Walworth County Fairgrounds (Elkhorn,WI) is the EcoFair360. Their tag line is "Join us for three days of exploration, education and inspiration of all things green." There will be seminars, displays, food and all sorts of neat things going on. I believe I'll be giving a talk at this event ("Energy Efficient Landscape Design", yet to be confirmed) and we hope attendees will be inspired to travel over to see RBG during that weekend. See www.ecofair360.com for more information regarding this exciting event.

It wasn't hard to find color in the gardens today. One of my favorite sedges was really looking good down in the fern & moss garden today. To the left is the golden sedge (Carex elata 'Bowles' Golden' or 'Aurea'). This sedge offers some nice coloration in semi-shade and is quite durable in a wide range of soils. Provide adequate moisture for the best look (and height, 24"). We use this specific sedge in many of our shadier gardens to offer color and texture in areas that become less reliant of flowers and more dependent on foliage. To the right is a hybrid toadflax (Linaria hybrida 'Enchantment') with fragrant, magenta and gold blossoms. This annual looks great in the cooler months of the growing season and tends to wimp out in July and August. What a vivid color though. I estimate that we are about 86.4% planted with our annuals and should be able to finish the rest next week if we aren't too rained out. We still have a dozen trees and shrubs and a couple hundred perennials to put in but this has been a record spring for planting due to such wonderful volunteers. I'm "off" tomorrow but will be here to give a tour to the WI/IL Chapter of the American Rock Garden Society. Should be fun. Our 2010 "impatiens swirl" below, layed out by Marianne. Looks sweet.