We had another great day at the gardens and don't even start to get hopeful when we hear that we have a 30% chance of showers...yeah right. Yesterday I was up in Madison with the wife and younger daughter
and shot over to the West Madison Agricultural Research Station that has a nice trial garden. I took well over 300 photos and saw some neat plants that we haven't tried here yet. Our grounds staff was giving a nice tour of that facility by Judy last year and it's always nice to see what they're gro
wing (although most people in that area aren't even aware that this facility exists). I saw many really neat petunia varieties including 'Sanguna Lipstick' to the left and 'Picobella Rose Star' to the right. We plant lots of petunias each year and have had some rotting problems caused by white mold over the years but have continually relied on the durability and appeal of petunias throughout the gardens. I enjoy going to various trial gardens to not only look for new "potentials" but to see some side by side comparisons that do have value when you consider the differences in overall appearance, vigor and general toughness of various varieties. Below is a neat raised planter that we'll replicate at some point in the future for all-accessibility.
We had another great turnout today. Marv worked on setting up sprinklers early while Terry worked on some fertiliz
ation and pruning. The guys later joined forces to weed, amend, rototill and otherwise "prepare for planting" the vacated iris beds down near the wishing well garden. This week we will plant these spaces with some of our leftover annuals. It will be nice to have the extended color in beds that would otherwise be devoid of interest. The thirteen vacated iris beds near the arboretum will be cleared of weeds and later prepared for the planting of a cover crop / green m
anure display later this summer. More to follow on this display. Marianne weeded, watered and did her cutting display. Little Jerry was out pruning while Larry worked on running irrigation, watering containers and other duties. Unfortunately, I was desk bound all day but have finished quite a bit of work. To the left is a compact summer snapdragon (
Angelonia angustifolia 'Angelface Blue Imp') and to the right is a hybrid annual phlox (
Phlox hybrida 'Intensia Blueberry') that is quite striking with a wide range of light to deep flowers. We grow some annual phlox here at the gardens but they don't seem to weather our hottest summer days so they look the best in spring or late summer weather Nice shot below of a marigold (
Tagetes sp.) with giant bloom clusters. This is 'Moonstruck Deep Orange' and looks great with each bloom being close to 4" in diameter.
Our force of Grumpies this morning was quite impressive. Del, Bill and Urban all worked on regraveling various paths in need while Roger and Ron B. went out with Bob T. to work on the ev
er-present air edging needs. Maury, Dick P., Big John and Dick H. went down to Beloit to pick up some of our new gate pieces. They will coninue their fence installation project later this week or early next week. Bob A, Jim, Dave and Vern all worked on carpenty projects today. We al
so had Winnifred and Mary Q weeding out in the gardens. It started to rain but I think it all passed along quickly. Dr. Gredler was here to mow and work on various projects. We also saw Jim, Dave P., Penny P., Dave and Jim D.'s grandson. Rose was here to do some touch up paint and I hope we see her soon. Nice shot to left of 'Pony Tail' Mexican feather grass
(Stipa tenuissima) that looks better as the year projects. To the right is one of the newer coneflowers (
Echinacea). This is Sundown coneflower ('Evan Saul') and most gardening catalogs will show it a brilliant orange. I think the subtle rose/pink/mango flower petals look awesome and are quite unique. The picture below, also from the West Madison Ag Station, is showing off our native culver's root (
Veroniscastrum virginicum 'Fascination') that shows off those narrow, tight, showy flower pillars. What a neat perennial. The bottom picture shows a panciled hydrangea (
Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Lamb'). This compact variety (6' or so) is known for very tight blossoms that make the blossoms look like lambs dancing above the foliage. Maybe you wont see that, but consider the impact and appeal of what you've seen ttoday.
We had another great day at the gardens and don't even start to get hopeful when we hear that we have a 30% chance of showers...yeah right. Yesterday I was up in Madison with the wife and younger daughter 
and shot over to the West Madison Agricultural Research Station that has a nice trial garden. I took well over 300 photos and saw some neat plants that we haven't tried here yet. Our grounds staff was giving a nice tour of that facility by Judy last year and it's always nice to see what they're gro
wing (although most people in that area aren't even aware that this facility exists). I saw many really neat petunia varieties including 'Sanguna Lipstick' to the left and 'Picobella Rose Star' to the right. We plant lots of petunias each year and have had some rotting problems caused by white mold over the years but have continually relied on the durability and appeal of petunias throughout the gardens. I enjoy going to various trial gardens to not only look for new "potentials" but to see some side by side comparisons that do have value when you consider the differences in overall appearance, vigor and general toughness of various varieties. Below is a neat raised planter that we'll replicate at some point in the future for all-accessibility. 
ation and pruning. The guys later joined forces to weed, amend, rototill and otherwise "prepare for planting" the vacated iris beds down near the wishing well garden. This week we will plant these spaces with some of our leftover annuals. It will be nice to have the extended color in beds that would otherwise be devoid of interest. The thirteen vacated iris beds near the arboretum will be cleared of weeds and later prepared for the planting of a cover crop / green m
anure display later this summer. More to follow on this display. Marianne weeded, watered and did her cutting display. Little Jerry was out pruning while Larry worked on running irrigation, watering containers and other duties. Unfortunately, I was desk bound all day but have finished quite a bit of work. To the left is a compact summer snapdragon (Angelonia angustifolia 'Angelface Blue Imp') and to the right is a hybrid annual phlox (Phlox hybrida 'Intensia Blueberry') that is quite striking with a wide range of light to deep flowers. We grow some annual phlox here at the gardens but they don't seem to weather our hottest summer days so they look the best in spring or late summer weather Nice shot below of a marigold (Tagetes sp.) with giant bloom clusters. This is 'Moonstruck Deep Orange' and looks great with each bloom being close to 4" in diameter. 
er-present air edging needs. Maury, Dick P., Big John and Dick H. went down to Beloit to pick up some of our new gate pieces. They will coninue their fence installation project later this week or early next week. Bob A, Jim, Dave and Vern all worked on carpenty projects today. We al
so had Winnifred and Mary Q weeding out in the gardens. It started to rain but I think it all passed along quickly. Dr. Gredler was here to mow and work on various projects. We also saw Jim, Dave P., Penny P., Dave and Jim D.'s grandson. Rose was here to do some touch up paint and I hope we see her soon. Nice shot to left of 'Pony Tail' Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) that looks better as the year projects. To the right is one of the newer coneflowers (Echinacea). This is Sundown coneflower ('Evan Saul') and most gardening catalogs will show it a brilliant orange. I think the subtle rose/pink/mango flower petals look awesome and are quite unique. The picture below, also from the West Madison Ag Station, is showing off our native culver's root (Veroniscastrum virginicum 'Fascination') that shows off those narrow, tight, showy flower pillars. What a neat perennial. The bottom picture shows a panciled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Lamb'). This compact variety (6' or so) is known for very tight blossoms that make the blossoms look like lambs dancing above the foliage. Maybe you wont see that, but consider the impact and appeal of what you've seen ttoday.
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