We haven't hit the odds for rainfall over the past three days and hope to have some rain soon. We had dark clouds all day but we all had the "vibe" that it wasn't going to rain. In fact, Janice promised it wouldn't rain so we blame her for jinxing our precipitation percentages. Larry ran irrigation all day thankfully and both Janice and John did some watering as well. Above is some premature fall color on the Tiger Eyes sumac (
Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger') that caught my eye (and is not uncommon with this plant). We had a great day today with plenty of volunteer assistance. Below are Ron and Del putting together our sturdy tables that will be used Wednesday night and Saturday for our iris division.
Janice worked on watering, planting (petunia replacement in the reception garden) and other tasks while Joh
n mowed, dug out some major weeds and spent the afternoon planting and watering. Larry also mowed and did a fine job keeping up with watering/irrigating most of the gardens. Little Jerry did some mowing, pruning and planting. We also had Kay here doing a nice job weeding out two areas
. She should be the poster girl for how to efficiently (and ruthlessly) clear out an area of weeds. Vern was in doing some carpentry and Dr. Gredler was here too. Lisa stopped by to talk about our 2011 calendar she's arranged (looks awesome) and we also talked about our daylily collection. We also saw Dr. Yahr, Bob T., Tim T., Dave E., Dave, Julie, Mike, Jean and Mary W. To the left is the summer onion (
Allium tanguticum 'Summer Beauty') that really looks sharp thru the hottest summer months. 'Summer Beauty' also holds the spherical flower form well after the pink fades. The fruiting structures to the right are from the Italian arum (
Arum italicum). These berries will turn orange/red and are reminiscent of our native Jack-in-the-pulpit (
Arisaema triphyllum). The marbled foliage of this plant has gone dormant but will return in fall to combine with the future, showy red fruits. Below is the vigorous (emphasis on vigorous), but beautiful, gooseneck loosestrife (
Lysimachia clethroides). I love the blooms of this perennial but unless you contain it, it will triple in size (width) each year in good soils. A "beautiful thug" as they say.
I talked with John today from the Madison Area Iris Society regarding our iris division project. John offered some
great advice and he and some other Society members will help facilitate this process. We'll divide the Siberian irises tomorrow night and finish the rest on Saturday. We'll hopefully end up with 4,000+ divisions that will be offered
for sale at our August 28th iris sale. The Rock Prairie Master Gardeners will be instrumental in accomplishing the division and facilitating the sale. To the left is my favorite clematis (right now). This is 'Rooguchi' which is covered with these dangling bells thru mid-summer. This shot was taken at Dave W.'s garden and really shows off this floriferous hybrid variety. Look for it out at the garden centers and you will not be disappointed. To the right is a wonderful white astilbe (
Astilbe chinensis 'Diamonds & Pearls') that really shines right now. Many white astilbes look "dirty" as they fade but I think this variety will be quite showy for an extended period of time. Remember that astilbes need lots of water and don't mind the sun if properly irrigated. Below is another impressive variety of astilbe (
A. chinensis) called 'Love & Pride'. At 36" tall, this upright, mounded variety is known for heat tolerance and superior blooms. Our daylily (
Hemerocallis) collection is really looking good although Lisa and I agree that we need more reds out there and look forward to augmenting the collection in the coming years. At the bottom is 'Golden Hibiscus'. Neat-O.
n mowed, dug out some major weeds and spent the afternoon planting and watering. Larry also mowed and did a fine job keeping up with watering/irrigating most of the gardens. Little Jerry did some mowing, pruning and planting. We also had Kay here doing a nice job weeding out two areas
. She should be the poster girl for how to efficiently (and ruthlessly) clear out an area of weeds. Vern was in doing some carpentry and Dr. Gredler was here too. Lisa stopped by to talk about our 2011 calendar she's arranged (looks awesome) and we also talked about our daylily collection. We also saw Dr. Yahr, Bob T., Tim T., Dave E., Dave, Julie, Mike, Jean and Mary W. To the left is the summer onion (Allium tanguticum 'Summer Beauty') that really looks sharp thru the hottest summer months. 'Summer Beauty' also holds the spherical flower form well after the pink fades. The fruiting structures to the right are from the Italian arum (Arum italicum). These berries will turn orange/red and are reminiscent of our native Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum). The marbled foliage of this plant has gone dormant but will return in fall to combine with the future, showy red fruits. Below is the vigorous (emphasis on vigorous), but beautiful, gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides). I love the blooms of this perennial but unless you contain it, it will triple in size (width) each year in good soils. A "beautiful thug" as they say. 
great advice and he and some other Society members will help facilitate this process. We'll divide the Siberian irises tomorrow night and finish the rest on Saturday. We'll hopefully end up with 4,000+ divisions that will be offered 
for sale at our August 28th iris sale. The Rock Prairie Master Gardeners will be instrumental in accomplishing the division and facilitating the sale. To the left is my favorite clematis (right now). This is 'Rooguchi' which is covered with these dangling bells thru mid-summer. This shot was taken at Dave W.'s garden and really shows off this floriferous hybrid variety. Look for it out at the garden centers and you will not be disappointed. To the right is a wonderful white astilbe (Astilbe chinensis 'Diamonds & Pearls') that really shines right now. Many white astilbes look "dirty" as they fade but I think this variety will be quite showy for an extended period of time. Remember that astilbes need lots of water and don't mind the sun if properly irrigated. Below is another impressive variety of astilbe (A. chinensis) called 'Love & Pride'. At 36" tall, this upright, mounded variety is known for heat tolerance and superior blooms. Our daylily (Hemerocallis) collection is really looking good although Lisa and I agree that we need more reds out there and look forward to augmenting the collection in the coming years. At the bottom is 'Golden Hibiscus'. Neat-O.
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