Precipitation looked promising this morning but we ended up with another partly sunny day with plenty of just plain "stickiness". We had some sprinkles around 6 pm but I don't think it amounted to v
ery much. I hear we have an 80% chance of rain tomorrow (Thursday)...we'll see. The shot above is of the pergola in the French formal garden. The dangling silver plant in both the hanging baskets and urns is the aluminum plant (
Dichondra argentea 'Silver Falls') that we've used many years here at the gard
ens as a trailer in containers and as a ground cover. These hanging baskets should dangle another 3-4' yet this summer! The first Wednesday of the month (April thru October) is free admission at the gardens and it was packed today. We saw lots of kids, a senior citizen tour, special needs groups, etc. and it was really nice to see everyone enjoying the gardens. The amount of traffic was challenging with getting thru the gardens and watering but we made it thru this crazy day. To the left are the beautiful blooms of a hosta ('Honeysong'). While we will cut down spent flower stalks of most hostas later in the season, I do enjoy them while they are here, particularly the fragrant varieties. To the right are two of our new volunteers, Susie and Vito. They did a great job weeding (primarly purslane) and moved on to some planting. We hope to see both in the near future and maybe we've hooked another youth on gardening. I was excited this morning to observe the flowers of the apple gourd (
Lagenaria sp.) right near my car at the Horticulture Center (see below). This bloom is about 3" wide and the creamy grey(?) color caught my eye. The flower was shriveled (pollinated?) by the afternoon. Glad I caught the shot.
Needless to say, all volunteers and staff were soaked thru with sweat today. Marv did a great job running irrigation, pu
tting up sprinklers, etc. and I was so glad he did after the sun peaked out and it became very hot. He also mulched and weeded. Marianne did her cutting display and some weeding but spent most of her time going thru the irises and flagging various varieties prior to our division project
this upcoming Saturday. This was an important and challenging project that she accomplished quite efficiently. Big John and Terry planted some shrubs and moved on to digging up Siberian irises (
Iris siberica) and some miscellaneous species iris for the division that occurred tonight. John and Terry both worked on other projects that included significant hand watering. Little Jerry worked on more pruning and garden clean-up. I bounced around doing various projects and preparations. To the left is another neat lily (
Lilium, unknown variety) with dangling, spotted blooms. I really am going to bulk up on our lily collection at the gardens in the coming years. We have some lilies along the south side of the woodland walk (sunny) that are over 8' tall. To the right is the vivid dwarf morning glory (
Convolvulus tricolor 'Royal Blue Ensign') that is such an eye catcher in the reception garden. Unfortunately, this rambler (12" tall) is tasty for woodchucks and many are not blooming yet as they are in the "nub stage" after being targeted by our resident "land beavers". Below is one of the petunia varieties ('Rhythm & Blues') from Ball Seed Company in our trials. I like this shade of blue and proportion of white edges.
Aside from Susie and Vito mentioned above, we also had Dr. Gredler mowing and sealing (preservative) some new obelisk lumber being cut by Vern today. Kay came in and did a fabulous job planting and weeding but was in some tough spots with either little air circulation or oppressive sun. She's a trooper and so much appreciated by everyone. Del came in to regravel some paths and we also saw Rose, Maury, Gary, Geesje and Katy. Janice and Big John did a great job coordinating the iris divide tonight. As I was over at a potluck dinner / orientation for our Home Garden Tour & Luncheon (HGT&L) at the other building, I missed all the action but checked later to see that they finished despite the rainfall this evening. We already have a couple hundred divisions but should produce 4,000+ this Saturday. The potluck was well attended and we're in good shape for our July 24th HGT&L. Thanks to all the homeowners and volunteers involved with this annual fundraiser. Below is another neat seed trial petunia from Takii Seed (Japan) called 'Opera Supreme Raspberry Ice'. Look at that subtle veination!!
Precipitation looked promising this morning but we ended up with another partly sunny day with plenty of just plain "stickiness". We had some sprinkles around 6 pm but I don't think it amounted to v
ery much. I hear we have an 80% chance of rain tomorrow (Thursday)...we'll see. The shot above is of the pergola in the French formal garden. The dangling silver plant in both the hanging baskets and urns is the aluminum plant (Dichondra argentea 'Silver Falls') that we've used many years here at the gard
ens as a trailer in containers and as a ground cover. These hanging baskets should dangle another 3-4' yet this summer! The first Wednesday of the month (April thru October) is free admission at the gardens and it was packed today. We saw lots of kids, a senior citizen tour, special needs groups, etc. and it was really nice to see everyone enjoying the gardens. The amount of traffic was challenging with getting thru the gardens and watering but we made it thru this crazy day. To the left are the beautiful blooms of a hosta ('Honeysong'). While we will cut down spent flower stalks of most hostas later in the season, I do enjoy them while they are here, particularly the fragrant varieties. To the right are two of our new volunteers, Susie and Vito. They did a great job weeding (primarly purslane) and moved on to some planting. We hope to see both in the near future and maybe we've hooked another youth on gardening. I was excited this morning to observe the flowers of the apple gourd (Lagenaria sp.) right near my car at the Horticulture Center (see below). This bloom is about 3" wide and the creamy grey(?) color caught my eye. The flower was shriveled (pollinated?) by the afternoon. Glad I caught the shot. 
tting up sprinklers, etc. and I was so glad he did after the sun peaked out and it became very hot. He also mulched and weeded. Marianne did her cutting display and some weeding but spent most of her time going thru the irises and flagging various varieties prior to our division project
this upcoming Saturday. This was an important and challenging project that she accomplished quite efficiently. Big John and Terry planted some shrubs and moved on to digging up Siberian irises (Iris siberica) and some miscellaneous species iris for the division that occurred tonight. John and Terry both worked on other projects that included significant hand watering. Little Jerry worked on more pruning and garden clean-up. I bounced around doing various projects and preparations. To the left is another neat lily (Lilium, unknown variety) with dangling, spotted blooms. I really am going to bulk up on our lily collection at the gardens in the coming years. We have some lilies along the south side of the woodland walk (sunny) that are over 8' tall. To the right is the vivid dwarf morning glory (Convolvulus tricolor 'Royal Blue Ensign') that is such an eye catcher in the reception garden. Unfortunately, this rambler (12" tall) is tasty for woodchucks and many are not blooming yet as they are in the "nub stage" after being targeted by our resident "land beavers". Below is one of the petunia varieties ('Rhythm & Blues') from Ball Seed Company in our trials. I like this shade of blue and proportion of white edges. 
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