Vital Volunteers

It is truly remarkable how much the volunteers accomplish here at the gardens and how motivated/dedicated they are to "the cause." Even the volunteers that are not traditional gardeners (i.e. many of the Grumpies), have a solid commitment to improving the gardens. Many visitors see our volunteers out in the gardens but we have volunteers helping with every aspect of the organization (education, gift shop, tours, etc.). We are very fortunate. Not much rain last night and it looks like all the false promises for rain will result in a lot more work for us to keep everything watered. Oh well. The shot above is of the drumstick ornamental onion (Allium sphaerocephalon) peaking. A nice looking bulb (fall planted) but drops quite a bit of seed. Another shot to the left of Quickfire hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Bulk') that blooms weeks earlier than other panicled hydrangeas and gets the nice transitional color from this clear white to a nice pink, then to amber over the winter. Many visitors have asked about this plant as it is quite showy and highly recommended by me. To the right is a hyssop (Agastache barberi 'Tutti Frutti') which is a tall perennial (just hardy, z5) for full sun and will get close to 48" tall. Here one of the stalks (with whorled, trumpet-shaped blooms for the hummingbirds) is adjacent to the Tiger Eyes sumac (Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger'). Hyssops also have fragrant leaves and a very long bloom time. Speaking of fragrant leaves, below is the dwarf bee balm (Monarda hybrida 'Petite Delight') which is a nice, compact, mounded form covered with blossoms. Many bee balms get tall and leggy (36"+) and are prone to powdery mildew (thereby losing many lower leaves over the summer). This variety is resistant to mildew but if you look closely, you'll see some whitish mildew starting on the leaves after that damp June. Still a remarkable variety in my mind.
Larry worked on running irrigation, watering and pumping out the sunken pool to clean it up as well as the fountain pump. Little Jerry was here to mow and tidy up and Janice coordinated our volunteers and moved on to her own projects. We had a great weeding crew here of Glenna, Mary, Suzy and Marilyn. It is amazing how they can weed thru a large area so quickly (alleviating my stress at the same time about our weed problems). What a great team. The Grumpies were here as well. Big John, Bill, Pat, Bob C. and Ron worked on lifting irises in advance of our division and later assembled more of our tables. These are irises that we wont be selling that will be returned to the hybridizers. We're getting them out today so they aren't part of the general "dig and divide" this Saturday. We'll be spending tomorrow getting ready for this huge work day and are trying to minimize confusion early on in the process. Del and Charlie worked on regraveling paths while Jim, Vern and Dave worked on hanging gates on a new arbor. Bob T. worked on edging and we also saw Rollie, Maury, Doris and others. Another nice day. I took the afternoon off as tomorrow and Saturday will be challenging (since watering will be a priority too). Below are two more plants that have foliage as a primary feature. The vine is the golden silver fleece vine (Fallopia aubertii 'Lemon Lace') that has really done a nice job softening this south-facing wall. We have five of these vining arbors secured along this wall and the gold really shows up from a distance. These will be covered with white flowers in late September. Beneath the Lemon Lace vine is a leaf of the variegated sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus 'Variegatum') that has no two leaves looking identical. At the bottom are some neat shots of the tendrils from the gourds that seem to have a life of their own as they search out something to grasp and help aid their vertical ascent.