I awoke at 3 am to some pretty serious thunder, lightening and showers. It was a quick, intense rain and got us out of watering today but it quickly became a scorcher as the sun peaked out around mid-morning. It was extremely hot and humid and it looks like the rest of the week has sporadic opportunities for rain. It has been a fairly damp summer but at least we've had the heat to get plants moving along. I still think the gardens are in their "peak week" and looking good. The "otherworldly" object above is the seed head of the love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) which is a beautiful, self-sowing annual that really peaks in June, then drops lots of seed later in the summer for the next spring. I took this shot last week at Allen Centennial Garden where Ed has left up the seed heads for ornamentation. Nice shots below of our koi pond which continues to be a popular attraction for guests. The water lilies (Nymphaea sp.) are blooming nicely with warmer water temperatures.
Tragic news occured this Sunday adjacent to the gardens. A young, teenage boy drowned out in the pond (Lion's Pond) that surrounds the west portion of the gardens. This beach has a roped in area but this boy and friends did what countless others have done over the years and swam well beyond the designated area in to deeper waters (NW of our alpine garden). He and a girl were having difficulty and while the girl was rescued by a fisherman, the boy slipped underwater and was found 30 minutes later after a search and rescue by the local police, fire dept. and sheriff. One of our wedding guests called 911 when his friends yelled for assistance. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of this young boy. When I started at the gardens 13 years ago, there were lifeguards stationed out there. Due to budget cutbacks, this pond became a "swim at your own risk" location that has been very stressful for me personally to observe as we've warned countless swimmers of all ages (very young too!) not to swim beyond the ropes (which is a daily occurance). Tragic. Avoidable?Kudos to Marv, Marianne and Terry for taking a full day of the inferno today. I sat in air-conditioned comfort most of the day pouring over catalogs for next years hanging baskets and bulk orders (which are 
finalized in two weeks!). They did a great job with weeding, tidying, mulching, etc. around the gardens. Larry was here briefly as was Little Jerry who did some tool sharpening this morning. Janice popped in for some office work (making iris labels). We had a markedly small Grumpy group today as I think the threat of additional rain this morning kept some guys home. Urban and Del did a nice job regraveling the north path and other target locations. Big John, Maury, Dick P. and Dick H. continued on their fence installation project a
nd Dr. Gredler was back at the helm mowing out in the gardens. Jim, Bob A., Vern and Dave continued on fence repairs and some other carpentry projects and we also saw Dr. Yahr, Dale, Dayle, Julie, Jenny, Kay F., and Shirley was here weeding the gazebo garden until it got too hot. Nice shot to the left of 'Orange Fantasia' Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) which is a nice (edible) bedding plant. I'm not a big fan of eating Swiss chard (high in many nutrients) but I love it out in the garden. To the right is the garden space taken care of by Don and Pearl. The pink is really filling in and these shorter obelisks (equidistant) help lead the eye around the bend. Directly below is a purple-leaf grape vine (Vitis vinifera 'Purpurea') on one of our mango obelisks along the ornamental edible wall. While I don't think we'll have a huge grape crop this year, I like the leaf coloration although the Japanese beetles are starting to nibble on it too. This is a zone 5 grape that should produce later in the fall once it becomes an established, mature plant. We'll probably replant it (6 specimens) elsewhere or give it to volunteers so they can give it a whirl at home. At the bottom is a coneflower (Echinacea) assortment at Allen Centennial Gardens. The coneflowers everywhere are blooming nicely but this is the wet year to see those that get maximum height, but don't have the stem strength to stay upright. Sturdiness in a perennial is an important consideration, particularly for a plant with horizontal daisies that should be upright for maximum appeal (and wildlife potential!). Floppiness is bad in a coneflower and why should you have to stake it? Mike's bus tour is coming up this Thursday to Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwind Perennial Farm. I'm looking forward to it. 
finalized in two weeks!). They did a great job with weeding, tidying, mulching, etc. around the gardens. Larry was here briefly as was Little Jerry who did some tool sharpening this morning. Janice popped in for some office work (making iris labels). We had a markedly small Grumpy group today as I think the threat of additional rain this morning kept some guys home. Urban and Del did a nice job regraveling the north path and other target locations. Big John, Maury, Dick P. and Dick H. continued on their fence installation project a
nd Dr. Gredler was back at the helm mowing out in the gardens. Jim, Bob A., Vern and Dave continued on fence repairs and some other carpentry projects and we also saw Dr. Yahr, Dale, Dayle, Julie, Jenny, Kay F., and Shirley was here weeding the gazebo garden until it got too hot. Nice shot to the left of 'Orange Fantasia' Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) which is a nice (edible) bedding plant. I'm not a big fan of eating Swiss chard (high in many nutrients) but I love it out in the garden. To the right is the garden space taken care of by Don and Pearl. The pink is really filling in and these shorter obelisks (equidistant) help lead the eye around the bend. Directly below is a purple-leaf grape vine (Vitis vinifera 'Purpurea') on one of our mango obelisks along the ornamental edible wall. While I don't think we'll have a huge grape crop this year, I like the leaf coloration although the Japanese beetles are starting to nibble on it too. This is a zone 5 grape that should produce later in the fall once it becomes an established, mature plant. We'll probably replant it (6 specimens) elsewhere or give it to volunteers so they can give it a whirl at home. At the bottom is a coneflower (Echinacea) assortment at Allen Centennial Gardens. The coneflowers everywhere are blooming nicely but this is the wet year to see those that get maximum height, but don't have the stem strength to stay upright. Sturdiness in a perennial is an important consideration, particularly for a plant with horizontal daisies that should be upright for maximum appeal (and wildlife potential!). Floppiness is bad in a coneflower and why should you have to stake it? Mike's bus tour is coming up this Thursday to Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwind Perennial Farm. I'm looking forward to it. 
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