The butterflies keep flittering in to the gardens this week with our April 1st deadline for final submission coming up very soon! The three beautiful butterflies pictured here arrived over the past two d
ays although we are still expecting over 20 more to come in by Friday (hopefully). The artwork on all the submissions (both sides!) has been stellar thus far and I'm already looking forward to seeing these out in the gardens. Once these butterflies are returned and seal-coated, they will be placed in various locations around the gardens with small signs indicating information on th
at particular piece of art (title, artist, sponsor, materials, etc.). This is very similar to last year and it's nice to showcase these pieces out in the gardens. All butterflies will be on display by Mother's Day (May 8th). Today was yet another crazy day with activity out in the gardens, meetings and many things on the "to do" list. I was out in the gardens briefly to talk with Urban about cutting back some roses and checked on the progress of the North Point patio project. We had a nice productive meeting (Kris, Kelli, Barb, Bev D., Deb, Virginia, Mary D., Dale and Bev F.) regarding our Earth Day activities on April 22 and 23. We're going to have lots of things going on and are looking forward to family involvement here at the gardens on those days (free admission). I'm stil
l working on some final orders for supplies and plants and should have that done shortly. The MATC students (a different batch from Monday) were here with Darcie and Deb to continue their accessibility assessments out in the gardens. We appreciate their help and their salary of donuts and coffee was quite affordable! Nice foliage shot to the left of the dwarf, golden Nordman fir (Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader') that looks great year round. Crocus (Crocus sp.), as yet
unmolested by squirrels and other rodents, continue to brighten the gardens as well (to the right).
l working on some final orders for supplies and plants and should have that done shortly. The MATC students (a different batch from Monday) were here with Darcie and Deb to continue their accessibility assessments out in the gardens. We appreciate their help and their salary of donuts and coffee was quite affordable! Nice foliage shot to the left of the dwarf, golden Nordman fir (Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader') that looks great year round. Crocus (Crocus sp.), as yet
unmolested by squirrels and other rodents, continue to brighten the gardens as well (to the right). Larry worked on quite a bit of pruning today and helped unpack and inventory some of our garden supplies. Little Jerry was in all day and did a great job pruning and cleaning up debris in the Japanese garden. We appreciate his help, particularly this time of year as we tidy up around the gardens. Pat was in to work on his signs and Dr. Gredler was "tractor-bound" all day as he "rolled" our lawns to settle down any heaves, bumps or rodent tunnels. This task helps minimize a lot of jostling on the mowers later in the season over uneven ground. Gary continued label production and we actually have gone thru our first 500 smaller labels (mainly ferns and daylilies) and our next label order is on the way. The next step is adhering these signs to their aluminum support stakes with industrial tape. We also saw Bob T., Maury, Big John and Janice was in to work with the MATC students.
Tonight is the "Herb Gardening" talk by Patty Bailey and we expect a nice, healthy attendance for this popular topic. Janice will talk about "Heirlooms, Hybrids and History" on April 7th (7 pm - 8 pm
) which should also be a neat talk. The next lectures are "Perennial Division" by Becky Nickel on April 20th (6 pm - 8 pm) and "Perennial Favorites" by Dr. Frank Greer on May 25th (6 pm - 8 pm) respectively. These should all be fun and educational. Above is a shot of our bagged, blended mushroom compost all ready to be sold this Saturday, April 2nd
(8 am - noon) at our Horticulture Center. This bagged compost sale will also occur every Saturday (same time) thru May. This is a wonderful product which we use out in the gardens annually. 1.5 cubic ft. bags (40-50 lbs.) will be $5.50 + tax although RBG Friends Members receive 10% off. We'll also be offering worm tea and worm castings, both of which encourage healthy growth and provide beneficial micro-organisms in your garden. I'll blog about these soon as they are new for us to offer although we are going to utilize both at RBG this year as well. In fact, I have 1,000 lbs. of worm castings (poop) coming tomorrow! More signs of spring can be seen to the left with ornamental onions (Allium 'Globemaster') sending up pink-tinted foliage and the bright winter color of 'Hillside Winter Gold' white pine (Pinus strobus) looking like a beacon from the distance. These needles will "green up" by summer but sure look sharp thru the winter and early spring. Below is the unfurling of the 'Sandra' vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis) blooms that are enjoying the subtle increases in heat each day this week. 
Tonight is the "Herb Gardening" talk by Patty Bailey and we expect a nice, healthy attendance for this popular topic. Janice will talk about "Heirlooms, Hybrids and History" on April 7th (7 pm - 8 pm
) which should also be a neat talk. The next lectures are "Perennial Division" by Becky Nickel on April 20th (6 pm - 8 pm) and "Perennial Favorites" by Dr. Frank Greer on May 25th (6 pm - 8 pm) respectively. These should all be fun and educational. Above is a shot of our bagged, blended mushroom compost all ready to be sold this Saturday, April 2nd
(8 am - noon) at our Horticulture Center. This bagged compost sale will also occur every Saturday (same time) thru May. This is a wonderful product which we use out in the gardens annually. 1.5 cubic ft. bags (40-50 lbs.) will be $5.50 + tax although RBG Friends Members receive 10% off. We'll also be offering worm tea and worm castings, both of which encourage healthy growth and provide beneficial micro-organisms in your garden. I'll blog about these soon as they are new for us to offer although we are going to utilize both at RBG this year as well. In fact, I have 1,000 lbs. of worm castings (poop) coming tomorrow! More signs of spring can be seen to the left with ornamental onions (Allium 'Globemaster') sending up pink-tinted foliage and the bright winter color of 'Hillside Winter Gold' white pine (Pinus strobus) looking like a beacon from the distance. These needles will "green up" by summer but sure look sharp thru the winter and early spring. Below is the unfurling of the 'Sandra' vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis) blooms that are enjoying the subtle increases in heat each day this week. 
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