Getting Warmer

While it was mostly cloudy today, it was quite a bit warmer than yesterday. The sun did come out around 2 pm and it became quite nice and a little more like what we would expect for later May. I just returned from the Jefferson County Extension Building where I did a talk tonight (7 pm - 8 pm) on "Ornamental Edibles" for a group of 30 or so. It was a receptive crowd and I recognized many from previous symposia, plant sales, etc. Jane from Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Director of Education) was there as well. It was fun and I hope attendees this evening will visit the gardens soon. At the top is the seedhead of pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) that I featured in full bloom back in April. I think the seedhead is quite beautiful and would be neat in a flower arrangement. Directly above is an ornamental onion (Allium karataviense 'Ivory Queen') that is getting ready to bloom (3" diameter, white spheres) amongst something that I haven't quite identified. That blue/purple is striking but I'm not sure what it is to be honest. I'll send it thru my "plant id channels" tomorrow! To the above right is the misted and streaked leaves of 'London Fog' hosta that is quite striking out in the garden. I love taking shots of hostas this time of year as their foliage looks fresh before the heat/slug combo starts to take a toll. To the left is an English bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) in the Scottish garden getting ready to open up. I've never caught a picture of the "poised bloom" and thought it looked quite interesting. I'll post a picture of the open bloom in the next couple of days. We don't grow these like they can in England but we have a couple hundred nice ones in the Scottish garden. During my meeting today with Kris and Kelli, we were talking a bit about plants and Kelli said she most loved peonies. I've been watching ours at the garden and while they are almost ready to bloom, I didn't think any were open until I walked by 'Little Red Gem' peony (Paeonia) in the alpine garden. This little (20") peony also has nice filigreed foliage and is blooming a bit early because of this hot spot. I'll keep an eye on the others too and look forward to the start of our 50 or so tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) as well. Today was the most I've been out in the gardens this year and I was able to get my bearings again and really get some priorities established. One of those priorities is the North Point garden seen below. We put a lot of time and effort in to this space today. The top picture shows Big John continuing to plant boxwoods (Buxus 'Green Velvet') around the arbor and patio. Terry and Marv started this yesterday and John did a nice job maintaining consistent spacing and planting depth. I think the guys collectively planted 193 boxwoods! He did get some help and Dr. Yahr (second picture down) was around to assist as well. Dr. Yahr also planted perennials for me this afternoon in four different areas and did a nice job watering all the new plantings in the North Point garden. Nice shot to the left of the beautiful, early foliage of Coppertina ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius 'Mindia') which is one of my favorite shrubs. This shrub holds the orangey color in to summer but then darkens more to a "maroonish/orange". The picture directly above shows Dick H., Bob C., Del and Dennis (new Grumpy) creating a gravel pad area where we will have our new Adirondack chairs placed (and secured). The guys had to excavate out soil which they used to level off a low spot, then they hauled lots of gravel back in place. Our carpenters (Dave, Vern, Bob A. and Vern, along with Roger) had plenty of action as well. After lunch, Big John moved to watering all our containers and did some more rototilling. Janice was in to plant vegetables, tidy the fern/moss garden, plant perennials and helped facilitate our "Grumpette" Mary, who was weeding in the woodland walk garden. She is a great worker. Jenny spent the entire day (bless her heart) matching labels to flats of annuals that will be planted this Saturday (work day!, 8 am - noon, donuts and freebies!, meet at the Parker Education Center!). We really strive to have labels with the plants as they head in to the gardens and it is only possible due to Jenny's organizational skills. Larry mowed, watered the entire yard, planted perennials and bounced between some other projects. The picture to the right is a close-up of 'Pink Lanterns' columbine (Aquilegia canadensis 'Pink Lanterns') looking beautiful in the woodland walk where Mary was tidying up nicely. Jumbo Jim and Brandon were cleaning up the Japanese garden and along with Karen M., guided/trained Joe M., a new volunteer, regarding maintenance suggestions for the Japanese garden. Joe, no stranger to the gardens, will be great help. We also saw Mary W., Elsa, Lois, Maury and many others too. Rose and Urban were also in for some painting duties. I was able to really examine the gardens today although had two meetings as well. It was nice to place some perennials for installation and tomorrow I'll do much of the same and gather and place plants for our Saturday morning planting. I do this in advance so I can keep ahead of the crew. No idle time! I hope to get some additional plants in the ground too. Immediately below is the always impressive 'El Nino' hosta and at the bottom, the peak bloom period of the white bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba').