Today was beautiful with blue skies and plenty of sun. I caught a nice shot of the arched bridge above with weeping willows (
Salix) in the background and the gazebo to the far right in the distance. The temperatu
res were a bit cool but I was thankful that Larry had brought all of our sensitive plants in on Saturday afternoon. We brought everything outside again this morning for natural light and a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, we'll have to haul it all in again and do this same "dance" tomorrow as
well. I missed most of the action this morning as I headed off for one of our first plant runs of the year. The timing has little to do with weather and is more related to availability issues. I came back with 150 flats of petunias, some pansies, flowering tobacco and a bunch of parsley. We'll use the pansies to augment our containers with the ornamental mustard (
Brassica juncea 'Brazen Brass') and will also squeeze more plants in that vertical planter for giggles. Nice shot to the left of Virginia bluebells (
Mertensia virginica) in full bloom in the woodland walk garden. We have Virginia bluebells in many locations
and I've always enjoyed the clean foliage and blossoms. I wont ever get tired of that plant! To the right is Tom C. who has been very helpful with myriad electrical projects and today (among other tasks), installed a switch that will allow us to expedite some of our label engraving processes. I know Gary appreciates Tom's efforts as it certainly will save time in the long run. Tom has no shortage of projects at the visitors center, Horticulture Center and out in the gardens prop
er. So many of our volunteers, like Tom, have additional skills which are very much appreciated. To the left are the blooms of a Snow Fountains weeping cherry (
Prunus hybrida 'Snofozam') just starting to bloom. It is one of only a couple weeping cherries that we have left at the gardens as the rest have succumbed to various disease issues and perhaps had some winter hardiness issues as well. To the right are the closed (but starting to open...) blooms of the same species tulip I showed in yesterday's blog (
Tulipa tarda). Tulips do open during the day and close at night but as the blooms wane, they stop closing and drop petals. Many tulips have different coloration on the back side of the petals which is frequently quite nice as well. Flowers certainly catch the eye this time of year but so does vivid foliage. Below, is the bright yellow, new growth of the golden comfrey (
Symphytum 'Belsay Gold'). Looks great doesn't it!? Well, this is the perfect case of Jekyll and Hyde as this plant will soon get very large as the leaves extend and it loses most of the yellow, becoming sickly chartreuse. Marginal pink blooms will later drop seed and babies will appear. I've left it in for the spring appearance and am less than appreciative of it later in the season. Isn't it the same deal with your children as they become teenagers!?
It was a busy day out in the gardens. Big John can be seen above spreading shredded bark which is a task he's been involved with for the past month or so. Marv and Terry did some edging, composting an
d are working on some small retaining walls. Janice bounced between projects and continues to take label inventories in the garden areas in which we are converting to our new labels. Larry worked on various projects and is trying to solve a problem with our pond aerators. We had a full crew o
f Grumpies although with my plant run, I'm not sure who worked on what projects. We had both Rons, Bob C., Pat, Dick H., Dick P., Vern, Bob, Dave, Urban, Jim, Bill, Dr. Gredler, Dr. Yahr, Maury, Tom and probably some that I missed! The guys put up tents, spread shredded bark, composted the reception garden, placed our 'Dancing Waters' fountain out in the pond (operational), etc... Gary was in to work on more labels too. We also saw Rose, Mary W., Sally, Lois and Bev, Mary Q. and Shirley went out weeding as well. To the left are the emerging shoots of a hosta ('Summer Joy' if you can't tell already!) and to the right, another fragrant garden hyacinth (
Hyacinthus orientalis) in the children's garden. Below is our boardwalk with a view of the pond and the 'Dancing Waters' fountain. These two Aldo Leopold benches were installed there today (Vern) and offer another great view! At the bottom is a shot of the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden looking very colorful already.
Today was beautiful with blue skies and plenty of sun. I caught a nice shot of the arched bridge above with weeping willows (Salix) in the background and the gazebo to the far right in the distance. The temperatu
res were a bit cool but I was thankful that Larry had brought all of our sensitive plants in on Saturday afternoon. We brought everything outside again this morning for natural light and a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, we'll have to haul it all in again and do this same "dance" tomorrow as 
well. I missed most of the action this morning as I headed off for one of our first plant runs of the year. The timing has little to do with weather and is more related to availability issues. I came back with 150 flats of petunias, some pansies, flowering tobacco and a bunch of parsley. We'll use the pansies to augment our containers with the ornamental mustard (Brassica juncea 'Brazen Brass') and will also squeeze more plants in that vertical planter for giggles. Nice shot to the left of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) in full bloom in the woodland walk garden. We have Virginia bluebells in many locations
and I've always enjoyed the clean foliage and blossoms. I wont ever get tired of that plant! To the right is Tom C. who has been very helpful with myriad electrical projects and today (among other tasks), installed a switch that will allow us to expedite some of our label engraving processes. I know Gary appreciates Tom's efforts as it certainly will save time in the long run. Tom has no shortage of projects at the visitors center, Horticulture Center and out in the gardens prop
er. So many of our volunteers, like Tom, have additional skills which are very much appreciated. To the left are the blooms of a Snow Fountains weeping cherry (Prunus hybrida 'Snofozam') just starting to bloom. It is one of only a couple weeping cherries that we have left at the gardens as the rest have succumbed to various disease issues and perhaps had some winter hardiness issues as well. To the right are the closed (but starting to open...) blooms of the same species tulip I showed in yesterday's blog (Tulipa tarda). Tulips do open during the day and close at night but as the blooms wane, they stop closing and drop petals. Many tulips have different coloration on the back side of the petals which is frequently quite nice as well. Flowers certainly catch the eye this time of year but so does vivid foliage. Below, is the bright yellow, new growth of the golden comfrey (Symphytum 'Belsay Gold'). Looks great doesn't it!? Well, this is the perfect case of Jekyll and Hyde as this plant will soon get very large as the leaves extend and it loses most of the yellow, becoming sickly chartreuse. Marginal pink blooms will later drop seed and babies will appear. I've left it in for the spring appearance and am less than appreciative of it later in the season. Isn't it the same deal with your children as they become teenagers!?
d are working on some small retaining walls. Janice bounced between projects and continues to take label inventories in the garden areas in which we are converting to our new labels. Larry worked on various projects and is trying to solve a problem with our pond aerators. We had a full crew o
f Grumpies although with my plant run, I'm not sure who worked on what projects. We had both Rons, Bob C., Pat, Dick H., Dick P., Vern, Bob, Dave, Urban, Jim, Bill, Dr. Gredler, Dr. Yahr, Maury, Tom and probably some that I missed! The guys put up tents, spread shredded bark, composted the reception garden, placed our 'Dancing Waters' fountain out in the pond (operational), etc... Gary was in to work on more labels too. We also saw Rose, Mary W., Sally, Lois and Bev, Mary Q. and Shirley went out weeding as well. To the left are the emerging shoots of a hosta ('Summer Joy' if you can't tell already!) and to the right, another fragrant garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) in the children's garden. Below is our boardwalk with a view of the pond and the 'Dancing Waters' fountain. These two Aldo Leopold benches were installed there today (Vern) and offer another great view! At the bottom is a shot of the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden looking very colorful already. 
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