Today was another solid day of planting out in the gardens. The temperature was nice (78 degrees F) but it was quite windy. Everyone started the day with watering in anticipa
tion of plants drying out during the day. We actually ended the day with watering as well! Our priority project was the continued planting of the shoreline that began yesterday. Marianne, Terry, Big John, Marv and Margaret all spent mo
st of the morning in that area and we have just a little more to go tomorrow. See to the right for the area mentioned. This shot doesn't do it justice as the space is 12' wide and 180' long. Marv took a rototiller through that last vacant strip which really helped out and of course with hindsight being 20/20, we wished that had been the original approach on Tuesday! There are a lot of plants out there and Janice, Jenny and volunteers will finish it tomorrow morning (if it's not too rainy). The shot immediately above is the foliage of the variegated Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata 'Goshiki') that overlooks the zig-zag bridge. This tree is noticeable from a distance and the spring fol
iage is the most vivid. This elm family member is hardy to zone 5 and I hope this specimen is enjoyed for another 100 years in this location. To the left is the vivid, yellow foliage of the golden English oak (Quercus robur 'Concordia') in the Scottish garden although the foliage gets more "chartreusy" in the summer. To the right is the neat foliage of the 'June Fever' plantain lily (Hosta).We had a smaller crew out there today but everyone really moved along at a nice pace. Marv watered the two entrance berms and part of the terrace garden and did a nice job rototilling up the shoreline for subsequent planting. He also did nice job preparing the beds for the Smelly Garden which we hope to plant this weekend. Terry did plenty of handwatering (including some containers), shoreline planting and planted begonias around the gazebo with Marv at the end of the day. Big John fertilized our impatiens berm and hauled quite a bit of compost to the Smelly Garden (Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden) just in time for Marv to get it with the rototiller. John also helped plant the larch wall with Pat, Marianne with some minor help from me. I'm surprised I still know how to plant (which was also pointed out by most of the grounds staff too!). Pat helped water the yard early with Marianne and moved on to clearing more mustard from containers that will be replanted before the weekend. Marianne watered, revisited the shoreline planting project, composted, etc. It was a full day for everyone. I continued to lay out plants, sprayed some herbicide although it was a bit too windy and I focused on some areas out of the wind. I also took Pingting, another new intern from UW-Whitewater, on a quick tour of the gardens. She'll be helping with memberships and other fundraising initiatives and is a nice young lady. Directly below is the always engaging flower cluster from the yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium) that is quite uncommon (native to Northern China). We have it growing as a large shrub (10' or so) in the shade garden. Further below is the beautiful and nutritious purple pak choi (Brassica rapa chinensis 'Violetta') looking nice in a container that Janice planted about three weeks ago. 
We had a nice volunteer turnout again today with Margaret again helping along the shoreline. We'll probably use her talents again tomorrow to finally finish that planting. 
Mary and Roy came in to plant the East section of the shade garden which has been their "piece of real estate" for the past six or so years. They do a nice job and I usually lay out "three waves" of annuals to fill the gaps in this garden that already has a nice collection of perenn
ials and woody plants. They had no problem with the 300 or so plants I spaced out and are ready for more on Friday. Bev W. was in to plant in the sunken garden and spaced out and installed over 500 annuals and spent a good portion of the day planting. She may be ready for more tomorrow if the weather holds. I actually wouldn't mind a smidge of rain as we'll be running irrigation shortly if we don't see some raindrops. To the right is a leaf close-up for the Japanese hydrangea vine (Schizophragma hydrangeoides 'Moonlight') that we have in a dozen locations working it's way up some trees. The best specimens are in the woodland walk. N
ot an overly vigorous vine, we hope to see blooms from these specimens in the coming years but are currently quite content with the contribution from the silvery leaves. The flowers to the left are from another hybrid false indigo (Baptisia hybrida 'Purple Smoke') which are always enchanting. Urban and Rose were in to do some painting on the entrance garden railings and have some other projects (gates) in the works as well for repainting. Dr. Gredler was in to mow and address some turf repair and Little Jerry put in a full day of pruning in various locations. Kelley and Sue were in to weed their section of the shade garden and will plant later next week. We also saw Art, Maury, Dick P., Julie M., Ellie K. (out in the herb garden) and many others. To the right is another neat coral bells (Heuchera) called 'Dolce Black Currant' that was planted last year and has some sharp looking leaves.
We had a nice volunteer turnout again today with Margaret again helping along the shoreline. We'll probably use her talents again tomorrow to finally finish that planting. 
Mary and Roy came in to plant the East section of the shade garden which has been their "piece of real estate" for the past six or so years. They do a nice job and I usually lay out "three waves" of annuals to fill the gaps in this garden that already has a nice collection of perenn
ials and woody plants. They had no problem with the 300 or so plants I spaced out and are ready for more on Friday. Bev W. was in to plant in the sunken garden and spaced out and installed over 500 annuals and spent a good portion of the day planting. She may be ready for more tomorrow if the weather holds. I actually wouldn't mind a smidge of rain as we'll be running irrigation shortly if we don't see some raindrops. To the right is a leaf close-up for the Japanese hydrangea vine (Schizophragma hydrangeoides 'Moonlight') that we have in a dozen locations working it's way up some trees. The best specimens are in the woodland walk. N
ot an overly vigorous vine, we hope to see blooms from these specimens in the coming years but are currently quite content with the contribution from the silvery leaves. The flowers to the left are from another hybrid false indigo (Baptisia hybrida 'Purple Smoke') which are always enchanting. Urban and Rose were in to do some painting on the entrance garden railings and have some other projects (gates) in the works as well for repainting. Dr. Gredler was in to mow and address some turf repair and Little Jerry put in a full day of pruning in various locations. Kelley and Sue were in to weed their section of the shade garden and will plant later next week. We also saw Art, Maury, Dick P., Julie M., Ellie K. (out in the herb garden) and many others. To the right is another neat coral bells (Heuchera) called 'Dolce Black Currant' that was planted last year and has some sharp looking leaves.Today, as the first Wednesday of the month, was a "Free Admission Day" at the gardens. This day also is the "Story & Stroll" program which actually saw over 80 attendees which is a record! Kudos to the youth education volunteers, Kris and Sue M. for really promoting this opportunity. The gardens were jam packed and it was nice to see so many people out on a beautiful, albeit windy, day. Many retirement homes, assisted care facilities and other venues select these days to bring down clients and residents. One of my few pet peeves was tested today with unsupervised children running amok and really treating the gardens like a playground. I had to reprimand children running thru the alpine garden jumping from rocks to benches and essentially running thru the alpine plants throughout that garden. Of course mom was nearby but only seemed to mind that someone else had pointed out to her children how inappropriate that was to that setting. The other encounter was with young boys (again in full sight of their parents), climbing all over brick walls (new) and trying to climb our new fence. I was speechless when I saw this and when I politely discouraged the boys (whom I don't really blame), I again was given the look of contempt from the moms ("How dare you reprimand my child that is treating your garden like an amusement park..."). Below is a close-up of 'Mount Everest' ornamental onion (Allium) that is peaking right now. The ornamental onions (Allium) are still looking good although they'll peak quickly and we'll cut most of them down early next week. The bottom picture is of Little Jerry with his mobile pruning cart. Don't forget Joanne Ekena's talk on Genetically Modified Organisms tomorrow (Thursday) night at the Parker Education Center from 7 pm - 8 pm. 
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