The Trifecta: Planting, Weeding & Watering (And Some VIPs)

Today was another beautiful, sunny day with plenty of activity around the gardens. I was amazed by the number of visitors around the gardens which included a couple of bus tours. We had some VIP visitors today as well (see directly above). These four ladies were from All-America Selections (www.all-americaselections.org) and included Macie on the left, Diane (Executive Director) on the far right and I apologize for not remembering the names of the other two ladies. Regardless, we had a delightful tour around the gardens this morning which of course featured our All-America Selections plantings and our American Garden Award program (www.americangardenaward.com) which features plantings that can be voted upon by visitors. The top picture is one of the 2011 AAS winners. That is a neat blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora) called 'Arizona Apricot'. Kelli was able to meet the ladies too and after their lunch at the gardens, they headed off to visit Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corners, WI. The ladies seemed to enjoy the gardens and we look forward to a future visit from AAS. To the right is the yellow shrimp plant (Pachystachys lutea) which should offer some interesting "flower architecture" to our front garden. This was planted today, along with many other annuals, by Marv and Terry in the entrance garden. See Marv to the left and Terry to the right. We still have a couple weeks of planting to fill our gaps and get our perennials in the ground.

Marv and Terry planted, prepared areas for planting and did a great job running irrigation and moving sprinklers around the gardens. It truly is an art form to consider the best way of watering and keeping track of everything moving along. Terry also did some fertilizing. Big John also ran irrigation, weeded, planted and did some hand watering (including containers). Jenny weeded and continued with some of her label creation. Pat did plenty of hand watering, fertilized, spread mulch, planted and worked on some significant weeding in the reception garden. Marianne continued to clear weeds and bulb foliage debris but also watered and weeded multiple areas. She also did a nice job tidying up the patio area in the English cottage garden. I placed plants, gave my tour, sprayed herbicide and continue to try and stay a half step ahead of everything. Below is the wide flower cluster of the American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) that is right along the waterfront. This is a neat shrub that will have berry clusters in a couple of weeks.. The "dotted line" in the image above is a single file row of Canadian geese (23) heading thru the pond near the alpine garden. You could still see who were the fledglings but overall, this was an orderly bunch. The 'Dancing Waters' fountain to the right is a nice feature but is again the target of unsupervised swimmers heading towards it. John and I have been getting the police involved as we don't have the time to cajole them out of the 'NO SWIMMING' (posted!) zone. With the incoming heat, the beach will be packed and all we ask is that our neighbors (the general beach visitor) will respect our shoreline and other garden elements. It has been challenging every summer with various situations that necessitate our immediate involvement. To the left is the maroon foliage of the 'Soldier' beet (Beta vulgaris). To the right is one of our containers in the fern & moss garden. The centerpiece is a golden elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta 'Elena') with surrounding begonias (Begonia boliviensis 'Bonfire').

We had Kay here today weeding (nice job) and Shirley helped plant and weed all morning. We also saw Maury, Dr. Gredler (mowing), Little Jerry, Pingting, Ariel and many others. I'm trying to solicit more help for our weeding duties which become quite extensive in summer. We are not shy about twisting arms with the promise of plant freebies! Below is a neat tickseed (Coreopsis 'Creme' Brulee') which is one of the heaviest blooming coreopsis on the market. I like that shade of yellow too! At the bottom are Victoria and Jordan who selected and planted another raised bed yesterday with Janice's assistance.