Finally, Some Blue Sky!

It's nice to have a sunny day and not have to worry about watering! The ground is nice and damp and should be good for awhile now. Of course the dampness has also encouraged plenty of mushrooms in beds and turf but they have a beauty all their own (see to the right, unknown mushroom). The top picture is our copper cheese vat planting in the English cottage garden and all the rain has really helped those three golden elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta 'Elena') in the center get some size. Directly above are some of the annuals in the sunken garden and that very dark grass in the center is eyecatching. Called elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum), that variety is 'Vertigo' which I think is the darkest of the elephant grasses and stays under 4' tall. Some of the other varieties like 'Prince' and 'Princess', though also neat and showy, get a lot taller. Speaking of dark plants, to the left is the Lancelot Velvet Mocha coleus (Solenstemon scutellarioides) which has a very unique chocolate maroon finish.

We had a nice volunteer turnout today. Dr. Gredler was in to do his usual Friday mowing (as was Bill). This is one of the lighter weekends for outdoor weddings with only one in the sunken garden tomorrow. We tidy up the entire gardens though as we know, weekends are prime time for visitation regardless of weddings or other events. Kay came in to do some weeding in the front sign berm and in the peony collection along Palmer Drive. We both agreed that the recent soaking has made it easier to pull weeds but will undoubtably also encourage the next batch to germinate! We appreciate Kay's help and will see her next week for more weeding and planting. Margo came in to accomplish some weeding near the North Point garden and down in to the Smelly Garden. I saw some monster weeds out there this morning and promised that she would have a rewarding weeding endeavor. Hal and Doris were in to weed and tidy up their area (corner sculpture area) and we also saw Dr. Yahr, Maury and others. We had a wrap up meeting for the Home Garden Tour (attended by Amanda, Janet, Jean, Cora, Barb, Bill and me) and are already talking about 2012 plans. The squash collection is growing by leaps and bounds with this recent rain. To the right is a specimen doing quite well on the pillar and below is a blossom of the 'Cushaw White' variety. These blooms were easily 8" wide!

Directly above is a bloom of the 'Prairie Sun' gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) that is known for the green center and interesting petals that are lemon yellow at the tips and butter gold on the interior. This is a good plant with plenty of flower power and tops out at about 3' tall. The annuals out in the gardens continue to look really good and the marigold (Tagetes) collection is looking outstanding. I can't believe that some of the varieties are over 4' tall right now! To the right is 'Soldier' beet (Beta vulgaris) with lemon bergamot (Monarda citriodora) in the back. This foliage/flower combo works well and is repeated throughout the reception garden.

Terry pushmowed, weeded the North Point garden, checked some containers for watering, cleared up some edging, tidied up, etc. He had a long check list and went right down the list. Big John also did weeding, watering and prepared a portion of the North Point garden for our future chairs that will be installed out there next week. Janice did the cutting display, pushmowed and worked quite a bit on weeding as well. Next week Terry and Pat are on vacation so we'll have a real "skeleton crew." This would be of more concern if we hadn't had all the rain as we'd be spread thin with just watering. Now we can focus on more weeding and try to keep up with the next wave of infiltrators. To the left is a nice clumping of the summer poinsettia or fountain plant (Amaranthus tricolor 'Early Splendor') that has such foliage impact. The foliage is edible on this plant (and all the other associated varieties with different foliage). I've mentioned it before that this plant peaks right now and goes downhill quickly in late August, never looking this nice until frost. What a great example of the impact that foliage can have though! To the right is another neat foliage plant called silver spurflower (Plectranthus argentatus). This annual will get almost three feet tall and wide and has nice, clean silver foliage that works well in containers, borders and in any combination. I've planted this plant every year I've gardened and appreciate what it has to offer.

As I was pulling some weeds in the Smelly Garden this morning, I noted more fragrant blooms looking (and smelling) nice. Directly below is the common madia (Madia elegans) which is native to California and some other far West states. This annual has pineapple-scented blooms (1.5" wide) and leaves. Look closely at the flower petals as they separate in to more segments at the tips. Very interesting. The bottom picture is the chocolate flower (Berlandiera lyrata) (native to TX) which really does smell like chocolate (if you get real close). This plant is supposedly perennial for us but has never overwintered. We do plant it as a fragrant annual though. Look at the "petal detal" on this one too! A little 'V' on the ends. It's all in the details.