The gardens really look quite beautiful right now. I counted four visitors today though which is no surprise considering the heat. For lack of a better word, it is brutal out t
here. The grounds staff has been starting early and leaving early but we still catch some rough temperatures. Watering is our primary duty as we keep up with 
areas that are becoming dry. We've moved on to more critical hand watering in areas that don't get irrigated very easily and are trying to buy some time until we get a decent, soaking rain. The front entrance garden is looking great as seen in the two pictures above and the picture to the right. Marianne has done a nice job keeping everything looking nice and tidy. The blue/yellow theme has really hit stride and should be at peak over the next couple of weeks. To the left is the "original" summer poinsettia or fountain plant (Amaranthus tricolor 'Joseph's Coat') which is one of my favorites (edible too but tastes like spinach...). Unfortunately it doesn't look this good much past August but sure is an eyecatcher at 36" out in the gardens.
We had a small but dedicated contingent of volunteers today. Mary Hunt (see to the right) came in to weed her area. We talked about some plant removals and improvement in this garden bed which she and her husband Dave have maintained for over 16 years. This is one of the few spaces I never have to worry about. Rollie came in to place more memorial bricks and Dr. Gredler was in to do some mowing. Dick H. spent a good portion of the day continuing his brake work on our old dump truck. He has kept that vehicle (and many others) humming along and it couldn't be in better hands (Dick taught auto repair in the Janesville school district). Bill O. came in to help Dick and finish mowing the arboretum which is our largest area of turf. Ellie was out weeding in the herb garden with two of her grandsons and we also saw Vern, Jean, Ray and others. Today's productive Garden Development & Maintenance Committee consisted of Kelli, Dr. Gredler, Iza, Hal, Gary, Dick P., Carrie, Joanne, Dr. Yahr and myself. Below is the interesting, though often overlooked, bloom of the eggplant (Solanum melongena). This is a compact variety called 'Ophelia' which is a shorter plant and has smaller fruits too. Look for it in our ornamental edible / compact vegetable collection.
Above is another neat gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) called 'Autumn Colors'. No two blooms are identical but they all have gradations of this rusty red color over gold and this stro
ng blooming variety will look good for many more months. Years ago we did a Rudbeckia display with 80 or so varieties and I would say that this variety was one of my top five favorites. To the right are the light pink, spherical umbels of the summer onion (Allium tanguticum 'Summer Beauty') which looks great for a long period of time in the full sun garden.We had a small grounds staff today but were able to keep up with wa
tering duties and other projects as well. Pat worked on pushmowing, watering and some weeding later on in the day. Pat spent plenty of time with a watering wand today and even spot watered brown areas of turf that were struggling with lack of water. Janice worked on some planting, plenty of watering and fertilized all the containers out in the gardens. Janice started picking the first of the squash and came up with a neat assortment. Larry came in very early to start irrigation and moved along quickly to pushmowing. He spent the remainder of the day pumping out and cleaning the sunken garden pool which is done about three times each summer bec
ause of accumulated debris (leaves, grass clipping, etc.) that affects water quality and the fountain. He found two plant signs that were tossed in there which is bothersome but not unusual. Karma will catch up... I had three meetings today although I spent some time scouting the gardens and pulling together plant groupings in our holding yard that will go to specific areas of need. We still have about 5,000 plants to install including perennials and some smaller woody specimens. To the above left are the picturesque blooms of the lemon bergamot (Monarda citriodora). The long-lasting flowers of this annual are edible and the leaves have various herbal uses. To the right are the pink, papery flower spires of the wheat celosia (Celosia spicata 'Flamingo Feather') which can be readily seen in the reception garden this year. This tall annual is great in a sunny border or either a fresh or dried arrangement. It does reseed a bit but it's not bothered me enough not to plant it evey year anyway. Further below is our copper cheese vat "planter" with a centerpiece of golden elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta 'Elena'), filler of Autumn fuchsia (Fuchsia hybrida 'Autumnale') with its golden foliage with copper/orange highlights and a trailer of golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'). This container is in part shade so we always go for bright color to illuminate this corner of the English cottage garden. The cheese vat was originally from Monroe, WI and donated by a former RBG volunteer coordinator; Vicki D. At the bottom is the continued clean foliage of 'Jack Frost' false forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) in the woodland walk garden. 
tering duties and other projects as well. Pat worked on pushmowing, watering and some weeding later on in the day. Pat spent plenty of time with a watering wand today and even spot watered brown areas of turf that were struggling with lack of water. Janice worked on some planting, plenty of watering and fertilized all the containers out in the gardens. Janice started picking the first of the squash and came up with a neat assortment. Larry came in very early to start irrigation and moved along quickly to pushmowing. He spent the remainder of the day pumping out and cleaning the sunken garden pool which is done about three times each summer bec
ause of accumulated debris (leaves, grass clipping, etc.) that affects water quality and the fountain. He found two plant signs that were tossed in there which is bothersome but not unusual. Karma will catch up... I had three meetings today although I spent some time scouting the gardens and pulling together plant groupings in our holding yard that will go to specific areas of need. We still have about 5,000 plants to install including perennials and some smaller woody specimens. To the above left are the picturesque blooms of the lemon bergamot (Monarda citriodora). The long-lasting flowers of this annual are edible and the leaves have various herbal uses. To the right are the pink, papery flower spires of the wheat celosia (Celosia spicata 'Flamingo Feather') which can be readily seen in the reception garden this year. This tall annual is great in a sunny border or either a fresh or dried arrangement. It does reseed a bit but it's not bothered me enough not to plant it evey year anyway. Further below is our copper cheese vat "planter" with a centerpiece of golden elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta 'Elena'), filler of Autumn fuchsia (Fuchsia hybrida 'Autumnale') with its golden foliage with copper/orange highlights and a trailer of golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'). This container is in part shade so we always go for bright color to illuminate this corner of the English cottage garden. The cheese vat was originally from Monroe, WI and donated by a former RBG volunteer coordinator; Vicki D. At the bottom is the continued clean foliage of 'Jack Frost' false forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) in the woodland walk garden. 
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