Waterfall Progress

The top picture was taken this morning of the waterfall progress in the Japanese garden. The Nature's Touch guys have done a very nice job laying this first layer and a small pool directly behind that layer. There will be one more waterfall higher than what is pictured here that will spill down to the layer shown. The final result should be top notch and really provide some visual and auditory interest. Directly above is Chris Ranum (right) of L.P. Tree Service (Janesville) and Butch Whitney (left) of Whitney Tree Service (Monroe, WI). The guys, both Certified Arborists, did a great job presenting the topic of Pruning as part of our lecture series last night with lots of visual, personal experiences and recommendations. They talked about what to do but more importantly, what not to do. It was evident to the crowd (45 attendees) that both guys are also tree huggers and are in the tree care business (not just the tree removal business). The next topic in our lecture series is Rain Gardens on August 17th (6 pm - 8 pm) by Chrissy Regester (Walworth County Horticulture Extension Agent). However, our next lecture is on Thursday, August 4th with the topic of Horseradish being presented by the Janesville Area Herb Society (7 pm - 8 pm) at RBG. The yellow blooming plant to the above right is getting lots of attention at the gardens. Called the "popcorn plant" (Cassia didymobotrya), the flowers of this tropical plant have the smell of burnt popcorn. In this picture, this plant is in the entrance garden as part of our yellow and blue theme but we also have many of them in the Smelly Garden. To the left is the earliest blooming panicled hydrangea called Quick Fire (Hydrangea paniculata 'Bulk') which will have interest for the next six months easily as those white blooms fade thru gradations of pink and light brown late in the season. To the right is one of our trial plants. This is a dwarf hollyhock (Alcea rosea 'Spring Celebrity Lemon') which doesn't get much over 24" tall and had wonderful double flowers. There is no shortage of beautiful flowers to photograph out in the gardens this summer. Below is a gorgeous mallow (Lavatera trimestris) variety called 'Pink Blush' which I'm glad I caught before our woodchucks found it! Many of the mallows never flower as they are quite tasty for a wide range of voracious critters. The bloom below is about 3" in diameter. Talk about lying down on the job! Above is Dick H. working on the brakes of our dump truck. He finalized his repairs today and everything is good to go. His skills probably saved us over $300+ in repairs and we appreciate his time and turn a blind eye to his occasional napping. His expression really shows how much he likes being photographed. We had a great volunteer turnout despite the heat today. We had a decent showing of Grumpies. Pat and Ron B. worked on spreading shredded bark in the gazebo garden while Ron W. organized plants and helped Janice do some planting. Dennis worked on tidying up and regraveling the paths in the Japanese garden and all the carpenters (Dave, Jim, Vern and Bob A.) worked on their bridge project near the new waterfall. Maury was here running errands and Dr. Gredler was out mowing. Del was in to do some watering. Other volunteers included Karen in the Japanese garden, Sue in the shade garden and our afternoon weeding quartet of Nancy, Myrt, Gena and Mary. They weeded all the east end berms and did a great job. We also saw Bill, Janet, Barb, Cora, Joanne, Bev, Stan and many others. To the right is a nice shot I took this morning in our All-America Selections / Fleuroselect area. To the left is another one of the seven American Garden Award entries. This is the variegated hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) called 'Uchu' that has not only neat foliage but fruits that will ripen from white (as seen) to yellow, orange and red later in the summer

It was a small grounds staff today with Larry being the whirlwind of watering (irrigation, sprinklers, hand watering, etc.). He also mowed and did some other smaller projects. Janice was in to plant (with Ron), tidy up the compact vegetable area, water, etc. We had some excitement after Janice received a bee sting and had a bad reaction. We had an ambulance and SIX paramedics here instantaeously as they were just down the road doing water rescue training. Glad she's ok although she didn't make up the lost time from her incident... I prepared materials for the Home Garden Tour this Saturday, July 23rd (not too late to get tickets!, check out our website!). I also sprayed herbicide in some of our nightmare areas. It clouded up and sprinkled for 60 seconds but it looks like we might have a chance of rain over the coming days. To the right is another American Garden Award entry. This is the colorful 'Dahlinova Hypnotica Lavender' dahlia (Dahlia sp.) and I'm impressed with the health and vigor of this variety thus far. Below are two more neat flower close-ups. The first is a colorful verbena (Verbena hybrida 'Fuego Denim Blue') which has such a nice shade of lavender blue and a long bloom period. This variety is in our trialing area. The bottommost picture is yet another gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta), albeit a double variety called 'Cherokee Sunset'.