Squash Pickin'

Another perfect weather day with blue skies and 80 degrees F. We're still irrigating and watering but have taken it "down a notch" as the evenings are cooler and the beds are still retaining sufficient moisture from the rain this past weekend. The picture at the top is an assortment of squash (Cucurbita sp.) from our collection at the Horticulture Center. Janice picked and labeled these today so they're ready to be used for the Garden Festival tomorrow (11 am - 4 pm near the East end of the gardens). I was amazed by all the colors and shapes of these squash and while some (still on the vine) will continue to get better coloration, this assortment is quite impressive. Some of these will ultimately be quite large. I'm trying to get Janice to make squash soup from each variety so we can taste the differences too! To the upper left is 'Red Kuri' and 'Blue Ballet' to the lower left. To the right are the seed heads of the variegated Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium 'River Mist'). This perennial grass is known for the seedheads (normally emerging green and aging to brown) but I never suspected that this new variety would have seedheads that also have the cream and green represented on the foliage. That looks neat although I suspect they'll age to a brown eventually. The seedheads are nice in dried arrangements and "rattle" lightly with a breeze once mature.

Today was another day with plenty of activity for both staff and volunteers. Marianne weeded and tidied up the entrance garden and another portion of the formal gardens. She also did her cutting display, watered and had some other odds and ends to accomplish. Big John was in this morning to pushmow, run irrigation, water and fertilize out in the gardens. We're winding down with fertilizing and have essentially finished fertilizing our annuals and containers as of today. I'll see John tonight as the RBG team (John, Ron, Mark, Tony and I) will be participating in the Walk-A-Mile In Her Shoes event for the YWCA. This event is meant to raise awareness and funds for the YWCA's efforts to help women and children affected by domestic violence and sexual assault. Our RBG team is proud to be involved. Janice pushmowed, worked with squash and tidied up the Ornamental Edible & Compact Vegetable area which is also maintained diligently by volunteer Tom K. Marv ran irrigation and set-up sprinklers in the driest areas to get them thru the weekend. He also did a nice job cleaning up our inner yard prior to the plant sale and smoothed the gravel out nicely after relocating non-essential materials. I sprayed some herbicide and spent the morning putting together information for our six newest garden area signs (photos and text) that will be designed by our consultant, Sarah. The picture to the above right is in the North American garden and these are a smattering of both All-America Selections (AAS) winners and Fleuroselect (Europe) winners. Ironically, not 12' from this spot, I noticed a lady way up in this bed today yanking seedheads off of plants and putting them in sandwich bags while her elderly mother and another lady watched. I explained that they couldn't collect seeds or any plant material at the gardens and ended up in a semi-heated argument with the grandma regarding that policy. Her point was that the plants are going to seed and why would we waste the seed and not let visitors collect it? I responded that we have 100,000 visitors and wouldn't it be silly to allow everyone to collect seeds, etc. at their leisure with the assumption that they wouldn't damage planting beds, the plants themselves and that they understand the timing of seed collection. I was stupified by these actions to be honest and it's not the first time I've seen it here either. We used to allow leaf collecting here until the kids (mostly their parents) would come in and strip leaves off trees, break branchlets off of evergreens, etc... What value is there to a leaf collection when you take them from trees with ID signs? Directly below are the "soon to open" buds of the yellow waxybells (Kirengeshoma palmata) which are also known for their huge, maple-like leaves that offer texture in the partly shaded garden.

Directly above are some of the 'Mini-Bell' bell peppers (Capsicum) continuing to ripen. What's neat is that these mature peppers are the size of a ping pong ball. This plant/variety has done very well for us in containers and is highly productive. However, using these for stuffed peppers might be a stretch! Part of the tasting tomorrow will include heirloom tomatoes, peppers, etc. and promises to be a fun day for the entire family. Although it wont be part of the tasting tomorrow, to the right is the perennial sea kale (Crambe maritima) in the Scottish garden and in our Ornamental Edible sections. The leaves are edible on this hardy perennial as are the stalks and flowers. To the left is the foliage of my favorite ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) tree. This is 'Saratoga' which is known for deeply incised, drooping leaf fans (6" long). These leaves are noticeably different from other ginkgo varieties although the fall color is the same clear yellow.

We had some great volunteer help today. Alfredo and Marissa came in to volunteer and I had them in the daylily (Hemerocallis) collection deadheading spent bloom stalks and weeding between the plants. We kept them on the move as various irrigation zones turned on in close proximity but they did a nice job and we hope to see them next week too. Dr. Gredler was in to do his mowing rounds prior to the weekend. Bill O. was also in to mow and finish the arboretum. We like to have everything mown on Friday to have a clean look for the potential (and hopeful) surge of weekend visitors. Saturday is a free visitation day at RBG. Kay did a nice job weeding thru the shade garden which needed to be touched up. She's also starting to collect the cottonwood (Populus deltoides) leaves that are drifting to the ground daily. It's a task we can't wait on as there are so many leaves that frequent collection is warranted. Jumbo Jim was here with two RECAPPERS to meet Fred G. and run out to pick-up items for the Garden Festival. All those guys will be around tomorrow to help set-up, facilitate and dismantle the event. The weather looks good! We also saw Mark S., Marv, Betty and some others over here. To the right are the variegated fruits on a variegated hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) called 'Sparkler'. I've featured this variety before for both fruit and foliage and I think it has the strongest variegation of the hot peppers with some leaves being almost white. I'll leave the pepper taste test to someone else though! Directly below is Hosta 'Cathedral Windows' with such a beautiful leaf pattern and coloration. At the bottom is a shot that Gary S. shared with me of the North Point garden from across the pond.