The Start Of Another Good Week

Nice shot above of one of our Japanese anemone varieties (Anemone x hybrida 'September Charm') starting to bloom in the shade garden. This is a close-up and each of the many flowers is about 1.5" wide or so and really attracts the bees. I really like Japanese anemones and they are certainly welcome in August and September at RBG. I was off yesterday as I was travelling back from my cousin's wedding in Kalamazoo, MI. I had my younger daughter with me and had to swing by work briefly to pick up some email addresses. I ran in to Marv, Terry and Marianne who looked like they had everything well in hand. Apparently there was a large group of Grumpies and it looked like they accomplished a lot on the list that I left for them. Marv, Terry and Marianne also tackled plenty of tasks and kept up with watering and other duties. To the right is the golden silver lace vine (Fallopia aubertii 'Lemon Lace') doing well climbing up this obelisk in just one season. This vine is also a big part of our yellow & blue theme and is a hardy woody vine that should come back in our climate. However, we frequently just use it as an annual for quick, golden growth and coverage. To the left is the almost black leaf of the ebony plant (Pseuderanthemum atropurpureum 'Black Varnish') looking good with a slight gloss and tropical look on leaves averaging 9" long. I will grow this one every year that I can find it. As with any very dark leaved plant, having a lighter colored plant (white, yellow, etc.) in close proximity works well for both neighbors. Also to the right is the new 'Cherry Cola' coral bells (Heuchera) that has neat reddish new growth that is quite conspicuous. After observing this specimen, I think the variety is aptly named..

We had a nice volunteer turnout today with Mary H. and her daughter coming in to touch up their garden space. Kay came in and did a nice job weeding her portion of the shade garden, helped Janice shear back marigolds (Tagetes) and did a nice job weeding some other areas including the Smelly Garden. Mary D. was in to help Kay in the Smelly Garden as well. Dr. Gredler came in to mow and spread grass seed while Bill O. came in to also mow the arboretum and some other areas. Little Jerry popped in to help out and we also saw Maury, Dr. Yahr, Deb, Bev and many others. We also had a Horticulture Therapy Committee meeting that included Janice, Darcie, Karen, Art and me. To the left is the tropical-looking, back-lit leaf of the yellow waxybells (Kirengeshoma palmata). This perennial will bloom moderately with dangling yellow bells in a couple weeks but I've always enjoyed the textural contribution of the leaves in the part shade garden. To the right, with red obelisk in the background, is the always beautiful Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus) which is one of the most asked about plants in the gardens. It's tough to describe that leaf coloration as it contains violet, silver, green, etc. Very nice.

Pat was back from his European river cruise vacation and jumped right in to push mowing, cutting back some perennials, watering containers and some other duties. It's nice to have him back and we resent him for missing the heat wave. Big John also push mowed and worked on fertilizing, watering and other projects. John was very helpful this afternoon with helping Pat finish watering (great teamwork!). Janice was in to finish shearing back our marigold collection (with Kay) and worked on tidying the Ornamental Edible / Compact Vegetable collection. She also did some watering and major fertilizing. We cut back the marigold collection severely and Janice fertilized it today in the hopes of a fresh resurgence of growth (and blooms) to replace the floppy, tired looking plants that were just recently butchered. I had many meetings today but was able to run irrigation and check on the progress of various projects out in the gardens. We also had the ribbon-cutting ceremony for our newly remodeled and re-vamped gift shop, followed by a Board meeting. To the left is the 'Pineapple Beauty' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) with lime gold leaves and variable maroon markings on the leaves. To the right is a close-up of the resurrection lily (Lycoris squamigera) which always is a delight to see out in the gardens. The 200+ of these around the gardens (all blooming or starting to bloom) were planted way before my time and will be here when I'm long gone too. These long-lived plants, also called magic lily, surprise lily and the always controversial "naked ladies", can bloom within five days of piercing the soil. The foliage already came up in spring with tulips, died back with the tulip foliage and what we enjoy this time of year is the flowers on "naked" stalks. See the nice clump directly below. Tomorrow night, Wednesday (August 17th), is the Rain Garden lecture by Chrissy Regester of Walworth County UW-Extension. Held at the Parker Education Center from 6 pm until 8 pm, this promises to be a fun and educational program (free for RBG Members and $5 for all others). Come check it out and consider the Smelly Garden event his Friday, August 19th from 8 pm until 10 pm (see website for details).