A Chilly Respite

It was quite frigid this morning and while my vehicle indicated an outside temperature of 38 degrees F, the first swipe of my wipers caught some frost/ice. I didn't see any damage out in the gardens today but am really worried for commercial apple growers if we get a hard frost in the coming weeks. I'm glad I dressed in layers today and while my walk thru the gardens this morning was chilly, there was no shortage of plants in bloom. The top photo shows a view of the obervation pier, arched bridge, etc. thru a weeping cherry (Prunus sp.) and note the redbud (Cercis canadensis) to the right. Further above are the soothing blooms of the Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica) and directly above is one of my favorite perennials. I love the look of this golden bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Goldheart') and we have this variety in about 40 locations around the gardens. To the right is the start of the showy 'Grefsheim' spirea (Spiraea x cinerea) that is always striking in spring. To the left are the bright blooms of the Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica) which while having a thicket-like form, never has a shortage of blooms and has interesting green stems in the winter. We have six or seven varieties of kerria around the gardens (including those with double blooms) and they are hitting stride nicely for spring flower color.

Today was probably our busiest volunteer day yet this year despite the threat of rain (that didn't materialize). Ron W., Ron Y., Dick K. and Larry H. headed out for some composting duties along a new border we developed last fall between the North Point garden and alpine garden. Del continued with path clean-up efforts and Dr. Gredler was in to mow and accomplish various other tasks. Maury ran some errands for me and we also saw Urban, Gary, J.D., Jean S., Lois, Big John and many others. Marv and Terry spent some time setting up the first of our ten horizontal, PVC pipe planters. See below for some of that action. The soil is placed in the tube first and these then become deceptively heavy. The guys also have prepared our custom soil mix for these containers and others around the gardens (once they're placed in the coming weeks). Marianne inventoried some more plant labeling needs and Kay came in to continue processing plant sale labels (created by Cindi on Saturday). Dave T., Bob A. and Jim worked on assembling more supports for the upright planters (as seen below). Incidentally, these supports will also support runner beans. Rose continued painting some shelves and other structures for the upstairs office in the Rath Center. Pat M. composted and spread mulch while Larry worked on a wide range of projects. The oak leaf projects continue to trickle in and we'll see plenty more this week. To the above right is a cool one done by Jackie R. The little red specks are lady bugs (3D) engaged in all sorts of outdoor activities and note the spider's web in the lower right corner!My eye keeps noting the new cedar shake roofs of the gazebo (above) and obervation deck structure (top photo). My walk around also confirmed my worst fears in that we have a bumper crop of weeds with this "first wave" that we normally wouldn't see until mid-April. Oh well, we'll try to get an early crack at these weeds before we get another warm spell. Tomorrow night is the last of our three Volunteer Soup Dinners (5 pm) and it's not too late to RSVP if you are interested. I finally finished my historical RBG presentation and will be hard-pressed to finish in 1 hour! I found some very interesting images but of course, couldn't include everything. This digital record of the gardens will have increasing value in the future and is a nice visual record of our developmental history. I hope to repeat this presentation in the near future and perhaps invite the general public that I think would find it quite interesting. Thanks to Bill O. and Doug V. for scanning thousands of slides and images for this project and to Marianne for helping me sift, sort, organize and purge as needed! To the above right is the gorgeous bloom of the 'Ricki' magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) near the sunken garden. I have this same variety at home and always look forward to "the show". To the left are the blooms of the double flowering plum (Prunus triloba var. multiplex) near the entrance garden which are always quite fetching when this large shrub peaks. After this finishes blooming, Terry will shear it back in to a perfect, 8' x8' "meatball" which keeps it contained and offers a rounded form. Though only a "one season" plant for interest, it sure steals the show. To the lower right is the 'Mt. Hood' grape hyacinth (Muscari aucheri) that I always enjoy for that little "snow-capped" white portion at the top of the flower. Our grape hyacinths (Muscari sp.) have all been five weeks early as well. Directly below are the pastel blooms of the contorted quince (Chaenomeles speciosa 'Contorta') which also has an interesting branching pattern. We have some other quince varieties and you'll know quince around your neighborhoods if you see a good-sized, oblong shrub with brilliant orange or pink blossoms as the forsythias fade. Further below is the brilliant red foliage of the 'Cherry Cola' coral bells (Heuchera) that holds that reddish tint quite nicely and I think is quite aptly named. At the bottom is one of my favorite leaf patterns and one I can't stop photographing. This is a young leaf of the 'Jack Frost' false forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) but it carries this silvering throughout the year and we're just starting to see the start of the sky blue, "forget-me-not-like" blooms of this variety and many others.