Rainy Week Ahead

The weather forecast for this week doesn't look real good. Damp and cool is on the way although not entirely a surprise. Above is a shot of the Japanese garden last Friday. The fall color was very vivid down in that garden too. Our Saturday workday was very productive. We had about 12 volunteers show up to help with bulb planting. Our goal was to plant 7,000 tulips that morning and I didn't think we'd make it until two vans pulled in from Rock County Corrections. Out of the vans poured 19 "Workenders" or "Weekenders" that are individuals that have been convicted of minor felonies and are doing community service in lieu of jail time and/or fines. I wasn't prepared for them as they hadn't called to let us know of their involvement (strongly recommended). We organized quickly and this group planted 4,000 tulips in two hours (the other group planted the rest) and continued with leaf clean-up and garbage/litter collection. Overall, a bit stressful at the start but the final results of the workday were wonderful and all of the help was much appreciated. Nice fall color of linden (Tilia sp.) below. Lots of leaves will come down this week unfortunately. More gardening to come this week and serious progress on putting up our holiday lights show.
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Friday Before The Storm (Rain)

We've had the threat of rain all day although it hasn't materialized yet. I hope it passes by as we have the second night of the Halloween Walk tonite and are hoping for a large crowd. Last night was successful but being a school night, attendance wasn't as sizeable as it will be tonite and Saturday night. The image below and to the left is of one of the custom Jack O' Lanterns and part of one of the skits. Above is the fall color of the Amur maple (Acer ginnala) in our Japanese garden. This is a nice maple for fall color although in recent years, we've seen more reseeding of this species than in past years. In warmer climates, it can become quite a problem. This is a reliable maple species for superior fall color.

Fridays are always so productive. Janice and Kay continued to tackle the significant removal and cut-down of annuals and perennails (respectively) in the sunken garden. Marianne did a nice job finishing up the annual removal and tidying in front of the visitor's center. She also planted some of our last perennials for the year down in the Japanese garden. Marv bounced around between putting up holiday lights, digging grasses, rototilling and running for fuel. Dr. Gredler kept busy with mowing and turf care. Rick and Tony rototilled and continue to excavate areas that need fresh material, again as a result of earlier flooding. Everyone kept hustling and much was accomplished. The brilliant fall color seen to the right is on an ornamental pear. This is the Korean Sun pear (Pyrus fauriei 'Westwood') that has beautiful white, spring blooms, followed by nice glossy green foliage and the fall color that you see here. This is a great selection for a smaller tree in the 25-30' range. Note the nice fall color of the sassafras (Sassafras albidum) below which is a native tree to the Eastern United States. This tree will typically have lots of bright orange colors as well. This species is unique in that it may have up to three different leaf patterns; an oval, bilobed (mitten-shaped) and trilobed (see below). The crushed leaf stems smell like Fruit Loops too!

Frigid Warming to Cool

This morning was quite chilly at 39 degrees F. I'm between jacket thicknesses depending on the morning and went with one a little too thin. We had light frost on the metal roof of our Horticulture Center. The day was sunny and became pleasant although cool. Above is the fall color of white oak (Quercus alba) which can also be quite variable but is dyanamite this year. It was crazy today. The Grumpies helped set up for our Halloween Walk which starts tonight. Set up included putting up tents, running out tables and chairs, placing Jack O' lanterns along the paths, etc. It takes a good day to set everything up and we hope for good crowds. The event involves groups being led thru the gardens to hear various stories. The intent isn't to be scary but a little spooky (and entertaining). Spotlight on Kids, a local non-profit acting troupe for kids, plans, arranges and performs all of the skits.

We had our irrigation lines "blown out" today with a large compressor. We have an irrigation service that helps us out and does both a spring and fall check. This is essential so our irrigation lines and sprinkler heads don't freeze and crack due to surplus water left prior to hard freezing. Our system will be turned back on in April. Larry helped with the process and is certainly the most knowledgeable about our extensive system of 40+ zones on four computerized timers. Jerry cleaned up debris, pruned and mowed the arboretum. Janice helped clear debris from the sunken garden and worked with a high school group that comes in every week to help out. They counted and sorted our tulip bulbs out for fall planting during our Saturday work day this weekend. The tree to the upper left with the golden fall color is the only striped bark maple (Acer pennsylvanicum) native to the United States (Eastern U.S.). The rest are native to various parts of Asia. The bark is green with vertical white striations. The leaves are also quit interesting. The image to the right is from another striped bark maple hybrid called 'White Tigress'. I'll show some neat bark pictures of these in the future. Bark can be quite an ornamental feature in and of itself. Nice shot of some sumac (Rhus sp.) below taken at the UW-Arboretum this past weekend.

Cool and Damp Day

This shot was taken in our Japanese garden yesterday. Note the wonderful light coming thru the redbud (Cercis canadensis) leaves at peak fall color. The gravel looks great in the distance as part of our new and improved "dry sea". It's amazing what the conversion of 100,000 lbs. of gravel will accomplish! Today was overcast from start to finish with a steady drizzle from 9 am thru the entire day. Marv brought in obelisks, yanked plants and picked up pumpkins for our upcoming Halloween Walk. Jerry hauled piles of debris and continues to tidy up the Japanese garden, fern & moss garden and hosta hollow. Marianne pulled lots of plants and tidied up as well as possible considering the rain. Kay joined her this morning and they really took a dent out of the remainder of our seasonal plantings. Rick and Tony bounced between projects and everyone kept busy inside when the rain was the most "vigorous". I've been busy preparing for 6 presentations I have in the next month or so.
The fall color to the right is from a small sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboreum) that was one of the first trees I planted here 10 years ago. It is marginally hardy for us and we do hope it continue to grow well (hopefully 15-20' tall). Native to the lower Appalachian mountains, branches from this tree were used by Native Americans for arrow shafts. The fall color is spectacular and quite noticeable from a distance. The serviceberries (Amelanchier sp.) are also coloring up nicely with combinations of red, orange and yellow (see to the left).

This time of year is when plant features of fall color, ornamental fruit and ornamental stems/bark come to the forefront. The close-up image at the bottom is the bark of the China Snow Peking lilac (Syringa pekinensis 'Morton'). This tree lilac gets large white blooms about 3 weeks after the French lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) have finished blooming. Reaching heights around 30-35' feet, this small, ornamental tree has stellar ornamental bark and stems and becomes quite interesting in the winter.

The Importance of Our Volunteers

The fall color is just starting to show on the 'Beaver Creek' dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii 'KLMtwo') in our woodland walk garden. These shrubs have fragrant, white, "bottlebrush-like" blooms in early May before they leaf out and are tolerant of partial shade. This is a nice durable shrub and few other shrubs can rival the fall color!

We had our volunteer potluck tonite at the gardens. In spring we have a more formal, sit-down event for volunteer recognition but the October event is more casual. We had about 100 people or so at the event and a great spread of food. I do a little presentation that includes images of volunteers and the gardens this year. I always feel remiss in not mentioning certain volunteers although it would be impossible to name them all. Volunteers have always been a huge factor in how well the gardens have developed. Volunteers not only help with gardening, they work in the gift shop, help with tours, facilitate educational programs, etc., etc. We have over 400 active volunteers and can't thank them enough.

Nice perennial, ornamental grass below. This is the Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) and this time of year becomes very conspicuous with its "oat-like" seed heads that will eventually rattle in the breeze. Tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, this grass will reach 36" or so in height and will tolerate part shade. We've seen some minor reseeding issues so be aware of that potential. The seed heads are great in fresh or dried arrangements as well. Look at the great fall color of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) at the bottom.

Mild Monday

Nice combination of colors on this 'Autumn Fantasy' maple (Acer x freemanii). This shot was also taken at the Longenecker Gardens at the UW-Arboretum. Awesome fall colors. I think this is the best year I've seen for color. I judge this not based on the usual "greats" like sugar maple (Acer saccharum), 'Autumn Purple' ash (Fraxinus americana), etc. but on those trees that normally have muted yellows or average color. This year, the green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), honeylocust (Gleditisia triacanthos var. inermis) and black walnut (Juglans nigra) which typically have ok fall color (yellow) are blazing yellow and look the best I've seen. If we can select woody plants for their 2-3 week window of bloom, why not for their fall color as well? What a nice asset. Nice close-up of the recurved needles of the white fir (Abies concolor 'Glauca') below. This fir has a lot of potential in the landscape and should replace the Colorado blue spruce in time I hope.
"Mild Monday" refers to the temperature, not the amount of work accomplished. Marv was all over, tearing out plants, composting and rototilling. Marianne began the arduous process of removing annuals in front of the visitors center and tidying up as she went along. Janice was pulling annuals and cutting back hostas while Jerry continues to clean up the Japanese Garden and is helping put our water features "to bed." Larry helped me with some event preparation (Halloween Walk) and keeps busy with equipment repair and gardening (as time allows!). Tony and Rick finished resurfacing a path, did some pressure washing and are now edging our north path to keep the gravel contained and to make it a lot safer to traverse that route. The Grumpies helped pull annuals, worked on the shed, painted and went pumpkin picking for our Halloween Walk.
While I wasn't distracted by fall color yesterday, I did notice lots of ornamental bark, stems and of course, ornamental fruit. This hybrid, deciduous holly (Ilex verticillata x serrata 'Autumn Glow') was awash with bright red fruits. This is the female and does require a male pollinator. The winterberry hollies are hardy here but like damp, well-drained soil on the acidic side. We don't have many nice specimens at Rotary Gardens but the image below was on an 8' tall specimen that really becomes a focal point and "eye catcher" this time of year.

A Nice Day To Avoid Gardening

Today was a nice touch of summer with highs in the mid 80s. Instead of gardening at home (I still have spring-purchased perennials to plant yet...), we took our annual autumn trip up to the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. This wonderful oasis of ecological restoration and plant collections encompasses 1260 acres. The image above was taken in the Longenecker Gardens, a portion of the Arboretum. This stellar woody plant collection has over 2,000 specimens and was started in 1934. It is an internationally recognized woody plant collection with many interesting woodies, including a huge collection of crabapples, lilacs and viburnums. Dr. Edward Hasselkus, Horticulture Professor Emeritus, has managed and improved Longenecker for many years and his past and present influence can be seen in every direction. The fall color was stellar and I couldn't stop taking pictures! I was mesmerized (annually) by the intense fall color of the black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica). See images below. Also known as blackgum, pepperidge, sourgum and beetlebug, this woody plant is native in portions of the Eastern United States from Florida and Texas up to portions of Canada. It prefers damper situations but is quite tolerant of a wide range of conditions (although alkaline soil should be avoided). The foliage is large, glossy, free of insect and disease issues and turns a spectacular range of bright fall colors. The Longenecker has a dozen or more specimens, including a 40' tall specimen. We have one at Rotary Gardens but it hasn't colored up yet.


Aside from impressive woodlands, the remainder of the Arboretum includes wetlands and prairies. The 60 acre Curtis Prairie (see below) is the world's oldest prairie restoration. This prairie is simply engaging this time of year and we found time to walk thru this as well. This section has lots of sumac (Rhus typhina) that is coloring up in this wet prairie.