Chilly

Today was quite chilly and the wind had a bite to it. If the grounds staff that was here today reads my comment, they'll say, "Oh, were you chilly for the 10 minutes that you were outside today?" My comment would be yes. Marv, Marianne, Terry and Big John are made of tougher stuff and were outside most of the day continuing to progress with our fall chores. To the left is some nice color on that Tiger Eyes golden sumac (Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger'). This golden-leaved variety (in spring and summer), while not getting the brilliant red fall color of the standard, green-leaves species, still gets some nice, vivid oranges. We must have 30 or so of this large shrub around the gardens and despite it's spreading nature (by runners), this is one of my favorite shrubs. To the right is the increasingly maroon foliage color of the 'Cheyenne Sky' switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). This variety tops out at only 36" tall and while it does have hints of this maroon thru the summer, the later season brings on a deeper and more widespread maroon coloration. Some other nice, smaller varieties of switchgrass with similar maroon coloration include 'Rotstrahlbusch', 'Shenandoah', 'Haense Herms', 'Prairie Fire' and my favorite, Ruby Ribbons ('RR1'). There are some very large switchgrasses (Panicum virgatum) that have merit too but these "medium-height" varieties have more applications and potential in my mind because of both size and the maroon tinting. There are still some blooms out there in the gardens although the frost tomorrow night will have an effect. To the left is one of the "bottlebrush-like", pink blooms of the golden mountain fleece (Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Golden Arrow'). These pink blooms (2-3" tall) started in June above golden foliage and have had a resurgence these past couple of cooler weeks. This perennial does well in full sun or part shade and tops out around 30" tall.

Marv and Terry did a nice job spreading soil, leveling and reseeding a large portion of our terrace garden lawn which had some odd settling and weed issues this year. The guys also composted a border, rototilled and brought back more large containers for emptying and winter storage. Marianne started and ended the day checking/testing lights and is our #1 lights tester (with Janice a close second). Marianne was also out in the gardens tidying up and did more focused clean-up in the entrance garden. Big John worked on hauling back more obelisks for decoration, yanked plenty of plants, emptied more containers and packed up some displays/supplies that will go to a trade show tomorrow. I worked on 2012 education plans with Kris K., caught up on desk work, finished my presentation for the volunteer dinner tomorrow night and continue to finalize my presentation on Bulbs for October 26th at RBG (6 pm - 8 pm). Next week is when we'll hit full stride with set-up for the Holiday Lights Show. While everyone has started to some degree and there are already some lights out in the gardens (from Terry and Marv), I still need to get my cartload of extension cords ready to go and start running them out in the garden areas that have been cleared out. To the above right is the narrow-leaf ironweed (Vernonia lettermannii 'Iron Butterfly') still blooming with violet-pink flower clusters in the English cottage garden. I think these are still doing well as they are positioned next to a sheltering, warm wall. To the above left is the maroon fall color of the Golden Peep dwarf forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia 'Courdijau') which really is quite striking in October (as well as early May!). Also to the right is a shot of the root mass of the blue lyme grass (Elymus arenarius 'Blue Dune') that was in some of our containers this year. That "cylinder of roots" is as big as a #5 gallon bucket. The staff and volunteers have been struggling to dig it out of our blue/yellow theme beds as it spreads such substantial roots (I've received many sarcastic thank yous for having it planted this year). I'm sure we'll have small ones to dig up yet next year. When John pulled these out of the culvert pipe planters in the terrace garden, they were a solid "cupcake o' roots". This image should be a good example on why you would not want to plant it in your garden directly. Also to the left is the engaging, "camoflauge-like" bark of the lacebark pine (Pinus bungeana) in the North American garden. That looks pretty neat to me and I've seen larger specimens and the bark just gets more interesting with age.

We didn't have a lot of volunteer assistance today. However, Dr. Gredler was in to do some mowing and leaf collection around the gardens. It seems like "shoveling in a snowstorm" sometimes but we do like to keep the gardens tidy and hope that we continue to have late season visitors. There is still plenty of interest out in the gardens with fall color, the last of the blooms, ornamental grasses, ornamental bark & berries, etc. I think I sometimes underestimate the late season beauty of the gardens that still exists after the seasonal plants ("eye candy") are removed. Dick H. was in to work on the dump truck and we also saw Mary D., Bev, Janice, Kris, Urban and Little Jerry today. Although the flowers of the Quickfire panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Bulk') have gone thru the white and pink stages, I think they still look interesting (above right). These amber flower structures should hold on thru winter and still offer some visual interest. Directly below are some of the hops on the golden hops vine (Humulus lupulus 'Nugget') in the herb garden. When crushed, these hop flowers (or hop "cones") actually smell like beer. The spring foliage on this variety is bright yellow, aging to charteuse in summer and green by fall. Be wary, this is a vigorous vine but this variety is popular for it's flavoring and this is one of the last hop varieties to be picked because of late flowering.

VIP Visit & More Clear Cutting

Above is a group of nine visitors from the Chicago Botanic Garden that came to tour the gardens today. Benjamin C. (white hat in center) is the head gardener for the Japanese garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden and brought some staff and volunteers to come see RBG. They were a delightful group and despite catching the tail end of the season, they seemed to enjoy the gardens and of course, spent extra time in our Japanese garden. I met Benjamin at the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) a couple weeks ago when Karen M. and I attended (held at the Chicago Botanic Garden). To the right is the pinkish fall color of the 'Fenway Gold' Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) located in the English cottage garden. The standard Boston ivy goes from glossy green to a deep red or reddish orange. This golden variety gets some really nice pinkish tones and has more summer interest in my opinion with those golden leaves. To the left is my other favorite, late-blooming aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius 'Raydon's Favorite') that is quite striking so late in the season. This variety is under 30" tall and is a very strong bloomer. How much blue/violet do you see out in the gardens this time of year!? Note the pergola in the distance as this shot was taken in the formal perennial garden.

We had a small staff today with Larry off. Big John worked on removing plants from the terrace garden border as well as one of the annual berms in the arboretum (with help from Kay to the right). He also removed the culvert pipe planters from the terrace border which was no small task and hauled back many obelisks for decoration. Janice worked on some lights testing in the morning but later went out to collect debris as well and did one last collection of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) and other vegetables for the food bank. She also helped process some of the bulbs that we'll be planting this Saturday. We have a large assortment of very fragrant lilies (Lilium sp.) that will be scattered around the Smelly Garden beds for early summer scent next year. Directly below is one of the herb garden sections. The Janesville Area Herb Society has always done a nice job maintaining our herb garden. What struck me with the situation below is that the lady looks like she's wading thru an encroaching sea of parsley (Petroselinum) and is keeping her urn safe and out of the way. There is a buried memorial plaque for that statue in there for Betty and Luann, two awesome members of the group that passed away a couple years ago and wouldn't mind the parsley at all! Further below is the interesting late season color of the 'Brass Lantern' foamy bells (Heucherella). Coral bells (Heuchera), foamflowers (Tiarella) and their offspring (Heucherellas) all keep their foliage (frequently still colorful) thru the season to be replaced by fresh growth next spring. We had a small but productive crew of volunteers here today. Kay was in to help John remove annuals in the terrace garden and arboretum. She also did a pre-emptive strike to remove the last of our impatiens in the shade garden before they turn mushy with another frost. We always remove impatiens and cut back hostas before they get turned to mush which ultimately makes their removal less than exciting after "going soft." Dr. Gredler was in to do more mowing and leaf collection. His Grasshopper riding mower has a shredding attachment and attached bin which allows him to mow/shred/distribute chopped up leaves right on to some of our recently cleared annual beds. The shredded leaves are great amendments and have certainly had a positive effect on our soil quality, particularly the flower beds. Years ago, Dr. Gredler would feed collected leaves in to a small shredder to create some great leaf mulch. He shredded so many leaves that we started calling him Dr. Shredler. Bill O. came in to collect leaves from the hosta hollow garden and fern & moss garden. He is one of our best tidying volunteers and takes the time to really address an area. Below and to the right is Luis O. He and I spent about 2 hours reviewing his woody plant inventory. Luis has been working on this all year and has done a great job going thru the gardens and updating our inventory of trees and shrubs. To the right is the interesting fall color of the golden Shirasawa's maple (Acer shirasawanum 'Autumn Moon') which has golden leaves in summer that later gets this reddish mottling in October. That looked pretty neat to me. To the left is a close-up of the bloom for the 'Party Dress' Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida) that has enormous double pink blooms (supposedly the largest of all Japanese anemone flowers) and blooms well in to fall (here, in the English cottage garden). Below is the fading (but still colorful) bloom of the Endless Summer hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer') that still has some nice interest this late in the season. In fact, most hydrangeas have extended interest well in to winter with fading blooms that still have some color and texture. At the bottom is some eye-catching fall color on a sugar maple (Acer saccharum 'Legacy') in the woodland walk garden. This is quite vivid and caught my eye from quite a distance.

Back To Business

Nice shot above of 'October Skies' aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius) in full bloom out in the gardens. This variety, and 'Raydon's Favorite' (similar look), are my favorites for a late season, blue aster (the foliage is fragrant and deer rarely will nibble). This species also stays under 30" tall and is not floppy at all. Beneath that image is one of our pink mums blooming nicely (just a bit past peak) in a container in the reception garden. I thought this looked like an ice cream cone (strawberry) this morning! As always, it's tough playing "catch-up" after being gone on vacation but it didn't take too long to get up to speed and there weren't many brush fires to deal with as the gardens were in good hands with our grounds staff and volunteers (as always). That little "recharge vacation" should get me thru the next couple of weeks of garden work, desk work and running extension cords. Normally we are preparing for our annual Halloween Walk which is done in conjunction with the local Spotlight on Kids organization. We've both taken the year off which should allow us to get an earlier start on decorations for the Holiday Lights Show. In fact, decorating started last week and I saw evidence of outdoor light placement, display testing and the testing/preparation of many of our lights that are poised to go outside. To the right is the bronze/orange fall color of the pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens 'Debonair'). This is a deciduous conifer that will loose those needles but this narrow form looks great with upswept, feathery needles that are a soft green in summer and will continue to get more bronze over the coming weeks. To the left is a back-lit leaf of one of our Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) varieties in the Ornamental Edible/Compact Vegetable display. The chard display this year (24 varieties) was fun and Janice did a nice job of keeping it trimmed and was able to donate lots of the greens to area food banks. The chard doesn't mind the cold and continues to look good (although its days are numbered too....).

We had a great volunteer crew of Grumpies today. The third picture from the top shows Marianne (center) with many of the guys removing annuals from the front entrance garden. I saw Bob C., Urban, Dave, Ron B. and Gary up there helping with removals all morning. Maury was there too but was bouncing between projects. They brought back many loads but created a clean slate that will be the focus of our tulip planting this Saturday. We have over 4,000 white tulips (Tulipa) and 500 white ornamental onions (Allium 'Mt. Everest') to plant. We hope to have a good volunteer turnout for this workday (8 am until noon). We'll also be trying to sell the last of our bagged mushroom compost that morning as well (also 8 am until noon). Ron W. and Bill S. were out collecting leaves around the gardens while Jumbo Jim had two RECAPPERS and they worked on tidying up the Japanese garden. We have 10 staff and volunteers from the Chicago Botanic Garden visiting tomorrow and the majority of them are associated with their Japanese garden (quite nice) and are interested in a tour, including our Japanese garden. Dick P., Rollie and Tom C. (see below) did further work on our electrical project in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden (Smelly Garden). Dick H. helped clear plants and was also kept busy with truck repairs and dump runs (see bottom picture). Dr. Gredler was in later to mow. We also saw Kelli, Polly and had a nice visit from Roy Klehm who brought silent auction plants for the Fall Symposium (Plant Appreciation) on November 5th (check out our website and register now!). To the above right is another shot of the dinosaur kale (Brassica oleracea 'Laciniato') that has looked great all summer and enjoys a cooler day. Further below is a close-up of one of our neat nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) that I believe is 'Strawberries & Cream'. Beneath that is a nice shot of the North point arbor with the surrounding mums looking pretty good. We had the full grounds staff in this morning. While Jenny and Pat are done for the year, we had Larry, Marv, Marianne, Terry, John and Janice out in the gardens today. Marv and Terry started removing hanging baskets and emptying containers. The guys brought back many of the larger containers for storage and still have more to process. Marv and Terry also removed other plants and continued putting up lights. Marianne coordinated annual removal efforts in the entrance garden (with six Grumpies) and moved on to more Holiday Lights Show related preparations. Janice was out to remove annuals, worked on lights and other indoor projects. She also started decorating obelisks out in the gardens for the lights show. Big John spent most of his morning removing annuals along our larch area planting wall. This was a huge amount of debris and as he removed it, Janice decorated the obelisks that are along this border. Larry did some light chainsaw work this morning on some debris and spent most of the day pushmowing with our mulching mower as the leaves are accumulating faster than we can collect them. We hope this is the last time we have to mow the turf but we'll see! Looks like 31 degrees F overnight this Thursday. That should slow things down a bit. As much as I hate to see the season end, it is not really "season end" for us as we have to rush to get the lights show up and can't do much of the work until we're done clearing beds, mowing lawns and collecting leaves. I did a walk around, had some meetings and spent time catching up on phone messages, mail and email. We have our volunteer appreciation dinner this Thursday evening and I'm putting together a presentation for that event as well. To the above right are the inflated pods of the annual balloon plant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) which is in the milkweed family. Even when dry and brown, these pods hold their form for some time and are nice in dried arrangements. To the left is the start of the increasingly red fall color of the 'Winterthur' viburnum (Viburnum nudum) in the fern & moss garden. This species, though marginally hardy, has done fairly well for us although I have yet to see this variety flower or form fruits (for us). The fall color is spectactular though... With the lack of an early hard frost (thankfully), we're able to enjoy the October blooms of the golden pineapple sage (Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious') that is just starting to bloom with red trumpets (seen to the right). The last of the hummingbirds are working these over and this annual should hang in there until a hard frost. The standard, green-leaved variety is also blooming right now. Directly below is the start of orange fall color for the the three-flower maple (Acer triflorum). This smaller stature, hardy maple is a nice understory tree with ornamental bark, interesting leaves and of course, this showy fall color. At the bottom is Dick H. speeding out with another load for the dump.

A Subtle Invasion (So Far)

My younger daughter and I were able to enjoy the recently warm (and dry weather) earlier this week and did some nice local hikes. One of her favorite hikes a couple times each year is to visit JSOL (Janesville School Outdoor Laboratory) which is also known as the Robert O. Cook Arboretum (160 acres of woodlands owned by the Janesville School District). Our older daughter has been out there many times with various classes over the years and my younger daughter (now 11) and I have hiked this space since she was two. Highlights include lots of nice trails, a stream with a beaver dam, lots of frogs and some neat swampy areas that are loaded with skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) that we see in late March each spring. The woods contain all sorts of nice oaks, hickories, basswoods, maples and other native understory trees. However, as is the case with most of our woodlands in the United States, the infiltration of unwanted visitors was apparent. While most of us are familiar with European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), there are some other thugs starting to set a foothold in our woodlands and most would be overlooked by those not familiar with the native range of these plants. Ironically, most of these invasive plants were introduced as landscape plants before they were considered as potential threats to our woodlands and less managed landscapes. All the pictures here were taken at JSOL but could be taken in most of our Southern WI woodlands. For example, the top picture shows Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) which was introduced from Asia back in 1736 which continues to be a vigorous vine that constricts and engulfs native vegetation in its efforts to spread. We have it at RBG and remove it on sight.

Directly above and to the below left are just a few of the many samples of burning bush or winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus) that I saw peppered throughout the woodlands. The specimen above has lots of red seeds that will be distributed by birds and the resulting seedlings (see pink to the lower right) will establish and continue this sequence of reproduction. The timing of our hike coincided with the pinkish/red fall color of this shrub so the infiltration was very evident. Burning bush has become quite invasive in woodlands along the east coast and is banned as a landscape plant in Massachusetts with other states soon to follow. Dr. Laura Jull from UW-Madison (Dept. of Horticulture) has been doing a study on the variable seed production of different varieties of burning bush to determine those that have either more (or less) of a risk for seed dispersal. She contacted us regarding our observations on our varieties out in the gardens. It is not unlikely that burning bush will be listed as invasive in other states including WI in the coming years. To the right are the glossy hips of the multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) which was prevalent throughout JSOL and can be found throughout many Southern WI woodlands as well as further South and East. Ironically, again, this plant was introduced from Japan in 1886 as potential root stock for roses and was promoted in the 1930s thru 1960s as control for soil erosion, a great "living fence" and a food/cover source for wildlife. Well, wildlife has spread it near and far and this plant has enjoyed free range of woodlands in our area and is quite aggressive to say the least.

Of equal concern is the Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) which could be seen throughout JSOL (see next two pictures below). The orange fall color of the barberry made it quite conspicuous this week and the number of fruits on this widely distributed plant was concerning. I recall a spring blog of mine regarding a visit to JSOL (April) in that the "haze" of emerging green foliage in the understory of the woodlands was entirely Japanese barberry, leafing out before the native vegetation had started. As with burning bush (Euonymus alatus), it is possible that barberry will be examined as a questionable landscape plant because of this spreading potential. There are currently many cultivars of Japanese barberry offered in the landscape industry and while fruiting volume is variable, this plant has already shown its thuggish tendencies in my mind. At the bottom are the fruits of the female European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) awaiting consumption and subsequent dispersal by area birds. When I lived in MI (prior to coming to RBG), the buckthorn was "jail bar" thick thru woodlands that were not maintained. The entire understory of these woodlands was a shaded thicket of buckthorn that had edged almost everything else out (aside from garlic mustard). We are still removing buckthorn at RBG. If you have any buckthorn issues, you're headed in to the best season for control. As the rest of our native, deciduous woodland trees and shrubs turn a fall color and drop leaves, the buckthorn will retain glossy green leaves in to early November. This is a great way to locate all offenders. It is difficult to dig up the extensive roots and the wood is extremely hard and not easy to cut. However, we target late October for removal with a nice flush cut at ground level, followed by the focused and targeted painting of concentrated herbicide (Round-Up) directly on the cut trunk. We've seen very few "returnees" and this has been more effective than the daunting hand removal. Enjoy our woodlands but keep an eye out for those strangers that will continue to increase in population and negative impact on our woodlands.

Devil's Lake State Park Excursion

Our family outing to Devil's Lake State Park (Baraboo, WI) this past weekend was awesome and we enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather and sunshine. The top picture shows my younger daughter looking over one of the many precipices that would make me freak out. The only downside to our weekend visit/camping were the other 100,000 people there enjoying perhaps the last warm weather of the season. The trails were pretty full but we enjoyed the scenery nonetheless (including a soaring bald eagle). I was in briefly to RBG today for a meeting (Garden Development & Maintenance Committee) and touched base with Janice, John and Larry. Looks like everything is well in hand and I'll try to stay away until Monday! I'll actually be back up in Baraboo on Thursday night this week to present to the Sauk County Master Gardeners (Ferns & Mosses).