Can We Get Back To January?

This continued warm spell has certainly been confusing for both plants and animals (including humans). It looks like the weather will start to cool down a bit thru the rest of the week but it's still unseasonably warm. It's odd to see Wisconsinites in t-shirts in January but these days have been quite balmy. Our Horticulture Center is adjacent to the Blackhawk Golf Course driving range and we've seen a flurry of activity out in that area over the past couple of days. As I walked thru the gardens today, I saw plenty of evidence of early emergence on both perennials and spring bulbs. Those in sunny spots or next to a "warm rock" were poking up a good 1" or so. This emergence reminds me of what we would see in mid March. A blanket of snow will insulate these nicely and these early emergers are quite frost tolerant. I worry about severe low temperatures combined with lack of snow in terms of potential damage. At the top is one of our early hellebores (Helleborus purpurascens) poking up in the color rooms garden and directly above is the winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis). Another week of 40 degrees F and those winter aconites would be blooming! To the right are the cones on the Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) which is one of my favorite deciduous conifers. We have an "informal" garden area called the larch area based on the fact that there are a combination of European, American and Japanese larches punctuated thru this small area overlooking the pond.

We had another dedicated group of volunteers here today that took full advantage of the weather. Larry O. kept busy with more Holiday Lights Show (HLS) work and has been the mastermind with packing lights, cords, displays away in our small garage. He certainly maximizes our space. To the left are Pat (left) and Urban (right) continuing their second straight day of pruning in the Japanese garden. Their teamwork is quite impressive as they collectively tackle anything they can reach from our orchard ladders. Dick W. and Larry H. were here to continue bringing in HLS lights and cords. Dr. Gredler continued taking lights off of obelisks and had kept up with coiling and storing our drop cords as they arrive at the Horticulture Center. Janice was in to work on various projects including seed ordering and working with Nancy N. on re-organizing our reference library. Maury was here for various projects and activities including our Garden Development & Maintenance Committee that also included Iza, Gary, Dr. Gredler, Big John, Hal and Dick P. Gary also printed off more woody plant labels. We also saw Mary W., Neil, Bill O. and many others today. The plywood leaf cutout (48" high by 32" wide) to the right is one of forty that will be offered in early February for our 2012 Art in the Gardens project (like the butterflies of last year and daisies the year prior...).
Above is our new digital sign although I took the photo around 11 am when it was 50 degrees F! The software was installed later today so we can keep on top of changing messages and other information as needed. I think the sign looks classy and the digital lettering is not overbearing. We're considering some small, directional downlighting on the logo for better visibility at night though. We will use this sign to announce coming events, encourage memberships, collections of interest, welcome information for VIPS, weddings, etc. and I'm sure my birthday will be part of the rotation as well. The ornamental grass above is the little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues') still looking good with remnants of fall color and backlit seedheads (in the formal gardens). In walking around the gardens, I continue to notice colorful conifers and am glad we have planted such a wide variety of colors and forms around the gardens. To the right is a compact, golden Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis 'Aurea Compacta') in the Hosta Hollow garden. Although the needles look "chartreusy" close-up, the plant "reads" as a gold and will have the most gold coloration later yet this winter. To the left is another golden conifer of merit out in the gardens (near the shade garden). This is the golden Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader') which we hope will fill out to be a nice rounded specimen. The foliage is yellow throughout the year and we provide some afternoon shade to keep the needles from burning. For a nice blue conifer, the compact corkbark fir (Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica 'Compacta') is looking quite nice in our color rooms garden. This smaller-scaled conifer (upright) would be perfect in a home landscape situation and has done very well for us.

Further below is a shot of our koi pond and you'll note a tank heater (circular, red, floating) in the corner of the pond. We get frequent questions about what we do with the fish in the pond. If you look in the lower center of the image, you'll see the faint color from both a white and orange koi hanging out in the bottom. We leave the tank heater in to keep the ice open although we don't need to feed the fish over the winter as they are quite inactive until the water warms up significantly. We check this heater often as we don't want solid, thick ice as that will affect oxygen levels in the pond and could be damaging to the fish. The bottom photo shows some frosted bugleweed (Ajuga sp.) still offering a splash of color in our snowless landscape.

A Sign of the Times

My blog title has a double meaning. The first reference is to our brand new, cool entrance sign that arrived today (see above and to the right) and was being installed throughout the morning. My second meaning was a reference to the crazy weather patterns we're seeing with yet another winter day that is more like April than January! More on that later. Tom and Maury were to finish connecting the electrical service to this sign once installation was complete. The new sign has a double-sided digital display (the black box underneath) that will be programmed with information and messages from a computer in the Parker Education Center. I believe the lettering is not the uber-bright red but a "tasteful orange." There was some debate about having a digital sign in this area and it actually took City Council approval for an allowance to install this sign. The sign itself (installed by JNB Signs) is being entirely funded by a generous contribution from the Morning Rotary Club. Years ago they mentioned a donation and we had looked at the option of a new information kiosk. However, I'm pleased that discussions shifted to this sharp entrance sign that should have some nice impact (and visibility) along Palmer Drive. We'll have to keep surrounding plantings under 18" for visibility issues but that wont be difficult.

We had another great turnout of volunteers helping in the office, Horticulture Center and out in the gardens. To the above left is Del taking lights off of the tree cutout display that he actually built a couple years ago. We had lots of activity with the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) takedown this morning and the cords (some to the right) keep coming in regularly. Marv, Terry and Dick W. focused on removing lights, displays and obelisks from the formal gardens while Rollie and Larry H. continued removing lights from various trees and shrubs. Larry O. was in the reception garden taking down the overhead "pavilion" of lights. Pat (directly below) checked over our deer protection fencing and burlap and re-secured as needed. We're seeing deer poop and hoof prints so know they are scoping things out recently. He and Urban then moved on to some serious pruning in the Japanese garden. They are focusing on trees that will be less fun to prune when it is 0 degrees and 24" of snow. Dick P. and Dick H. started taking lights off the pvc arches that were brought back inside on Saturday by Larry and Bill. Dr. Gredler continued to remove lights from obelisks while Dave, Jim and Bob A. finished building/securing the new, custom-made bookshelf in the Horticulture Center office. Marianne was in to work on some projects including preparing more labels for Gary while Gary worked on producing more signs and started training Luis on our new labeling protocols. We also saw Kelli, Mary W., Rose and Bob T. Further below the photo of Pat laughing (not rare!) directly below, are Marv and Terry bringing in deer cutouts and Dick H. and Dr. Gredler packing away lights this morning. I had a call from Stan Stricker on WCLO radio today for a short interview on the potential impacts of having such mild winter conditions thus far in December and January. We talked about the concern that some plants might be triggered to emerge early as seen to the lower left with this 'Pink Frost' hellebore (Helleborus sp.) poking up this morning (8 weeks early). I also saw more evidence of early spring bulbs taking a peak to see if it is late March already. We also talked about the lack of snow and the importance of having a winter with not only sufficient snow but some severe cold that will help keep some insect populations in check later this year. While the mild weather has been a boon for HLS takedown, pruning, late mulching, etc., I do hope we get caught up with some winter conditions ASAP. To the right is the dried flower structure of the Quickfire panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Bulk') that started blooming back in late June of last year. New growth will shed these bloom structures but they do offer something in the winter months as well.

I ordered seeds (and some plants) from four more catalogs today (The Cook's Garden, Select Seeds, Natural Gardening Company, Abundant Life Seeds). Ah, the simple joys of perusing catalogs for fun plants to try out in the gardens. I also talked to one of our custom growers and am excited about our 2012 acquisitons. Although I'm only up to about 70 varieties of annuals, I still haven't gone thru 90% of our catalogs including our big suppliers. I'll be up in Portage County this Saturday with Ed Lyon (Allen Centennial Gardens Director) and Sam P. (Olbrich Botanical Gardens) as all of our presenting at the Garden Dreams symposium hosted by the Portage County Master Gardener Volunteers and UW-Extension. Looks like travel conditions will be favorable and thanks to Char for arranging another neat event (I've done this one for three years straight). Lots more seed ordering and presentation preparations this week. To the right is a nice frosty shot of the prairie this morning although the frost didn't last long with the quick warm up. I've shown the plant directly below back in December and am amazed how well the foliage of the 'Electric Lime' coral bells (Heuchera) has held up yet this winter. At the bottom is a photo of Kelli and the gang at break this morning. The group expressed their appreciation of Kelli (and vice versa) and we all wish her the best as she transitions to a new job in the coming weeks.

A Balmy 50 Degrees F

Today was another balmy day in the January garden with temperatures right at 50 degrees F. The image to the left is a shot of heron sculptures frozen in the lower fern/moss garden pond. We wont have much ice left after this warm weather but the shoreline ice patterns (right) caught my eye yesterday. Our 3 acre pond rarely freezes over as it is fed by multiple natural springs. Of course that means a Canadian geese population over the entire winter although the adjacent Lion's Pond freezes fairly well. We're looking at some options for maintaining water quality in our pond as we have not had the time (or funding) to do much over the past couple of years and the water quality, particularly in May thru August, is quite poor. The City of Janesville used to have money in their budget (Parks Department) for pond treatments but with tight budgets, that funding has not been available for over five years. The female cottonwood (Populus deltoides) population contributes to much of the debris every mid-spring with millions of drifting seeds. To the left is a nice patch of moss on a rock in the Japanese garden. The mosses are loving this weather and they photosynthesize year round if the sun can reach them. To the right is the remaining foliage (dead) of the golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold') in our boulder wall. I've taken dozens of pictures of this planting as it's matured over the years and looks great most of the year with the only "down time" in early April when we cut it back.

We had a nice volunteer turn out today with Dennis coming in to continue taking down lights. He focused on our icicle lights on structures and the overall progress on Holiday Lights Show (HLS) closure is going at a record pace. Temperatures next week indicate continued mild temperatures and we could have most of the show down by next Friday. Urban and Pat came in to work on pruning and some of the last cutting back of perennials out in the gardens. They focused on the far west side of our property which includes the garden areas between the Parker Education Center and Lion's Beach. They also worked near the new North Point garden and cut back a wide array of perennials that we didn't tackle back in the fall. As much as I lament the lack of snow and disconcerting warm temperatures, we would be foolish not to take advantage of this temporary "window". The work the guys did today will free up time in April when we would have accomplished those efforts. There is still plenty of pruning to accomplish and we should see more progress next week. To the left is the showy bark of the 'Whitespire Senior' grey birch (Betula populifolia) which really shows in winter. Although short-lived compared to maples and oaks, the white-barked birches have a charm all their own. To the upper right is some lily-turf (Liriope spicata) with light frost (photo from yesterday). This grass-like perennial is a great groundcover for us although it does spread significantly in rich soils. This is not a true grass but offers nice texture along a path as seen here. To the left is the ornamental bark of the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) in the arboretum. I like the texture and the hints of red on this deciduous conifer. Take the time to enjoy the contribution of colorful bark and stems in the winter landscape. To the right is the seed pod of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) which caught my eye in our prairie yesterday.

Today we also saw Janice who continued going thru catalogs to select vegetable varieties for our collections and the spring plant sale in particular. She is focusing on heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, basil varieties and is locating those vegetable varieties that have been developed for higher nutrient value. We should have some awesome offerings at our spring plant sale (May 12, 13, 14, 9 am - 4 pm daily) which will include oodles of herbs. All our plant offerings for the plant sale will eventually be on our website. Additionally, we had Dr. Gredler and Bill O. in to wrap cords and also saw Maury, Big John, Bill O. (we have two!) and some others. Below is a cool sonnet that Janice wrote recently. Very neat. All I know about sonnets is that they have fourteen lines. Well done Janice!

Throw Me Into The Compost Heap

And so throw me into the compost heap.

My vines have withered and my leaves decay.

I have no fruit, no seeds for you to reap.

My beauty, like your love, has gone away.

Yet, when I was young and barely rooted

You chose me! It was springtime, all was new!

I gave you air and love undisputed,

You gave me sunshine, nutrients and dew.

But now the snow falls and you are alone

With catalogs, searching for your next Eve.

A new variety, a sport well-cloned,

Double-flowered with variegated leaves.

I but pray she's perfect in form and hue

And never reverts, and always grows true.

Feels Like April In Many Ways Today!

Today reminded me of the activity at the gardens that we normally observe as we head in to April! Not only was there lots going with a multitude of volunteers, but with temperatures in the mid 40 degrees F, it was a great day to be outside. Tomorrow will be close to 50 degrees F! The top picture shows some of the fruits on the 'Winter King' green hawthorn (Crataegus viridis 'Winter King') near Palmer Drive which has these showy fruits from late September thru much of the winter until the birds clear them off. We had lots of volunteers come in to help with the continued takedown of the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) today. Above are Gena (left) and Myrt (right) working on coiling and storing just a fraction of our 6 miles of extension cords. Dr. Gredler was inside as well removing more lights from obelisks and Bill O. started working on the larger orange and green cords seen to the right in the image above. We were short two carpenters (Vern and Bob A.) but Dave and Jim (left) were here to start the installation of some custom-made shelving in the Horticulture Center office. These shelves will house our expanding reference libary and the guys have again shown their talents. To the right is some frost on donkeytail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) which is such a nice architectural plant, particularly along pathways and low walls where it can cascade. This plant can reseed rampantly in warmer climates though. I took all of these photos today on my nice (and rare!) winter jaunt around the gardens. I found plenty of interesting things to look at but am still hoping for some nice blanketing snow in the near future. We had a weird power outage today which affected some activities at both our buildings and thwarted Gary's efforts to continue producing more tree/shrub labels. Gary can be seen directly below. To the right is Dick P. collecting icicle lights this morning in the warm sunshine. Other helpers included Marv, Terry, Dennis, Ron, Dick H., Dick W., Larry and we had Pat in the afternoon. Pat & Dr. Gredler worked on cord coiling all afternoon. We also saw Mary W., Kelli, Maury, Vern (briefly), Kris, Janice and others over at the Horticulture Center today. Further below is one of our Japanese garden yews (Taxus sp.) enjoying the sunlight and deer protection (bird netting). We haven't seen much deer damage (yet) as that usually becomes evident after the snow piles up and ground foraging is not available. We saw a bald eagle today too which isn't unusual. We had some news today that our Executive Director, Kelli, is resigning her position at RBG to take a position at Blackhawk Technical College as the Director of their foundation and alumni association. We wish her the best and thank her for her past 9.5 months here at RBG. Gary Smith, a Board Member and volunteer, will be our interim Executive Director for the third time in the past six years! We appreciate his help with the transition and look forward to another good year out in the gardens and with our events, education oppportunities and fundraising. To the right is Dick H. wrapping lights this morning. He and Dick P. (above right) like to match their red hats which is quite odd. To the left is the "architecturally cool" seed head of a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea 'Prairie Splendor') out in the gardens this morning. Structures like this do double duty of offering visual interest and food for wildlife.

Our first lecture offering of the year is coming up in less than two weeks on Wednesday evening, January 18th at 6:30 pm at the Parker Education Center. We'll have Karl Bethke from the Badger Bonsai Society (http://badgerbonsai.wordpress.com/) coming to talk about Bonsai Basics. The lecture fee is $5 for RBG members and $10 for others (walk-ins welcome). He'll also be doing a hands-on workshop in the spring on this same subject. I'm excited about this as we've never had this topic presented at RBG and look forward to having Karl here. On Saturday, January 21st (10 am - 11:30 am), we'll be hosting a demo/tasting event called Reinventing Winter Comfort Foods that will be facilitated by Basics Cooperative (Janesville) at the Parker Education Center. Details including fees and pre-registration information is on our website (www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org). To the right is Ron W. taking lights off of the obelisks in the reception garden. Right after this photo was taken he asked whom he could "thank" for the creative application of lights on these eight obelisks (Big John) which was creating major headaches for the un-decoration process. I was asked years ago to never put lights on a tree again unless I was willing to take those same lights off! That's why I stick with cords. Below are two more colorful photos from today. Directly below are the needles of the Korean fir (Abies koreana) that show such nice silvering on the undersides of the slightly recurved needles. At the bottom is one of the ornamental kales (Brassica) that Marv and Terry planted back in September.

Efforts Continue

We had an elite crew here this morning to continue dismantling and packing away the Holiday Lights Show (HLS). Above is Urban who emptied the sand out of 2,000 half gallon milk jug luminaries and packed the jugs away in bags for storage until next October. We've had some of these jugs for over 10 years and will need to replace some as they do become brittle with age. We'll take any donations as long as they are clean and "sticker-less." I could always identify a new visitor to the HLS when I heard positive comments about the luminaries that lined most of the paths of the show. We've used these for the past 13 annual shows and they are showy and functional. Dennis and Larry H. were in as well and headed out in to the gardens to start taking light strands off of our temporary white pine (Pinus strobus) trees that were donated back in November. This task is timely so we can get the trees hauled back for chipping in to our mulch pile (used later this year) and we'll then be able to get the stakes out of the ground before they freeze too solid. The image to the right shows our notched wrapping boards that our carpenters have made that allow for easy wrapping and storage of a standard (100 bulb) strand of lights. We wrap as much outside as possible and Larry has been packing and storing crates as we fill them. The black crate seen there is one of hundreds that we've saved from past spring bulb orders. Our quantity orders (in fall) of tulips (Tulipa), daffodils (Narcissus) and ornamental onions (Allium) typically come in these heavy duty crates. They stack nicely and are better being used then sitting in a landfill in perpetuity. I'll be blogging more about plastic usage in horticulture later this winter. UGH!

I made two seed orders today and am currently working on our biggest order which accounts for about 50% of our seeds. To the above left is the new Pinetree Garden Seeds (www.superseeds.com) catalog which has a nice assortment of seed, plants and garden-related products. I also ordered from Park Seed (www.parkseed.com) today and hope to get thru 2-3 catalogs each day. Ordering the seeds is only the first step in a five step process. The next steps include receiving/organizing the seeds, matching color-coded labels to each, sorting them by grower (+ delivery) and then finally pick up the finished product in May or early June. We have two primary growers for our seeds and have added a third this year. We also have three other growers that are ordering/starting vegetative selections for us as well. To the right and directly below was Dr. Gredler's project today as he unwrapped over 32 obelisks and has plenty more to go. We also saw Rose and Maury today.

While I consider all of our HLS efforts over the next month or two to be closure for 2011, we still have plenty of work to accomplish both inside and out for 2012. This "down season" goes all too quickly I've learned. While Larry, Bill, Urban and Pat started some significant pruning back in December, we'll need to continue our efforts over the next three months as we still have plenty of thinning, trimming and about six significant removals. To the left is a textbook pruning cut (don't flush cut!) in the arboretum which is just the start of our pruning efforts. The lack of snow is very concerning as we need the insulating blanket that will then provide needed moisture as it melts. I can't say I didn't mind not running the snowblower for the HLS (or at home!) in December but the snow would be welcome any time soon. However, we can currently access the entire garden and will take full advantage of this factor with the continuation of our pruning efforts. I think Pat and Urban will continue pruning tomorrow. In a couple of weeks, we'll start repainting our obelisks, re-sealing benches and the carpenters have some "new creations" yet to build. Our indoor projects are numerous as they relate to ordering plants and figuring out our collections. However, a huge priority is the continuation of our labeling momentum. New grant funding will allow us to bulk up heavily on labeling supplies (pre-cut labels for perennials and woodies) as well as aluminum stakes, etc. Gary already has a good start on the woodies based on Luis' comprehensive inventory. To the above right is a bear-foot hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) in the gazebo garden that I photographed right before Christmas. This evergreen perennial actually does look good even thru tough winters and laughs at winter temperatures. It's starting to send up it's flower stalks (early) as it typically blooms in late winter (normally late February / early March). Flowers are lime green, small arching bells. This plant is also called stinking hellebore or dungwort although those names don't refer to a flower odor but the smell of the crushed foliage (haven't tried it yet). Directly below is a sunset shot I took last week of the geese out on Lion's Pond (west of the Parker Education Center) on very thin ice. They were positioned nicely to enjoy the HLS and the sound of geese was part of the holiday experience. The bottom photo shows the annual effort that Marianne does (as a volunteer) each year as she collects, mounts and saves all articles, ads, publications, etc. that relate to the gardens. She has done this since 2005 and these huge binders have enormous value for future readers and we appreciate Marianne's efforts and scrapbooking skills.

2011 Closure and 2012 Preparations

The Holiday Lights Show (HLS) is officially over although we'll be leaving some of the lights up around the Parker Education Center for some rentals yet this month. This was a record HLS with attendance numbers around 10,400. We had some great marketing and exposure throughout Northern IL and in surrounding counties (WI) that brought many newcomers to this event. Some advertising/exposure on NBC15 (Madison) was certainly helpful too! We did cancel one night (December 30th) because of excessive moisture (rain/slush) as I couldn't keep most of the show on. However, this event went well and as a fundraiser, was very timely during our "down period." A big thank you to all the volunteers that helped with set-up and facilitation and are now helping with the monumental task of taking the show down and packing it up. We also had some wonderful sponsors of this event as well as much appreciated donations. The image above shows just some of the 2,000 milk jug luminaries that were picked up today. These all have to come in to thaw before we dump out the bottom layer of sand, used to anchor them out in the show. Despite the 9 degrees F start to the morning, we had some tough volunteers join Larry out in the gardens for the start of this process. I saw Big John, Marv, Terry, Ron W., Dick H., Pat M. and Urban. Bill was here as well and Dr. Gredler (to the left) started removing lights from obelisks and wrapping up cords as they came in to thaw. Maury was around and did some work Larry orchestrates the take down as it is very weather dependent and we try to bring in as much as possible before we get real sour weather. On Saturday, Larry and Bill pulled up most of the primary cords that were buried under gravel pathways as we'd rather do it now than in March! Below are Larry (left) and Dick H. (right) taking down some of our dangling icicle lights. Their scowls have something to do with me being to delicate to come outside and join the fun. Warmer weather later this week will result in quite a bit of the HLS coming down in short order. After spending half the day catching up with bills, mail and emails, I now have to prioritize my indoor projects. Seed ordering, while being the most fun, is also the most daunting project as I am (as I type), looking at a stack of 60 or so seed catalogs. I've already done the "initial peruse" of most of these and circled some fun stuff. However, we need to order seeds for not only the grounds but also our plant sale offerings. Janice is assisting and we'll really get in to it this week and next. With the Wisconsin Public Television sponsored Garden Expo (www.wigardenexpo.com) coming up in early February (10-12), I'm also working on some ideas for our booth and preparing three presentations (Annuals of Interest, Gardening Vertically and Eat Your Landscape). This event is always lots of fun and one of our best opportunities to expose the gardens to potential visitors (and supporters!). I'll get most of my spring presentations prepared this month and am looking forward to some new topics. To the right is Vern repainting one of our garbage bins today. The carpenters have plenty of 2012 work cut out for them and no shortage of projects. We also saw Bob A., Rollie, Deb G., Janice and Nancy N. today. Nancy (bottom photo) is helping Janice reorganize our ever-growing reference library which has benefitted from some very substantial book donations in 2011.

It looks like RBG ended 2011 on a positive note financially, thanks to a strong HLS and some nice year-end grants and year-end donations (it's not too late!). We received the WI DNR Urban Forestry grant which will allow for the addition of new trees in our main parking lot with interpretive signage for each of these tree selections. Other grants will help support operations in 2012 as well as some additional funding for significant labeling materials to continue our efforts on interpretive plant label production/conversion efforts out in the gardens. 2012 is starting off quite nicely as we finish out our 2011 obligations and look forward to another great year at RBG.