My 1001st Blog - Spring Plant Sale!

Hard to believe that I've now posted over 1,000 blogs! I went back and looked at some of my earlier postings and was amused by the small amount of photos and text. I was so primative back then! My wife, much to her chagrin, was the one who got me started on this and thought it would be a fun way for me to periodically communicate "garden happenings." I try to avoid "the scowl" at home by blogging at work (if time allows). As always though, the original intent and purpose for this blog are to promote RBG to our volunteers, members as well as past and future visitors. I remember earlier school days when I would have to come up with a 500-1000 word report and am now realizing that I do that, on average, 4.8 times per week with this blog! I did take the day off from my digital camera and all the past shots included in this blog are meant to promote our Annual Spring Plant Sale (May 12th & 13th, 9 am - 4 pm, Horticulture Center). RBG Members are invited to a pre-sale on Friday, May 11th (9 am - 4 pm) where they'll get "first dibs" and 10% off (for the duration of the entire sale). The shot above shows just some of our vegetable selections last year. To the right is 'Dark Opal' basil (Ocimum basilicum) that is just one of our "herbal offerings" this year as is the 'Moss-Curled' parsley (Petroselinum crispum) to the left.

Janice was in most of the day finalizing the information sheets on our tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, eggplants, basil and a smattering of other neat things like tomatillos (to the right), okra, etc. Janice selected some neat varieties of tomatoes that have been bred for more nutrional value. Some have higher lycopene, beta carotene, vitamin C, etc. In theory that sounds neat but one of our primary hopes for our customers is that they enjoy growing produce at home and share the fun! All of these information sheets will be on our website (www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org) very shortly. Look for those "extra nutritious" varieties. What has yet to be determined are the remainder of the herbs and the perennial selection. Regardless, SAVE THE DATE! and tell your friends and neighbors about this important RBG fundraiser. To the left is the 'Micro Tom' tomato (Lycopersicon) which is softball sized and perfect for the windowbox.

Luis was in to work on more label production and data entry for the woody plant signs out in the gardens. I think he's working on the color rooms garden right now. Nancy N. spent the morning working on more reference library organization and is doing a nice job. Dick W. and Del were in to work on the reindeer cutouts and Dr. Gredler thankfully has not burned out (yet) on repainting obelisks. He's now on a dark blue to red conversion which will require a couple coats! Nancy and Tom F. were in to continue organizing our flat file storage and are really getting everything organized nicely. We'll have to just avoid messing it up again. Larry and Bill were out pruning in the arboretum and shade garden most of the day. We also saw Kris K., Dave G., Mary W., Dick H., Marianne, Gary, Maury and others today. To the right is the 'Ophelia' eggplant (Solanum melongena) which, while not one of the plant sale varieties this year, is a good performer out in the gardens. We have 10 varieties of eggplants for the plant sale including very compact varieties and those with black, white and a nice lavender/white coloration. These ornamental edibles will be perfect for the garden or container. At the bottom is the 'Marbles' hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) which is one of the many ornamental varieties we'll be offering although we have the full culinary range of hot peppers too including the "Ghost" pepper ('Bhut Jolokia'). 'Bhut Jolokia' was once considered the hottest in the world (Guiness Book of World Records). It's scary to now hear that there is now one (from England) that is 40% hotter than 'Bhut Jolokia' and is called the 'Grantham Infinity' pepper! WOW!

Sparks Are Flying

Sparks were literally flying today at the Horticulture Center as seen in the top image. This is Jim cutting off some old casters from a cabinet. Jim was one of many volunteer that stopped by to help out today. Some of the images in this blog were also taken out in the gardens today. With more sun and temperatures near 35 degrees F, I thought I'd find more blooms out there and wasn't disappointed. Directly above is the start of the winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) which is also blooming about five weeks early. This small, minor bulb is one of the first to bloom and we'll see massive drifts of this bulb coming up around the gardens in the coming weeks. The snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) continue to bloom around the gardens (see to the right) and those that are in sunnier spots or warmer spots (near the water or next to a warm rock) are already up and blooming. I really like snowdrops and am glad we planted so many thousands of them in the past. To the left is the flower bud of one of our hellebores (Helleborus orientalis) in the gazebo garden. These flowers are frost resistant and still have a ways to go before they unfurl. However, this warmer weather has really triggered the start of the bloom process early. We've accumulated quite a hellebore collection over the years and I always enjoy their appearance in early spring.

I spent much of the morning finishing preparations for the Garden Expo (www.wigardenexpo.com/) this weekend up at the exhibition hall of the Alliant Energy Center (Madison, WI). There was a nice article in the Wisconsin State Journal this Sunday that not only mentioned the Expo but also referenced my talk on "Gardening Vertically". There was also a program booklet for the Expo in the newspaper and it was nice to see the RBG ad in that publication. The article provided some nice exposure for the event and certainly my talk to a wide audience. I put in some time on the next batch of woody plant listings that Luis will be entering tomorrow for later production with the laser engraver. I also worked on some seed issues with Marianne and Janice who both were in to help out with myriad projects at the Horticulture Center. I also took a nice tour of the gardens and talked briefly with Mike M. and one of his UWEX co-workers who was here taking photos of the ergonomic tools. To the above right is the ornamental bark of the oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) which has a nice "cinnamon-look" with this exfoliating texture. We had another great volunteer crew today. Directly above is Bob A. painting one of our newly rebuilt / refurbished trash bins. This light blue will be part of our big silver theme in the entrance garden and "Yes, even our trash bins will coincide with a chosen color scheme!" The picture above also shows Del and Dick W. continuing their work on reindeer and sleigh cutouts. Dave T. and Vern were also in to help (Bob and Jim) with the carpentry projects that included additional repairs on our trash can bins (see to the left). Dick H. was in to work on some vehicles too. Rose and Dr. Gredler spent the morning repainting some smaller obelisks. While we still have some obelisks to work on, we will have to check our benches for repair and/or restaining needs. To the right are just some of the many seed packets that Marianne is organizing and preparing lables for prior to their delivery/shipment to the vendors that will "grow these on" from seeds. We really keep everything organized between our four growers and appreciate them helping us experiment with some wacky and/or very specific stuff. Maury was in to run some errands and had some meetings as well. Bill O. came in later and helped Larry with some pruning and clean-up out in the arboretum. I went out to look at some trees with Larry and he pointed out a Shantung maple (Acer truncatum) that they had just pruned and the sap was really flowing out of those cuts! Marv and Terry were in briefly this morning and Marv was helping figure out how to create our "bowl on a pedestal" contraption (see to the right). The liability of keeping these watered was pointed out to me many times today by grounds people. We'll see how it goes. We also saw Lori and some other volunteers. We had two new "potential" volunteers come visit and Janice gave them a nice "orientation tour". To the right is the plastic bowl on pvc pipe planter idea. The end result should be pretty cool and I have three areas that will have some of these featured. At the bottom are some more obelisk painting shots. The first one down shows Rose with her designer shirt that shows all the obelisk colors from the past three years. Her shirt would be a good historic reference for our color changes! At the bottom are Rose and my younger daughter painting last Friday. We've had such a great team effort this winter and have made lots of "pre-spring" progress in record time.

The Ornamental Side Of Basil

Of course we all know basil (Ocimum) as a common cooking herb with some different varieties and flavors. Native to Asia, more specifically India, basil has over a 4,000 year history and the medieval Latin for the name basil translates to "King of Herbs". Some speculate that basil actually originated in Africa. Sacred in India, this herb has many historical uses and it's worth looking up those interesting stories regarding the history of this popular herb. This herb has been associated with death, relationships, the devil, chastity and was once thought to induce the growth of scorpions in the brain! Basil made it to Britain in the 16th century and then made the trip over to North America. The intent of this blog is to not minimize the culinary value of basil but to point out that the wide range of varieties with different leaf colors, forms and flowers truly make this herb an "ornamental edible" as well. The top photo shows the use of basil as part of a planting scheme years ago at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI). Note the darkest maroon leaf plants that are a bit shiny....these are 'Dark Opal' basils (Ocimum basilicum) that were used not for culinary purposes, but for the aesthetic contribution of those dark leaves. Directly above is the variety 'Pluto' which is a tight, compact variety that only gets 8" tall and 8" wide, just perfect for a container component as you see here. It has all the culinary value of many of the large varieties as well. To the right is 'Aristotle', another compact, mounded basil (Ocimum basilicum) that rounds out nicely like a green soccer ball. Imagine these in their own small container or used as a aromatic hedge in the garden! Basil does prefer full sun and moist, well-drained soils. Never let the soil dry out and consider removing flowers of those that you are using for the culinary leaves. To the left is 'Sweet Petra Dark' which to me, is the darkest of all the basils. Those glossy leaves are wonderful visual components in a composition but still have the potential of being used fresh in a recipe immediately. In the composition shot to the right, note the lighter foliaged, oval-shaped plant in the mid-left of that photo. That is the variegated, Greek columnar basil ('Pesto Perpetuo') which is one of the most ornamental for foliage and form. Note the other photos of this variety as well. That is the natural, "egg-on-end shaped" form of 'Pesto Perpetuo'.

At RBG, we've probably grown and displayed over 100 varieties of basil. We have had "Ornamental Edible" collections for the past six years and many of the basils are very prominent in those collections. Those with dark or variegated leaves certainly have merit as do those with tight forms as seen above. However, there are many that have wonderful flowers that make them a decent bedding plant that can be used in groupings or singularly. Incidentally, basil flowers, like the leaves, are also edible. Some of the best varieties for showing blooms include 'Thai Siam Queen', 'Magical Michael', 'Oriental Breeze' and 'Queen of Sheba'. The bloom clusters on all of these varieties are a purple/magenta over green foliage. We had a containerized basil collection of 70 varieties a couple of years ago and it was so nice to see the differences. Some RBG volunteers, our herb society (Janesville Area Herb Society) volunteers and some of the culinary instructors at the local Blackhawk Technical College all utilized these basils and cut them back severely as intended for use. We always display at least 30 varieties out in the gardens and this year is no exception. We try and make sure there is enough sweet basil to go around for later-season pesto recipes.

Fresh basil is quite valuable in the home garden and at my home, we always have sweet basil growing in containers right outside the back door all summer long. Basil responds to multiple cuttings and abuse and will continue to generate more growth during the warmer parts of the growing season. The convenience is nice and of course, we're utilizing the freshest of basil leaves and know all the inputs in to that plant (soil, watering, fertilizer, etc.). You can buy "fresh" basil leaves at the grocery store (#1 purchased fresh herb) but consider when they were picked, how far they were shipped and if they aren't organic, there may be some "unknowns" involved with their growth, maintenance, etc.
We'll be selling a wide range of basils at our spring plant sale (May 12 & 13, 9am-4pm, Horticulture Center) that will be appropriate for the home garden, container, windowbox, etc. RBG Members are invited to a pre-sale on Friday, May 11 (9am-4pm) and get 10% off for the entire duration of the sale. Consider the culinary value of this diverse herb of course but note some of the ornamental differences in these varieties. The merits of colorful leaves, interesting forms and beautiful flowers make basil more than just a utilitarian herb. Consider the potential of this "King of Herbs" in your own garden. Further below are some examples of various basils in garden settings. Directly below is 'Sweet Petra Dark', then 'Thai Siam Queen', 'Dark Opal' amongst the yellow sweet potato vines (Ipomoea batatas 'Margaurite'), 'African Blue' (left), the RBG basil collection in containers, 'Dark Opal' amongst coleus (Solenostemon) and at the bottom, basil (low center) as part of a larger container collection of edibles at Chanticleer gardens (Wayne, PA).

Seed Orders Dwindling...

While I'm not quite done ordering seeds, I did complete orders for all of our fun plant sale vegetable offerings. Looks like we'll have 30 varieties of tomatoes (Lycopersicon) although we'll have an additional 15 or so tomato varieties that lend themselves well to containers (compact) or hanging baskets (trailers). Included in these selections are some of the favorite heirloom varieties from previous sales. We'll also have 30 varieties of bell peppers (Capsicum) and lots of hot peppers for both ornamentation and/or the kitchen! Many basil (Ocimum) varieties will also be offered with a wide range of herbs. This spring sale (May 12th & 13th, 9 am - 4 pm, Horticulture Center) should be our best yet and RBG Members can come to the "pre-sale" on Friday, May 11th (also 9 am - 4 pm). RBG Members get 10% their purchases during the entire duration of the sale (fall plant sale too!). We'll have our plant sale lists and other sale details on the RBG website very soon. The picture above (from Tina B.) is the 'Autumn Colors' gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) which is just one of the 500+ flower varieties that I've already ordered as seed. The sorting and labeling process will begin in earnest next week with Marianne. To the right is some spinach (Spinacia) that has been growing all winter along the warm front of our Horticulture Building. It has grown well recently and had toughed it out well.

It was another nice turnout of volunteers today. To the left is Dick W. continuing his painting of the deer cutouts. He has been in almost daily over the last couple weeks to work on this project or help outside as needed. Dr. Gredler has moved on to painting obelisks a dark lavender after finishing his orange ones. Doc was here all day as were Urban and Rose who completed two of the three pyramids and should finish that up by Monday. My younger daughter came in to work with me this afternoon and worked with Rose on some obelisk painting too. Maury was in for the second and last coat of green on the pipe planters. He also ran some errands for me. To the right are some of the many hand tools that we'll continue to clean-up and sharpen over the winter months. Little Jerry and Del had already done much of that work but with recent work out in the gardens, we'll make sure all the tools are serviceable and ready to go for spring. Marv and Bill O. were in to work on a project together and we also saw Mary W., Bob T. and some others too. LP Tree Service was in to do some work for us today and I'm always impressed at how efficient they are with any project they tackle. True professionals. To the left are the labels Marianne will be using as we coordinate the seeds. These labels have been very handy for sorting seeds by collection. For instance, any flat of flowers that comes back in spring from the grower with a blue label will be grouped with "like labeled" flats and ultimately is part of the same collection and/or will go in the same area. These labels are also used for pricing in our spring and fall plant sales as the colors will correspond to a standard cost. We collect the labels for re-use as we process plant sale purchases. Marianne has stream-lined this whole process. I just ordered another 10,000 of these labels to augment our diminishing supply.

I spent the morning finalizing some seed orders and also developed some details and guidelines for our imminent 2012 Photography Contest (for amateurs). Details will be on the website very shortly. Essentially, participants can submit up to three high resolution photos (taken at RBG) that will be considered for our 2013 RBG calendar. We'll have 12 "winners" for the month shots (and cover) and 12 "honorable mentions" that will be smaller inset photos in the calendar. We're finalizing details and I appreciate the efforts of our committee for this contest (Lisa, Tina, Bill, Kris and Sue). Below are some the offerings for the spring plant sale. Directly below is holy basil (Ocimum sanctum) and at the bottom is the 'Mariachi' hybrid pepper (Capsicum) which is great for a container and these peppers have a bit of spice/heat to them as well. The bottom photo is courtesy of All-America Selections (AAS).

Hoarfrosty Day

Today was beautiful out in the gardens with hoarfrost everywhere. I wish I had actually taken more pictures as it didn't melt off much even by the afternoon. Above is one of our 'Blondo' Japanese silver grasses (Miscanthus sinensis) in the main parking lot with some frost. The ornamental grasses have stood up nicely this winter and haven't been challenged much by heavy snows (yet). Today was another day where I accomplished plenty but not any of what I had intended (except for this blog I suppose)! That happens often but is irrelevant as my duties today were fairly important any way. The juggling of projects allows me to bounce around a bit but I have some very time sensitive things to accomplish like finishing seed and plant orders. We had a long staff meeting which was vital as we're addressing a lot of planning that needs to be confirmed quite soon. To the right is the Rocky Mountain, blue weeping juniper (Juniperus scopulorum 'Tolleson's Weeping') near the Horticulture Center looking quite picturesque this morning. To the left is one of our oak leaf cutouts that are currently available for our "art in the garden" project this year. Forty of these became available yesterday and there are only 32 left! See the RBG website (http://www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org/) for more information on this fun project. These leaves, once decorated/intepreted by participating artists, will be secured out in the gardens for our visitors to enjoy. Last year the butterfly cutouts were dynamite out in the gardens and we had a positive response from visitors and those that bid on these art pieces at the end of the season (September). We had lots of volunteers here today although it's important to mention that my blog only references those volunteers I run across at the Horticulture Center or out in the gardens. There are many more volunteers helping daily in the gift shop, with education, committee involvement and providing plumber skills like Dick P. to the right. Below is Larry cutting down the last of our removals. This is actually an elm tree (Ulmus americana 'Valley Forge') which has been disappointing as it keeps splitting and had developed a horrible form. I truly don't like removing trees unless there is a good reason. I had hoped the best for this specimen but there "comes a time" as they say.Terry & Marv (with the fancy gold gloves) above helped haul off the remains of the elm tree and they were a couple of many volunteers that showed up today to help out. Larry, Bill O. and Urban were out in the gardens pruning today and Urban was back for some more painting duties in the afternoon. Dr. Gredler was in to re-stain some obelisks and will have no shortage of work in the coming weeks. Del and Dick W. spent time priming/painting the deer and sleigh cutouts and have made a lot of progress on this project. Dick H. and Dick P. worked on some repairs (like the plumbing mentioned above) at the Rath Center and Maury both helped them and also painted his last three pvc pipe planters green (see bottom photo). Dave T., Jim and Bob A. continued to work on repairing and repainting both our garbage and recycling bins. The photo to the right is a dwarf Himalayan pine (Pinus wallichiana 'Nana') in the entrance garden. This five-needled pine (like our native white pine) has such a nice soft texture and the hoarfrost just added to the visual appeal this morning. The stump to the left is just one of a dozen that we'll have "ground out" this spring. Our target trees are down and it's amazing how different it looks out in the gardens.

Marianne was in to process another seed order, assemble handouts (for the Garden Expo) and will be starting on plant labels very shortly. Luis came in and printed out the next couple of batches of tree and shrub labels. Gary's repair/cleaning of the laser engraver yesterday was successful and Gary was over to help Luis troubleshoot some of the issues. Janice was in for her Volunteer Committee Meeting and worked on the plant sale information sheets. We also saw Mark S. and others at the Horticulture Center today. To the right are some additional snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) from yesterday. You can see how they get their name and these aren't too far away from blooming either. A couple more warm days and these will be blooming strongly. Directly below are some Japanaese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) berries with hoarfrost. While colorful, this shot demonstrates the problem with barberries that have a heavy fruit set like this as the birds will consume and "disperse" these fruits/seeds far and wide.