The Rain Arrives

“Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad?” 

- Dodie Smith

Today was rainy early until about 10 am and then we had a nice break (no sun though) until about 12:30 pm when more significant precipitation rolled in to the area.  Needless to say, most of our day was spent inside.  Above are Terry (upper left), Cindy and Pat all working on Holiday Lights Show (HLS) preparations. Pat focused primarily on processing our donated 1/2 gallon milk jug luminaries and he finished all 400 over the past couple of days. That's the good news.  The bad news is that we still need 1600+ more!  Feel free to bring in your clean jugs and we'll use them!  Pat has a nice system put in place.  Cindy was processing new lights that will be used in these milk jug luminaries and Terry worked on repairing lights that need some attention.  We probably have over 300 strands of lights that need to be repaired over the cold mornings and rainy days in the coming weeks. Terri N. (directly below) came in to help and fixed quite a few strands herself.  Maury ran errands for us which included acquiring more HLS supplies.  We'll start putting up at least some lights next week but still have plenty of gardening to accomplish.  Pat was in for a half day but both Terry and Cindy were able to get outside for some Friday gardening tasks.  I was attached to my desk for most of the day but completed quite a bit of work.  I also looked at some of our water features with Shawn W. and Joel R. to come up with some ideas to improve their maintenance and appearance.  We also saw Dave F., Linda K., Ron W., Ron Y., Magda and a few others.  Below are some "odds and ends" images with appropriate subtext.

Terri N.

C7 bulbs that will light up our luminaries

These rubber "nipples" directly above are used to cover open sockets on the C7 strands (like the one two photos above) as we only use every third socket and remove bulbs in between  This works well for spacing of the jugs seen below.  If you haven't seen the HLS, do come and enjoy the display in December or at the Taste of Chocolate event on November 23rd which features the premiere lighting of the HLS.

20 of 2,000 jugs that will illuminate the HLS route

'Explosive Ember' ornamental hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) - annual

'Red Head' perennial fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides)

hot peppers (Capsicum sp.) that we're picking and sharing before the frosts this month

Above is just a shot to remind everyone that we're currently selling bulbs throughout the month at the Cottage Garden Gallery in the Parker Education Center and all bulbs are currently 25% off (no other discounts apply).

This Sunday is the all-you-can-eat Pancake Breakfast at RBG which is part of the Janesville Irish Fest - 2013 celebration.  Held at the Parker Education Center from 8 am until 12 noon, this event will also feature performances at 9 am and 10:30 am by students of the Kinsella Academy of Irish Dancers.  Irish harp music will be provided by Amy Cavanaugh.  There will also be children's activities and special appearances by members of the Janesville Jets hockey team.  Tickets to this event also include admission to the gardens and proceeds will benefit RBG and Independent Disability Services.  See our website for more details.

Drizzly With A Hint Of Illumination

Today started out misty which transitioned to drizzle which then became rain.  It was a nice steady rain which prompted us to stop watering, running irrigation and checking containers for watering needs!  It looks like we have more of a chance over the next two days as well so hopefully that early Autumn soaking will be worthwhile.  The misty morning didn't thwart most of our volunteers and we had a great turnout with many volunteers transitioning from outdoor projects to indoor projects once the rain arrived.  We're starting to accumulate more supplies and tasks for the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) set-up and preparations.  Most people don't realize all the "behind-the-scenes" work involved with testing, repairing and processing lights prior to them even going out in the gardens.  Our HLS "Elves" had a busy morning today (hence the "illumination" in the blog title) and the progress is heartening as we'll have to get moving on putting lights out as early as next Monday.  Above is a fetching mum/pansy combination in Magda's garden area this morning.

Above is our grounds crew today!  Cheryl and Big John did a great job today.  With Larry and Janice off, we had a skeleton crew but thankfully the rain helped take care of our watering duties.  Cheryl worked (half day today) on converting some of our reception garden containers to include flowering kale (Brassica oleracea) as seen directly below. The grass is the annual 'Sky Rocket' fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena) which will continue to look good over the coming weeks.  That kale will look better and more colorful as the temperatures become cooler. Big John started with irrigation and watering and later shifted to mowing and a shopping run once the rain set in.  He spent the afternoon on a wide range of tasks both out in the gardens and around the Horticulture Center.  I worked on myriad projects, presentations and other "desk-centric" tasks.

Our volunteers did get some nice gardening in for the first two hours of the morning.  Suzy (directly above) and Marilyn (directly below) worked in the ornamental edible garden collecting leaves and removing spent plants.  Steve (next photo down) helped in that same area with the same tasks.  Both Marilyn and Steve later shifted inside to help with HLS preparations.  Vicki (third photo down in purple) was our "go to gal" today for lights processing.  Here she's converting new lights to our hanging icicle lights which will be secured up in the trees by L.P. Tree Service in the coming weeks.  She came up with a great process and trained Mary W., Nancy N. and any other interested volunteers that wandered in to her sphere of influence.  Bob and Ron P. (fourth photo down, Ron in red) did a nice job collecting leaves and later shifted inside.  Dr. Gredler and Bill O. both did their mowing between the raindrops.  Pat M. (fifth photo down) has taken it upon himself (with my wholehearted encouragement) to process all the new luminaries from our donated half gallon milk jugs (we still need more!).  He did a great job prepping the first 300 or so and is doing a nice, uniform job with a system he devised.  Dick H. hauled three loads to the dump, tried to repair one of our mowers (still needs help) and worked with the carpenters.  Dave, Jim, Vern and Ron Y. worked on HLS tasks and Ron Y. (sixth photo down) sealed up another new memorial bench.  Maury ran out for more supplies and Janice popped in briefly as well.  We also saw Val W. and many others.  Further below are some additional shots from yesterday and today.

Marilyn

Steve

Vicki

Bob (blue) and Ron P. (red)

Pat M.

Ron Y.

cool Grumpy shirts

'Dragon Wing Red' begonia (Begonia hybrida) - annual

Short's aster (Aster shortii) - perennial (in part shade)

start of fall color on oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) - woody shrub

golden 'Lemon Lace' vine (Fallopia aubertii) - woody vine

blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis) showing why it has that name!

the "Pollinator's Paradise" theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden (yesterday)

Fall Additions & Subtractions

It was another beautiful day with sunshine and temperatures near 80 degrees F.  We had oodles of visitors today including lots of children (and parents) that were wandering after the always successful Story & Stroll program.  It was a nice day to be outside and the promise of rain later in the week is still quite appealing.  We continue to water but hope for a hand from Mother Nature by at least Friday!  It was a busy day around the gardens with solid volunteer assistance and some hard core gardening from the grounds staff.  Above is a nice shot of the formal gardens this morning.  Those blue obelisks will stay in place but will have lights put on them in less than three weeks.  We're gearing up to pounce on the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) shortly after we clear more annuals which are in the way but are still looking good.  We don't want to remove anything too early!  Below are some other shots from today.

Korean feather reed grass (Calamagrostis brachytricha) - perennial

Apricot Drift landscape rose (Rosa 'Memirrote')

Wednesdays are always good for volunteerism but today was extraordinary with lots of helping hands.  Above is Carol S. headed in to work in the Cottage Garden Gallery.  Carol is a long-time volunteer and also helps coordinate tours and tour guides (of which her husband Chuck is one of our best...).  I had the "crazed quartet" of Patrea, Kay, Marleen and Eva (seen directly below from left to right) in the terrace garden where they planted over 200 flowering kale (Brassica oleracea) along the outer border.  Patrea (far left) is holding one of the many donated plants.  The ladies did a great job and we only had to replant half of them this time.  Mary and Myrt (next photo down, Mary with the bandana) did a great job removing impatiens from the gazebo garden where they have transitioned recently to looking yucky.  Betty H. was out tidying her gardens as was Jenny E.  Jenny, while normally a grounds staff member, also has absorbed maintaining three garden areas with her husband Dave as a volunteer endeavor (which we greatly appreciate).  Stan did some significant work in the Japanese garden and Dr. Gredler did quite a bit of mowing and also "plug aerated" the entire formal garden.  Maury made a timely run for HLS supplies for us this afternoon.   The third photo down shows the Chestnut House volunteers working with Janice on sorting over 2,000 tulip (Tulipa) bulbs for our planting work day on October 19th.  We get them in larger quantity bags and "downsize" the quantities per bag so we can create more clumps.  The gang did a great job and also dug up our peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) outside the Horticulture Center.  Quantities were limited but what a fun experiment even if Jimmy Carter would be disappointed in the yield.  The fourth photo down shows Cindy (off work today) with her daughter Kristen out in the gardens visiting.  I tried to get some work out of them but to no avail.  Lisa I. came in at the end of the day and we sized up some modifications in the Potter Daylily Collection which Lisa has managed for a couple years now.

'Marbles' (spherical) and 'Explosive Ember' (right) hot peppers (Capsicum annuum) - annuals

'Chilly Chili' hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) - annual

Aside from myself, we also had Big John, Cheryl and Terry today.  Janice and Jenny were volunteers and it was nice to see Cindy as well.  The grounds staff all had plenty of gardening tasks including removing plants as needed.  Above is Big John who is seen here removing impatiens.  John also ran irrigation, planted, watered containers, cleaned debris out of various water features and worked on many other projects.  Cheryl (below) did a great job tidying up multiple areas including the North point border and English cottage garden.  She also watered all the yard plants.  Terry hauled plants, worked on many removals (including impatiens), helped water containers and also had multiple projects as well.   I had some meetings, placed plants for installation, worked on some labeling preparations, etc.  It was a productive day for everyone!  Further below are some other shots from today.

pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) loving the cool nights

Mona Lavender spur flower (Plectranthus hybrida 'Plepalila') - annual

flowers of 'Brunette' fairy candles (Cimicifuga simplex) - perennial

colorful calyces of the seven-sons flower (Heptacodium miconioides) - large woody shrub (already bloomed fragrant white in September!)

Above is the maroon-leaved 'Charmed Velvet' ornamental shamrock (Oxalis) with 'Molten Lava' ornamental shamrock (Oxalis vulcanicola) which are both annuals.  These shamrocks are featured to prompt you to "think Irish" and enjoy the Janesville Irish Fest 2013 (Thurs. - Friday) which also features the RBG pancake breakfast and Irish dancers on this Sunday, October 6th (8 am - 12 noon).  See our website for more details.

cool cobweb on our east gate that Terry pointed out (after he escaped its grasp...)

Had Some Road Time Today

I spent half my time in a truck today running for some fun items.  I picked up a generous donation of ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea) and other plant goodies from an area nursery (see photo near bottom) and then went out to pick up 10,000 twinkle lights for the Holiday Lights Show (HLS).  I'm not a big fan of any type of shopping (ask my wife) but we need to start accumulating our supplies for the HLS so we can hit the ground running here after the first hard frost.  We have some tasks we can do now but will need lots of annuals cleared as fall progresses and temperatures dip.  It was an unseasonably warm day near 80 degrees F which will occur again tomorrow.  We continue to tidy and water as needed and I again noticed more visitors enjoying the late season color.  Above is the golden-foliaged, Tiger Eyes sumac (Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger') starting to hint at some fall coloration.  On a good year, the entire specimen will turn that bright orange/red.  Below are some other recent shots out in the gardens.

sunken garden looking thru archway to reception garden

'Sky Rocket' fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena) - annual

'Thunder & Lightning' variegated red scabious (Knautia macedonica) - perennial

The grounds staff had a great day out in the gardens (I think) with lots of work accomplished (for sure).  Nice colorful crabapple (Malus sp., unknown variety) fruit shot above.  Big John hauled mums, ran irrigation, watered, installed a new sign, cut back shrubs and bounced between some other odds and ends including push mowing.  Pat also push mowed, cut back grasses, removed annuals, raked, tidied and continues to process our half gallon milk jug donations (Yes!  We need 1,500 more to replace our luminaries for the HLS!).  Cindy tidied in many areas and watered containers as well.  Cheryl also had multiple areas to tidy up and watered containers with Cindy.  This "general tidying" in any are includes leaf collection, removal of spent annuals, weeding and general primping.  We continue with this process throughout the entire gardens until we get a hard frost which then precipitates much more aggressive removals.  Janice worked on some office tasks, the cutting display, general gardening and yard watering.  I wasn't much help in the garden but was glad to take care of just a few vital "road trips."

While I lacked time for my daily photos of our wonderful volunteers, I did catch Resa and Cookie above (Cookie to the right). The ladies, after doing their Blues Brothers impression, did a nice job tidying up the North point garden which will host another late season wedding this Saturday.  Eva did another great job out in the entrance garden and is keeping the orange theme looking clean and vivid.  Don and Pearl were in briefly and both Dr. Gredler and Bill O. were in for mowing duties.  Ron K. did more leaf clean-up in the woodland walk garden and installed another batch of perennials in that same garden.  He planted a nice assortment of colorful coral bells (Heuchera) which do quite well in that setting.  I might have missed some volunteers this morning during my jaunts but we're all collectively keeping up with our gardening tasks and encourage anyone to visit soon before a nip of winter arrives and makes for a different scene!  Below are some more recent photos out in the gardens.

white corydalis (Corydalis ochroleuca) - perennial

Swedish ivy (Plectranthus argentatus) - annual

'Wood's Blue' New York aster (Aster novi-belgii) - perennial

'Kickin Pink Chiffon' aster (Aster hybrida) - perennial

Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) out the "side gap" of a pallet planter - nutritious annual

kale (Brassica oleracea) donation that will be planted soon - annuals

the beginnings of a candy cane for the Holiday Lights Show!