Clearance Sale & Door Frames

 

We finally had some rain today around the lunch hour and it came down fast and furious.  We were able to have a very productive morning despite the deluge and also salvaged the afternoon.  There was no shortage of beauty out in the gardens with many spring bloomers exploding over the warm weekend.  Above is the 'Goldheart' bleeding heart which is one of my favorites and also features golden foliage.  Today was also our Clearance Sale for both the Spring Plant Sale and Tree Sale. We saw some moderate traffic but the rain put a "damper" on things...get it?  It's always nice to clear out more plants and I think we did pretty well with this vital RBG fundraiser.

 

The grounds staff had a busy day as usual.  Cindy worked on tidying up the front entrance garden and did a great job working in the rose garden.  We thought we had major losses but were happy to see that many are coming back to life and showing growth from the lowest portions of the canes.  Cindy also weeded in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden.  Larry helped with some early Grumpy projects and moved on to serious weed whipping throughout the gardens.  Big John and Terry helped install the door frames in our future Jungle Garden area and moved on to multiple tasks including some related to the plant sale and a much needed gas run.  Pat painted all morning and I continue to prepare for life after the plant sale.  Janice was in to keep the Clearance Sale running smoothly and was the glue that kept everything functioning well this weekend.

 

'Little Leo' leopard's bane (Doronicum orientale)

'Sweet Tea' foamy bells (xHeucherella) with early growth

With a rain-free morning, we had a great showing of Grumpies.  The guys jumped right in to helping secure door frames in the Jungle Garden (see above and below) which also includes colorful windows.  Dick P., Ron W. and Larry H. jumped right in to digging holes after Larry and Terry hauled out the frames.  Each frame will support a colorful (and functional door).  The guys were then joined by Ron P., Gary B., Big John and Rollie.  Bob C. and Emmit (second photo down) worked on mulching the west side of the property near the Parker Education Center.  The carpenters had a busy day too.  The third photo down shows Jim (left), Vern and Ron Y. (thankfully not facing the camera) on a jaunt in to the gardens. The guys worked on multiple projects and helped Bob K. with some preliminary work for some electrical upgrades.  Maury and Glenn were involved with the tree sale and Dick H. finished work on the brakes of a utility cart (fifth photo down).  He's quite handy to have around.  Gary S. and Pat C. worked on labeling duties in the office.  Dr. Gredler was in for mowing duties and Urban came in for some work digging out some spreading shrubs...  Mary W., Pat M., Pat R., Tina and Bev D. were a huge help with the plant sale.  The fourth photo down shows Eva (left) and Bonnie (new volunteer) doing some weeding in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden.  They did a nice job.

 

 

red barrenwort (Epimedium x rubrum) from ground level

'Bandit' barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum var. higoense)

'Cobblewood Form' barrenwort (Epimedium x rubrum)

And there is still hope....new growth on a very brown dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca 'Conica')



Spring Plant & Tree Sale (Day 3)

 

Today was the third day for our Spring Plant Sale and Tree Sale. The day was nice with warm temperatures and overcast skies later in the afternoon.  At the time of typing this blog, no rain has arrived although it would be nice for all of our gardens to get a nice soaking rain very soon.  Some precipitation looked imminent around the dinner hour.  Above is the double flowering plum (Prunus triloba 'Multiplex') at peak this morning at the gardens.  This large shrub is ideally situated in the entrance garden which will be pink this summer too! 

 

The gardens were very busy and the Mother's Day Brunch at the Parker Education Center seemed well attended.  We had a steady day of traffic for both sales and will likely have a clearance sale of some sort tomorrow (Monday) from 9 am until 4 pm.  This collective event illustrates how vital volunteers are to the gardens.  Lily (below) was one of dozens of volunteers helping with both events.  Aside from being cute as a button, Lily was a good helper too. She has been a RBG volunteer since she was 2 years old.  Further down are some other images from the sale.

 

 

some young customers with their plants

veggies like these peppers above continue to sell well

here's Lily with Grandma Sue

Kris K. from RBG brought her son to help out and their Mother's Day bonding experience included an affectionate "head butt" and lots of watering (see below)

Cindy (RBG grounds staff) and her little girl were at the sale too as were some clearly labeled Grumpy volunteers (see below)

 

 

If the weather is ok tomorrow, we'll be installing these doors out in the gardens tomorrow!

Perfect Weather on Day 2

Today was the second day of the Spring Plant Sale (members only sale yesterday) and also for the Spring Tree Sale.  Some of the action is captured in these photos.  It was a perfect day with sunshine and temperatures ultimately in the mid 70 degrees F.  The sale was quite busy early on and kept steady for the remainder of the day.  As was the case yesterday, we had wonderful volunteer assistance for both sales and the Golden Kiwanis guys did a great job facilitating the tree sale.  Chet and Amanda (bottom photo) did a live remote for WCLO this morning and encouraged more traffic by promoting both sales.  There are plenty of plants yet available for day 3 tomorrow and we hope the weather is nice (at least until 4 pm).

Russ and Stan (two of dozens of our volunteers)

Amanda and Chet from WCLO

The Sale Beginneth

 

The Members Only pre-sale for the Spring Plant Sale opened today with plenty of traffic.  We sold quite a few new RBG memberships which is always nice. It was also the first day of the Tree Sale.  Both sales will continue tomorrow at the Horticulture Center from 9 am until 4 pm.  Above are just some of the wonderful herbs we have available for the sale.  Below are the "tomato tents" with a wide range of heirloom and hybrid selections.  We also have a wide range of peppers, hot peppers, kale, Swiss chard, perennials, small trees, shrubs, etc.  There are still a lot of plants available for the weekend including the ever popular bagged mushroom compost. 

 

We had over 60 volunteers helping just today with the collective Spring Plant Sale and Tree Sale. It was a great day and the early showers diminished and the sunshine came out with some moderate winds.  Dr. Gredler was in for mowing and Kay went out in the gardens for some weeding and tidying.  Cindy, Pat and Terry worked on various projects including involvement with the sales. Janice did a great job keeping everything organized and below are some images from today and some recent flower images from yesterday morning. 

 

 

 

 

some of the thousands of trees at the tree sale (6 types)

'Betty Blake' sand phlox (Phlox bifida)

'Silver Shimmers' lungwort (Pulmonaria)

'Heigham Red' hens & chicks (Sempervivum)

upright wild ginger (Saruma henryi)

'Shockwave' variegated garden phlox (Phlox paniculata)

'Mars' barrenwort (Epimedium sempervirens 'Mars')

double pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris - unknown variety)

Ready To Rock & Roll

We're ready for the start of the Tree Sale tomorrow (9 am - 4 pm) and the RBG Members Only Spring Plant Sale (pre-sale), also from 9 am - 4 pm.  Both sales continue Saturday and Sunday for the same hours at the Horticulture Center.  It was our busiest day yet this year with over 50 volunteers coming in over the course of the day to help prepare for both sales as well as to accomplish gardening duties.  Just some of our many helpers are featured below.  Nice shot above of some white daffodils (Narcissus) near the formal gardens this morning.  Janice kept the sale organized and on track and Jenny was a huge help as well.  Apologies in advance for those I miss but our plant sale helpers included Don, Pearl, Nancy, Gary B., Shirley, Tina, Bev W., Karen, Pat R., Doris, Magda, Joy, Bob K. and many others.  Our Grumpies included the ugly mugs seen below. From left to right are Larry H., Ron W., Ron P., Ron R. and Emmit.  The guys helped secure the tents as we've had high winds with more coming tonight.  These guys later shifted to mulching and tidying the main parking lot.  Dick P. placed memorial bricks and Maury was bouncing between many projects.  Vern, Ron Y. and Jim worked on carpentry projects while Dr. Gredler and Bill O. did their riding mowing rounds.  Eva, Kathy and Barb (new Grumpette) helped tidy multiple areas with a strong focus on the sunken garden.  Karen M. was out tidying in the Japanese garden. We also saw Kris K., Bob C., Cindy B., Jean S., Mary W., Lynda S., El, Cynthia, Pat C. and many others today.  Too many comings and goings to keep track of accurately. Further below are shots of the Golden Kiwanis members processing the trees for the sale.  The guys did a great job. 

Our grounds staff included Larry, Big John, Pat, Jenny, Janice and myself.  We all had a wide range of duties and balanced duties for the plant sale with obligations out in the gardens.  This is the annual juggling act but we're used to juggling and will focus more on spring planting out in the gardens next week once the "dust settles" after our awesome sale.

Larry H., Triple Ron's (W., P., R.) and Emmit

Don and Pearl

Shirley (left) and Joy with Tina in the back

Bob K. watering shrubs

Doris and Magda

Nancy, Doris, Gary and Magda (left to right)

members of the Blackhawk Golden Kiwanis Club processing trees (above and below)

There was no shortage of color out in the gardens.  Finally our tulips are blooming right around Mother's Day (see above) which is usually the goal with our variety selections.  In past years, they have been quite a bit earlier with warmer springs.  Our 4,000 pink tulips will be at peak for the weekend which will be perfect.  I was able to walk back through the gardens after a meeting at the Parker Education Center and captured the photos below as well.  There were many people out in the gardens and we hope for a busy weekend at the gardens including some significant action at the Spring Plant Sale and Tree Sale.

'Painted Doubles' hellebore (Helleborus)

'Jane Platt' star magnolia (Magnolia stellata)

two of twenty-five awesomely decorated Adirondack chairs featured as part of our 2014 Garden Art exhibition which also promotes our 25th Anniversary!