Chilly, Cloudy & Unseasonable!

What we thought would be a rainy day just ended up being chilly, cloudy and unseasonable with temperatures roughly 15 degrees F below average for this time of year.  Thankfully we did get some sun which will warm up our three greenhouses which are packed with plants we don't want to get chilly.  We were able to make a productive day out of it which was important with two garden weddings tonight and two tomorrow.  We like to tidy everything up before these events and were able to do so today.  We had a great crew of grounds staff and volunteers and the day was very productive.  There is still no shortage of spring color which has been extended with this cool weather.  Above are the blooms of bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) with perfect backlighting. I worry about the next two nights with temperatures predicted in the mid 30 degrees F!  We saw some minor damage on some types of plants due to the low of 40 degrees F last night.  Of course we hope to have a warm up soon. With our Saturday Volunteer Workday tomorrow, we may shift more to weeding (plenty) as planting in this cool, damp soil isn't ideal.  We also don't have most of our plants as we've left them in the safety of our vendors' greenhouses until next week!  More plant photos below from this morning.

Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum)

variegated wayfaringtree viburnum (Viburnum lantana 'Variegata')

We had a great volunteer turnout today.  Dr. Gredler and Bill O. were in for their riding mower rounds and did a very thorough job of tidying up the turf for the weekend.  Dick H. came in for some debris runs to the dump and worked on some other indoor projects as did Vern.  Kay (above) paused to smile in between some significant weeding and turf edging.  She does such a nice job (smiling too!).  Below are Kathy (left) and Eva weeding in the Woodland Glen garden (formerly color rooms) which had become very weedy.  They did a great job which is typical (and expected) and are a true dynamic duo.  Across the path from these ladies was Terri (second photo down) who targeted weeds in our huge peony bed.  Our weeding efforts in this battle zone continue after many years and today Terri made great progress.  Lisa I. came in to talk about the daylily (Hemerocallis) collection and picked up some new labels. We also saw Maury F., Dr. Yahr, Larry H., Glenn D., Mary Kay T. (worked on the reference library) and many others.

emerging leaves of the variegated Norway maple (Acer platanoides 'Drummondii')

'Purple Prince' barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum)

'Mocha' coral bells (Heuchera villosa)

Fridays are always busy for the grounds staff. Above is Cindy who did a nice job tidying the North point garden (prior to the wedding) and also worked her gardening Kung Fu in the entrance garden and sunken garden followed by some spot watering in the holding yard.  Pat push mowed and worked on some serious edging in the entrance garden and along our frontage road (Palmer Drive).  Terry also push mowed, smoothed out rototilled beds, cut back shrubs and helped tidy up the sunken garden.  Janice did the cutting display, tidied up the formal rose garden (another wedding) and bounced between some other projects.  I was able to check out the gardens and continue to balance spring preparations with desk work.  Below are some additional photos of the increasingly more colorful garden.

'West Point' lily-flowering tulip (Tulipa)

Coppertina ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius 'Mindia')

'Remember Me' plantain lily (Hosta)

one of thirteen signs marking the Thomas Jefferson Collection beds

A view from one of the twenty-five Adirondack chairs placed and secured out in the gardens as part of the 2014 Garden Art Project.  The chairs are uber-cool.  Come check them out and the views they accomodate!



Damp But Productive

Above is a photo of the classic (and native!) wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis).  I love this species and we let is seed around a bit.  There are some nice selected varieties of this species as well. The gardens were certainly colorful today although roughly half the day (morning) was rainy and thwarted most of our gardening plans.  However, we had a nice turnout of volunteers for indoor duties and did get some afternoon work accomplished outside as well.  The sun did peak out a couple of times which was welcome.  With the Spring Plant Sale and Tree Sale effectively over, we're focusing future efforts on all the planting we have to do out in the gardens.  We'll have quite a few perennials to yet install and over 150,000 annuals to poke in the ground.  Our first Saturday Volunteer Workday is this Saturday (8 am - 12 noon) although recent wet weather and a lengthened cool spring may limit planting that morning but certainly not gardening tasks.  We hope for a great turnout for this workday and the next sequential four after that (same time, same place).

Big John and I made a plant run this morning and brought back a good sized load.  John had myriad other duties both before and after our trip. The rainy start kept Janice and Cheryl working on putting away plant sale items, signs, etc. but that was vital to the process regardless of the weather.  Both ladies were able to get outside though and do some gardening once the weather cleared.  Larry did his normal rounds of checking water features, unloaded plants and compost and bounced between other projects.  It was a small but efficient crew today.  See below for some additional plant shots.

'Pinot Gris' coral bells (Heuchera villosa)

'Autumn Frost' hosta (Hosta)

Above are three of our volunteers on our new cart from last year.  In back are Janelle and Jordan and Victoria up front.  This trio did a great job yesterday sorting plant sale tags and enjoyed (presumably) a tour of the gardens from Janice.  The cart can be reserved in advance for a mobile tour with a strong focus on mobility-impaired guests.  We have two tour guides (Art and Chuck) that will give these tours and this cart is a nice addition to the fleet.  We also use it to haul around our volunteers.  Below are Mary Anne (left) and Janice in the Thomas Jefferson Collection this morning.  We're getting geared up for more planting in this fun garden theme (2 years).  Dick P. and Dick H. put our 'Dancing Waters' fountain out today and our carpenter Grumpies (Dave, Vern, Jim and Ron Y.) kept busy with constructing obelisks.  Gary S. created more labels and Pat C. was in later to continue the progress.  Larry H. spread woodchips this afternoon and helped organize the shed.  We also saw Maury (shopping trip), Ron R., Dr. Yahr, Dr. Gredler (mowing), Bill O., Gary B., Mary W., Rose L, Werner L. and many others.  With all my comings and goings, I'm sure I missed some volunteers in attendance.  Further down are some more fun pictures from the gardens yesterday and today.

'Pink Elf' barrenwort (Epimedium hybrida)

'Stairway to Heaven' Jacob's ladder (Polemonium reptans)

'Samurai Sword' Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum)

'Spring Green' tulip (Tulipa)

'Pink Diamond' tulip (Tulipa)

'Red Majestic' contorted European filbert (Corylus avellana)

'Sutherland Gold' cutleaf elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)

Gaining Momentum...

 

While it was overcast most of the day with a little spotty sunshine, the cool weather was nice and we put in a full day of gardening.  Above is the 'Blue Danube' wild hyacinth (Camassia leichtlinii) which is a fall planted bulb that likes it wet (like here in our sunken garden!).  We all had some tasks related to Spring Plant Sale closure and are doing the transition in to our spring planting and continued early season activities.  We had another bumper crop of volunteers and saw lots of children out in the gardens that were here for one of our spectacular educational opportunities.  They sure have more energy than I do, although school is almost out and that is always a factor!

 

The grounds staff had a busy day as usual and we had almost a full crew (sans Terry).  Pat (third photo down) did a great job putting together our second giant obelisk which he also painted earlier in the week.  Larry and Cindy were in for a half day and did a wide range of activities related to the plant sale, garden clean-up, water feature maintenance and other tasks.  Jenny spent most of the day tidying in the fern & moss garden and Japanese garden which are both featuring their first wave of weeds and have some last minute spring clean-up needs.  Cheryl spent time helping in the plant sale and transitioned to garden clean-up in the terrace, Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden, North point and alpine garden.  Big John also helped with the plant sale and did a bang up job rototilling (fourth photo down) in the Jungle Garden.  Note my artsy photo with John seen through a window.  Windows and doors are part of this unique garden theme this year.  Janice was in to work with our Chestnut House volunteers this afternoon.  I was outside more than I have been all year but the desk work calls me back often enough.

 

'Gravetye Giant' summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) in full bloom

'Lady In Red' lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum forma rubellum)

Pat working on the Giant Obelisk (#2)

Big John above rototilling

We had a great turnout of volunteers today and Wednesday continues to be one of our best days for garden volunteers.  Above is Dr. Gredler doing his combination of mowing and aerating at the same time.  He does a nice job and donates much valuable time to the gardens.  Below are Magda and Marleen who did a great job in their assigned garden area with clean-up which will be followed soon with new planting.  They never miss an opportunity to pose for the camera...  Ron K. (second photo down) continues to tidy in the woodland walk garden which is at spring peak right now and looking quite awesome.  Eva and Kathy (third photo down) did a superior job tidying in the gazebo garden which really benefitted from their attention.  Kay was a whirlwind again today with work in the shade garden and then her shift to help Jenny in the Japanese garden and fern & moss garden.  Dale S. ("Mr. Moss") was here all day (fourth photo down) and did a great job refreshing the moss islands that he created two years ago.  He is the best moss gardener I've ever met and his 1 acre garden (Waukesha) is unbelievable (not just moss).  We enjoyed and appreciated Dale's volunteer efforts today.  The fifth photo down shows Karen M. in the Japanese garden which she has tidied up faithfully for over 16 years (if not more!).  In the sixth photo down is Bob T. who, when not supporting the entire arched bridge with one hand, did an awesome job freshening up edging in the larch area.  The high quality quartet of Gena, Myrt, Nancy and Mary did a great job weeding the color rooms garden (now the Woodland Glen).  They are a great team but perhaps a little too chatty.  Patrea printed out more labels for the Thomas Jefferson Collection and the Chestnut House volunteers did a valuable job of sorting and organizing plant sale pricing labels which we re-use every year.  We also saw Jean S., Maury F., and many more!  More fun plants further down including our colorful greenhouses!

Magda and Marleen

Ron K.

Eva (left) and Kathy

Dale S. ("Mr. Moss")

Karen M.

Bob T. supporting the arched bridge with one hand

'Venus' coral bells (Heuchera)

Gold Bullion pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia 'Bachone')

'Root Beer' coral bells (Heuchera)

Our three greenhouses are "a burstin" with color and this only represents about 20% of our incoming plants for the year!  Above are the 'Thailand Giant' elephant ears (Colocasia gigantea) which will be a big part of our Jungle Garden theme.  Lots of fun plants ready to go.  Now we just need some sunshine and warmth!!!!

The Observation Pier Beginnings

Our weekly historical RBG installment shows the progress of the observation pier overlooking our three acre pond.  The photo above is recent and note the nice view of the pond, arched bridge and surrounding landscape.  The observation pier I believe was built and finished in 1992 although I'm not 100% sure on that account.  Meant to bring visitors closer to the water and to provide a wonderful view, this structure was also built to accommodate all accessible fishing opportunities.  It was originally called "The Fishing Pier." Fishing is still allowed at RBG and while we are the only botanical garden I know of that allows fishing, this pier is enjoyed and utilized by most of our guests for one reason or another.  During our Holiday Lights Show, the view from this structure is amazing.  We repaint this every couple of years and the Japanese style structure was re-roofed two years ago.  Note the polished granite lions to the left and right of the entrance way.  In regards to those lions, a Chinese guest last year explained that one is a boy and one is a girl.  The boy has a paw resting on a ball while the girl has a small cub under her paw.  That was neat to learn! These were vandalized during the 2006 incident which saw significant damage around the entire gardens.  Thankfully they were too heavy to steal, break or throw in the water (just tipped over)!  Note the progress of this structure further below with captions.

It was a crazy day.  I was wrapped up in meetings and other tasks and didn't even get in to the gardens proper.  Thankfully, the entire grounds staff of Big John, Pat, Terry, Jenny, Janice, Cheryl, Larry and Cindy were in attendance and were able to work on various tasks, many related to dismantling the Spring Plant Sale and Tree Sale.  There was also weeding, mowing and other duties.  Volunteers included Tina, Mary W., Stan, Maury and many others.  Our Garden Development & Maintenance Committee met and members in attendance included Big John, Dick P., Christine, Christy, Iza and Larry H.  There were other volunteers around today but I just didn't cross paths with them on this soggy, overcast and cool day.  We made three trips to K&W Greenery to pick up our massive plant order and still have a couple trips to go.  Lots going on today and we'll be back at it tomorrow!

the support posts are driven in (above and below)

Dave Knoerr, retired civil engineer, surveys the site

Mrs. Knoerr helps with the transit stick

support beams are installed

the decking and structure supports are secured as the sloped pathway to this structure is defined by boulders (both above and below)

the Japanese style structure is built (above and below)

the polished granite lions were added in 2001 with benches

a classic spring shot of this iconic structure