Another Dent In Our Planting

Above is just one of three large areas that I placed plants out for installation today.  My cart (below) is very handy for this task as I can haul 36 flats at a time!  The area above is in the gazebo garden which we're planting in advance of a large wedding this weekend.  I also placed plants out in the larch area and the terrace garden.  The excellent weather today, coupled with super volunteers, kept me moving to keep ahead of our planters.  The weather still looks good for the week although a little rain in the coming days would be alright with me.  We hope for a dry Saturday morning for the fourth of our five Volunteer Work Days (8 am until 12 noon, meet at the Parker Education Center).  We plan on planting the remainder of the entrance garden Saturday which will receive another 6,000 plants or so this weekend to complete our yellow/orange/red theme.  I couldn't be happier with the progress today by both staff and volunteers and I think the average bed time for all of us tonight will come sooner after accomplishing so much!

I wasn't able to photograph all of our volunteers but we sure had an excellent turnout.  The Story & Stroll program had a huge turnout and it was nice to see all those folks out in the gardens along with the students who arrived for the Youth Education Program.  Our education volunteers were in action all day.  .Betty (above) and Shirley (directly below) both worked in their assigned garden areas on weeding which will be followed by significant planting next week.  Jan R. weeded in the Scottish garden and Kay continued her onslaught of purslane in the entrance garden.  The second photo down shows Eva (left) and Kathy (hiding behind the pole) doing some planting in the gazebo garden after they finished weeding the entrance garden slope just before Big John and Terry came through with the rototillers.  The third photo down shows Mary D. (foreground) and Vicky planting the gazebo border (seen in the top photo).  The ladies put in a good 500 plants and Vicky stuck around for watering and clearing out more bulb foliage in another garden that we have to plant next week.  It's nice having her back in action.  Jenny (fourth photo down) and Dave tidied in the Hosta Hollow garden and Jenny installed more hostas in that colorful space.  They both put in some solid time and are excellent gardeners, volunteers and past RBG grounds employees!  The fifth photo down shows Nancy (left) and Gena planting in the larch area this afternoon where they were joined by Mary (sixth photo down) and Patty (seventh photo down).  They planted a good portion of our All-America Selections garden and Paula and Emily came later in the evening to continue on this same project.  Janice worked with the Chestnut House volunteers and they did an excellent job selecting and installing plants for the raised planters at the Horticulture Center. Vern continued installing signs for the Garden Art Project ("Nature Nooks") and Mary Kay worked on the lending library.  We also saw Chuck S., Dr. Yahr and many others today.  I'd call that a solid turnout!

The grounds staff had a great day as well.  Cindy and Cheryl dove right back in to weeding in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden which will once again feature our Smelly Garden theme.  Cindy did some watering and Cheryl watered the entire holding yard which was a monumental task today.  Big John and Terry had a very physical day with rototilling, watering and completing the edging project out in the Thomas Jefferson Collection.  The boys will be sleeping well tonight.  I drove my little tractor around and delivered plants.  Below are a couple plant photos I took throughout the day.

 'Sutherland Gold' red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)

 'Tidal Wave' weeping katsuratree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)

 'Postman's Pride' stonecrop (Sedum hybrida) - perennial

 'Sweet Tea' foamy bells (xHeucherella) - perennial

 'Solar Eclipse' foamy bells (xHeucherella) - perennial

'Amethyst Mist' coral bells (Heuchera) - perennial

Planting Picks Up Speed!

The Russo Family Fountain (seen above) continues to be such a great addition to the gardens after the initial installation in 2014.  It was a cool start to the day at 40 degrees F although afternoon temperatures were around 75 degrees F on this sunny day.  Tuesdays usually see moderate volunteer help but we had an unexpectedly awesome turnout today.  The youth education program was in full swing today so we saw lots of youngsters around the gardens as well.  Our focus continues to be on tidying and weeding (no shortage) although we're picking up steam with more planting with roughly 2,000 plants installed today.  Below are some images I took this morning.

 'Twilite' Prairieblues hybrid false indigo (Baptisia x variicolor) - perennial (above and below)

 'Fire Witch' cheddar pinks (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) - perennial

 'Plum Royale' coral bells (Heuchera) - perennial

golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) - perennial

I'll try not to miss any volunteers today as we had so many!  Above are Resa (left) and Cookie at the North Point garden (their assigned garden area).  That "Nature Nook" was created by Cookie and is one of twenty-five beautiful art pieces around the gardens.  The ladies planted most of their garden today and did an excellent job.  Dr. Gredler and Bill O. were out for mowing and Pat M. came in for some more painting.  Gary was making signs for the Garden Art Project while Vern was out installing them (sixth photo down).  Directly below are Kathy (left) and Eva planting in the entrance garden where they were later joined by Vicky (second photo down).  The three ladies did a great job planting after some serious weeding earlier in the morning.  Kay (third photo down) continued her focused onslaught against the purslane (Portulaca oleracea) seen in the foreground of that image.  She hauled a lot of weeds out of that area and will target that location tomorrow too.  Roy (fourth image down) planted additional perennials and annuals in the shade garden while Hal and Doris (fifth photo down) put in a good four hours planting their assigned garden along Palmer Drive.  As usual, they did a surprisingly great job.  Bob K. worked on some electrical projects at the Parker Education Center.  Urban and Rose did some painting and Urban came back in the afternoon for some planting.  Stan (seventh photo down) did some major pruning today and Bob T. worked on some air edging in select locations.  Dejanique (eighth photo down) did a nice job planting in the gazebo garden. We also saw Marv B., Mary Kay, Dr. Yahr, Sondra, Art and many others.  I feel like I missed some folks but of course mean no slight.  Great day of productivity!

Directly above is my two-tiered cart that is "uber-handy" for hauling plants around.  I was able to haul out and place three full loads today and will do much of the same over the coming days.  I was also able to spray some herbicide and catch up on some desk work.  Larry mowed, string-trimmed, checked water features and addressed other small projects as well. Janice worked in the Thomas Jefferson Collection, did the cutting display and helped with some other projects including watering.  Big John also mowed, composted, rototilled and had myriad other tasks including watering as well.  Cheryl and Cindy tag-teamed the weeds in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden and both had watering duties as well.   Below are more photos from this morning.

rhododendron (Rhododendron sp.) - unknown variety

'Walker's Low' catmint (Nepeta x faassenii) - perennial

 'Carolina Moonlight' hybrid false indigo (Baptisia hybrida) - perennial

Chardonnay Pearls deutzia (Deutzia gracilis 'Duncan')

purple catalpa (Catalpa x erubescens 'Purpurea')

variegated meadow foxtail grass (Alopecurus pratensis 'Aureovariegatus') - perennial

A Nice Octoberish Day

This morning was 40 degrees F and while the day was sunny and beautiful, we only reached a high temperature of 67 degrees F.  This reminds me of early October although I'm certainly thankful for the recent rains and the fact that it could be 95 degrees F just as easily....The day was gorgeous as evidenced by the blue sky seen above through the canopy of the variegated Norway maple (Acer platanoides 'Drummondii').  It was a busy day and we keep "chipping away" at our projects and priorities.

willowleaf bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii) - perennial

'Chattahoochee' phlox (Phlox divaricata subsp. lamphamii) - perennial

maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) - perennial

Chardonnay Pearls deutzia (Deutzia gracilis 'Duncan') - woody shrub

 'Thunderbird' foamy bells (xHeucherella) - perennial

Our volunteers did a great job today.  Despite the apparent confusion seen directly above, the guys were on a mission to secure our "Nature Nooks" which comprise our 2015 Garden Art Project.  Above (left to right) are Ron Y., Dave, Vern (seated) and Jim D.  The guys had a productive day both inside and outside.  Bob K. and Dick H. helped out as well and both had other duties as well.  Pat M. was in for painting and Del helped out as well.  Below are Kathy (left) and Eva weeding the gazebo garden border which was quickly composted by Larry H., Ron R. and Ron B.  The guys had four or five areas to target and used up the remainder of our compost pile.  Ron P. (second photo down) did a nice job air edging and Alan (third photo down) cut back bulb foliage along the front slope.  Kathy and Eva later joined Alan in this daunting task.  Kay came in later and attacked our purslane (Portulaca oleracea) yet again.  She is committed and victory is assured.  Jenny and Dave did a great job tidying up the Hosta Hollow garden which always looks excellent after they focus their energies in that space.  Dr. Gredler and Rollie did their mowing rounds and Bill O. stopped by later.  Maury ran on more errands and Gary did some significant label production today.  Pat C. continued matching labels with newly arrived plants and Bev D. stopped by the help out as well.  Mary Kay worked on our reference collection in the Horticulture Center.  Urban and Rose continued their painting project on the observation pier and we also saw Chuck, Dr. Yahr, Art, Cheryl R. and many others today.

The grounds staff had a busy day but thankfully running irrigation and/or setting up sprinklers was not a priority after our wet weekend.  Larry checked water features, mowed and did a lot of string trimming around the gardens.  Big John and Terry worked together on edging and rototilling for the majority of the day and Cindy did a nice job battling more weeds in the Smelly Garden (Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden) and watered the entire yard which is still quite full!  I was able to set out plants, spray herbicide and catch up on some desk work.  Overall, it was an excellent day.  Below are more shots from this morning.

 'By the Golden Rule' daylily (Hemerocallis)

 Star of Persia (Allium christophii)

 valerian (Valeriana officinalis) - perennial (fragrant but aggressive!)

 'Purple Smoke' hybrid false indigo (Baptisia hybrida) - perennial

'Taylor's Sunburst' lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)