Princely Plants - In Memory of the Man

Based on an idea from my pal Mike Maddox to do an "all purple" blog in memory of Prince, I have done just that.  Incidentally, these are all plants I also viewed last week at the California Spring Trials (CAST).  I was able to see Prince in concert twice and he was spectacular.  The wife is a HUGE fan as well and will long be in mourning.  Regardless, I like to think he'd appreciate this collection of wonderful flowers.  RIP.

Today was overcast and cool but that didn't slow down our garden clean-up efforts on the day before our big Earth Day activities.  Tomorrow we'll have vendors, booths, food, educational offerings and some live raptor shows too.  See our website for details!  Tidying up the garden was vital.  Kathy, Eva and Kay were out there weeding and fine tuning various areas and always do a nice job.  Bill O. came in to mow and we also saw Vern, Dawn and many others.  Tomorrow morning (8 am - 12 noon) is also our Compost/Pansy Sale at the Horticulture Center.

Cindy did a lot of tidying out in the gardens and with so many visitors coming for Earth Day celebrations tomorrow, the timing couldn't be better.  John and Terry also accomplished a lot out in the gardens including mowing, collecting debris, blower rounds and getting our newly stained benches back in their locations.  Janice also tidied, prepared a display for the event tomorrow, refreshed the cutting display and prepared for our sale tomorrow which she gets going in the morning.  I took a dent out of my desk pile and continue to prepare for the convergence of events, deliveries and many other inputs that will create our "Perfect Storm" in early May!

'Primavera Violet' cineraria (Pericallis hybrida)

 'Passion Rose' African daisy (Osteospermum ecklonis)

 'SuperCal Blue' million bells (Calibrachoa)

 'Antique Blue' African daisy (Osteospermum ecklonis)

 'Tiara Mickey Blue Lavender' verbena (Verbena hybrida)

 'Amistad' friendship sage (Salvia hybrida)

'Roaring Raspberry' petunia (Petunia)

'Hot Dark Lavender' lobelia (Lobelia erinus)

'Tuscany Violet w/ Eye' verbena (Verbena hybrida)

'Axcent Deep Purple' rock cress (Aubrieta hybrida)

'Javelin Forte Purple' Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas)

'Sanguna Lavender Vein' petunia (Petunia)

'Colibri Purple Lace' million bells (Calibrachoa)

'Purple Haze' fan flower (Scaevola aemula)

'Littletunia Violet' petunia (Petunia)

'Samira Deep Blue' verbena (Verbena hybrida)

'Sparklers' petunia (Petunia)

'Hot Purple' lobelia (Lobelia erinus)

'Glow Fluor Rose' petunia (Petunia)

'Grape Punch Improved' million bells (Calibrachoa)

Another Nice Day

It appears that we'll have rain later tonight and were rewarded with another partly sunny day!  The Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) above were very happy with the day and responded accordingly by starting to open up beautifully.  We had an excellent day out in the gardens and also saw quite a few visitors as well.  April isn't a bad month to enjoy early color which also is starting up in front of the Parker Education Center with our first 10 of 100 varieties of tulips (Tulipa) showing color.  Each variety has 25 bulbs for a nice "bouquet effect." Further below are some exciting shots of some of these neat varieties.  The warm weather will push all of these varieties to bloom sooner so I wouldn't mind some days around 60 degrees F to slow things down for our traditional Mother's Day timing!  Don't forget to look at our website regarding the Earth Day activities this Saturday as well as details on the Compost & Pansy Sale!

 daffodils (Narcissus) peaking (and peeking) around a 'Royal Star' magnolia (Magnolia stellata)

 'Mt. Hood' grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum)

'Sunningdale Variegated' masterwort (Astrantia major) - perennial

Ron P. (seen above) is evidence that preparations for the 2016 Holiday Light Show (HLS) are under way already.  While we've packed away the show from last year, Ron continues to repair/prepare lights for our late summer/early fall installation!  No rest for the weary.  Speaking of events...the guys below (Lloyd, Bob C., Alan and Gary B.) did a nice job getting tents up for the upcoming Golden Kiwanis Tree Sale (April 29 and 30, 8 am - 4 pm) and Spring Plant Sale (see our website for details).  Kathy, Eva and Cheryl did a great job weeding in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden today.  This garden will feature a Hummingbird Haven theme this year and Cindy B. will keep it looking sharp I'm sure.  The weeds gained a foothold early this year but are now losing the battle thankfully!  Peg L. was out doing some serious sweeping.  Maury worked on the fountain in the English cottage garden among other duties.  Dr. Gredler was out for mowing and aerating of turf.  Dave T. and Ron Y. had some carpentry projects and organized their space nicely. Gene was in for sanding and re-staining.  Shirley B. came in later for some repotting duties.  We also saw Bill O., Bev D., Gary S., Rollie M., Chuck S. and many others today.

We're a bit lighter on grounds staff on Thursdays but Larry H. and Big John accomplished a huge amount of work.  Larry spread more mulch, edged, re-potted plants and had myriad other tasks.  John did some rototilling, unpackaged and organized our half dozen deliveries today, watered and also had many odd jobs as well.  A nice tool donation arrived today which will go in to immediate use!  I was able to get out in the gardens for a bit and ultimately am finalizing spring orders and details for looming events.

 Dr. Gredler

 Cheryl, Kathy and Eva (left to right) in a weeding hot spot

 Mark S. getting the terrace umbrellas up and ready (and/or looking for old chewing gum that still has flavor...)

 Maury F. trying to gain forced entry in to the building (busted!)

 Ron Y. (left) and Dave sorting hardware

Shirley B. and Larry H. potting up plugs

 'Toronto' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Candy Apple Delight' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Sweetheart' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Algarve' tulip (Tulipa)

 'Orange Princess' tulip (Tulipa) - just opening

'Mystic Van Eijk' tulip (Tulipa)

our newly re-organized label storage system (courtesy of Pat C.)

Rain Averted - Productivity Engaged

We all came in expecting a rainy day with inside projects (of which there are many) but were rewarded with a nice, cool day with some sun and clouds.  The gardens are literally springing to life with plenty of color in evidence.  Above is the 'Golden Lotus' double hellebore (Helleborus sp.) which is always enchanting in the woodland walk garden.  Below are many other shots of plants out in the gardens.  We had a busy day of hustle and bustle around the gardens as we continue to mulch, weed, tidy, plant and ultimately prepare for a very busy spring (which is already here!).  We had some rain overnight but not enough to make it too sloppy.  Progress continued on the giant Aquarium which continues to look quite awesome (photo further down).  Plant deliveries continue to arrive and we are processing orders as they come in almost daily.  We had plenty of awesome volunteers around and our grounds staff continues to be pretty awesome as well.  We've also had some very generous donations to the grounds department which is most appreciated.

'Stairway to Heaven' variegated Jacob's ladder (Polemonium reptans) - perennial

species tulipa (Tulipa tarda) - perennial

Our volunteers accomplished a wide range of activities today.  Kay (above) tidied along the west road near the Parker Education Center and did an excellent job cleaning up this space which needed a lot of varied and intense TLC!  It's looking great and Kay is "expanding her range" later in the week in that same area.  Directly below are Eva (left) and Kathy who spent a second day in the Japanese garden collecting debris and making everything look nice.  That garden requires the most care "per square foot" I would say, so we do have lots of focus on making it look nice.  The second photo down shows (left to right) Gena, Myrt and Nancy.  The ladies pulled a whole lot of thistle today near the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden and helped weed some adjacent areas.  Bob, Bev and Deb were excellent today in leading the charge to divide another big load of daylilies.  Along with help from two industrious RECAPPERS, these five accomplished a lot of work and continued well in to afternoon with additional tasks including rototilling.  Janice had her Chestnut House volunteers on hand for a tour and some gardening as well.  There are a few new volunteers in this group for 2016 so the orientation is important.  We also saw Maury (errands), Bill O. (odds and ends) and many others today.

The grounds staff kept busy today with Cindy planting pansies, tidying, weeding and accomplishing many other tasks and duties.  Larry H. continues to be "mulch boy" but also did some edging as well.  Terry and Big John hauled more Hummingbird Garden Art Projects to Utzig Carstar in Janesville (the sponsor of this event) for seal coating.  The project that have been returned are unbelievable and we look forward to putting them out in the gardens this spring (auction is in September for these unique art pieces).  The guys also placed and filled many more containers, moved our giant chairs and are preparing the yard for the upcoming Spring Plant Sale (see our website for details).  Janice worked with volunteers, prepared more information for our Heirloom Garden and processed a lot of labels for our daylily division sale which will be held in conjunction with the Golden Kiwanis Tree Sale on April 29th and 30th (8 am - 4 pm) at the Horticulture Center.  We'll also be selling pansies and compost on both of those days.  Daylily divisions will be $5 each or $4 each for 5 or more....!  I keep treading water with daily tasks, preparations and catching up on some items.  We are definitely in the busy season.

the giant Aquarium takes form...

one of the 100 varieties of tulips (Tulipa) just starting to bloom in front of the Parker Education Center (I'll catch up with the variety!)

grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) - perennial

'Tropical Lady' variegated tulip (Tulipa)

one of our many hundreds of fragrant garden hyacinths (Hyacinthus)

Prairie Gem Ussurian pear (Pyrus ussuriensis 'MorDak')

some family time out on the pond

'Purple Star Power' magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) above

saucer magnolia (Magnolia soulangiana)

PJM rhododendron (Rhododendron sp.)

blooms of 'Silver Shimmers' lungwort (Pulmonaria) - perennial

Dark & Damp

Today was certainly cooler than yesterday and included overcast skies and some decent drizzle from time to time.  Things are greening up nicely out there including the notorious garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) seen above which actually stays green all winter under the snow.  We'll target these soon as the second year plants (biennial) will be flowering and producing seed within the next three weeks or so.  There are still plenty of bulbs blooming out in the gardens and it's a perfect time to catch the brief overlap of daffodils (Narcissus) at peak along with early tulips and many other minor bulbs (grape hyacinths, Siberian squill, striped squill, etc.).  

It was another busy Spring day around the gardens.  Two fellas from Evergreen Irrigation came to start up our system today which includes checking all of our sprinkler heads throughout the gardens.  Joel and Shawn were also here to install a new water mover and get the large fountain in place.  They also helped clean the pond and added our first wave of organic treatments this year.  We'll need some tweaks on both the fountain and some irrigation zones next week but should be in good order shortly. LP Tree Service was also on site for a tree removal.  At one point, all of this was happening at once!

Above is Kathy who earned some extra credit by coming in early to start transplanting plugs in to larger pots for this year.  She started by working on the new, variegated milkweed (Asclepias curassavica 'Monarch Promise') seen below.  I included some photos I took of this plant last summer which really show off the interesting foliage.  Eva later came to help Kathy out and they also  headed out in to the gardens for some tidying.  Kay was in to tidy a tough area but she always does such an excellent job.  Our daylily dividing crew today was led by Lisa I. and included Bev, Bob, 2 RECAPPERS, Ken, Peg, Deb and her granddaughter.  They did an excellent job and accomplished what they set out to finish!  Maury worked on lots of odd jobs and Dick H. was around to help as well.  Our Garden Development & Maintenance Committee had a meeting (Christy M., Big John, Ron, Hal, Iza, Maury, Larry H. and me).  We also saw Sue M. and many others today as well.

The rain didn't slow the grounds crew.  Cindy helped process more caladiums and the plants that the ladies were transplanting.  She also worked on tidying, preparing tools for the divide today and applying more pre-emergent weed control.  Big John helped all our on site contractors today and kept everyone moving along.  He also had a wide range of duties as well.  Larry H. was also a big help this morning and continues to have a lead as our #1 mulch spreader (2016) - in terms of volume!   I had meetings and caught up on some desk work as well.

 'Monarch Promise' milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) - annual

 'Monarch Promise' milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) - annual

 'Monarch Promise' milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) - annual

Grandma Deb with little helper

 daylily divisions (will be on sale April 29 and 30, 8 am - 4 pm) as will the pansies below!