Our Last Workday (Until April!)

We had wonderful weather this morning for our "day of decoration" workday out in the gardens. Felicia (to the left) was one of about fifteen volunteers that showed up today to help decorate the 180 white pine (Pinus strobus) trees that we put up temporarily for the holiday lights show. We lit up the entire show today so our volunteers could plug in their lights, test them and wrap them around the trees. Tree decorating is a science, particularly with white pines as they aren't as rigid as spruce (Picea) or firs (Abies) or Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Marianne layed out all the lights yesterday so with Janice's supervision (Janice seen to the right) our crew did an awesome job and we're ready for our testing next week. I finished running the last of the cords and both Larry and I did some troubleshooting of lights that were out or nibbled on by critters. The rabbits (or squirrels) seem to enjoy chewing on net lights which really cripples some of our lit hedges. Regardless, nothing new in terms of challenges and we have plenty of time to test, tweak, modify and improve the show prior to the premiere lighting during our taste of chocolate event (www.rotarygardens.org/chocolate.htm). Dr. Gredler was here to work on cutting more greens and ran some loads to the dump. Bill did another nice job collecting leaves and debris from the gardens and continues to be one of the few that continues to be dedicated to clean-up as winter looms. One of our last blooming perennials continues to offer color. The pictures below show the fall-blooming, perennial onion (Allium thunbergii 'Ozawa') that started blooming in late September and continues to send up buds despite all the frosty mornings. The flowers will retain some color after the plant goes dormant but so far, this specimen in the alpine garden, is still "struttin' its stuff."

Thru The Eyes Of A Deer

We had another great day of weather today. Sorry, no post yesterday as I took the day off to hang out with my younger daughter. Lots of work accomplished yesterday including much progress on our impromptu, informal deer fencing seen above. The guys have done a nice job protecting our arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) hedging that has been decimated over the past three winter seasons. Snow fence has it's merit although we wonder if these barriers will encourage our resident deer to "expand their palette"? Ugh. In some instances, the snow fence is two sections high (seen below) or we're using additional wire to keep them from going under or over one level of fencing. We'll see how effective it is but I certainly appreciate all the effort (and expense!) that has gone in to this endeavor.
We had a small crew today with Marv gone and no Larry or Little Jerry. Terry worked on setting up more trees for decoration and bounced between various "last minute" preparations for the lights show. Marianne continued to haul out lights for our work day tomorrow and also spread greens, ran cords and tidied up here and there. Janice worked on gardening projects, the last of our bulb planting (help from Marianne) and helped Terry as well. Kay came in to garden for the last time this year and didn't disappoint us with her multiple loads of debris from the color rooms and Scottish garden. Dr. Gredler and Vern were here to work on some projects including more soil work to level out an area near the main road. We also saw Bev, Deb and Maury over here today for various reasons. Next week is both joyous and sad. We'll be celebrating the set-up of our lights show after many weeks of work but most of the grounds folk (with the exception of Little Jerry and Larry) will finish until next April. Marv, Marianne, Janice and Terry did an awesome job this year and we look forward to their continued involvement at RBG. I was running cords by our oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) and noted the wide variability of fall color that is certainly dependent on sun exposure. The image shows fall color from left (most sun) to right (least sun). Interesting. Beneath that photo are some others I took today and was happy to see continued interest this late in November. The kale (Brassica sp.) is still looking good but note the little green caterpillars (in center) still munching on the purple one! At the bottom is the annual Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) that still is contributing as it dies a slow death.

Dismally Drizzlin'

Not much for colorful photographs today. Above is a water bottle in our pond that I'll mention later. It has been on and off drizzle and rain all day. While not untypical of a November day, this cool rain made me thankful for our early start with the holiday lights show preparations. Marv and Terry continued to stake up trees for decoration this Saturday and worked on some inside projects as well. Marianne placed lights out by their respective "target trees" and worked on more lights preparations. She prepares back-ups for various luminaries and other lights that may require an entire strand to be replaced during the show. Her organizational skills are second to none. Urban was here to do some pruning, Vern worked on carpentry projects and Dr. Gredler continued to cut greens for the lights show and a winter container class coming up soon. Kay stopped by and we hope to see her this Friday if the weather is ok. Little Jerry worked on pruning and I ran some cords between rain drops.

Plastic bottles, specifically water bottles, bother me. The one above was out in our pond and I can't help but wonder how it got there? It is amazing to see the amount of litter in our botanical garden ranging from cigarette butts, fast food bags, cans, bottles, etc. I can't imagine an mentality that justifies littering the environment with the possible (though not probable) assumption that others will pick it up. Some interesting facts about plastic water bottles in our country:

* The average American spends $400 annually on bottled water
* Americans consume 7 billion gallons of bottled water each year
* Bottled water costs almost 2000 times that of tap water
* 86% of used plastic water bottles end up in the garbage (1500 every second)
* It takes 17,000,000 barrels of oil to produce these bottles (not to mention the fuel consumption associated with delivery of these bottles)
* That many barrels of oil could fuel 100,000 cars for an entire year

Consider the implications of using and accepting certain packaging mechanisms. There are implications!!! Stepping off the soap box...

Prelude To A Beautiful Day

I couldn't pass up taking a shot of the sunrise this morning (shot taken from the Horticulture Center). What wonderful colors and the day progressed nicely to be partly sunny with a slight breeze. The temperatures have cooled a bit but still great weather to accomplish some work. Janice was sick today and we hope Kay is still recovering from last week. Little Jerry worked on pruning in the Scottish garden and color rooms garden while Bill continued to collect debris from some of those tough to reach locations. Larry and I turned on the lights show and started addressing issues (mostly things that weren't plugged in yet!) and we should have everything done by the end of the week. I'm still carrying around my camera to catch garden interest shots and noticed the barrenwort (Epimedium x rubrum) below with reddish leaves, not too different in coloration from the fresh spring leaves that also have a hint of pink/red. No need to cut these down until spring and they do add interest in the November garden.

Dr. Gredler was here to make more dump runs and continued to mow some areas with stray leaves. The riding mower will soon be converted to a snowblower as we need to be poised to keep our paths clear for the lights show. I'd rather have a foot of snow to deal with than drizzle. We'll see what December holds for us soon enough. Scott S. (aka "Mr. Christmas") came in to help decorate today. This guy is in to Christmas hard core. I believe he has a room in his house with lights and decorations year round (not kidding) and the horn on his truck beeps Christmas tunes. Interesting. He'll be here Thursday as well and is a great guy and a great decorator. See below for the 'Toffee Twist' sedge (Carex flagellifera) which while not hardy, looks great until repeated heavy frosts. This grass relative is used all over the gardens and normally, we remove it in October. We decided to leave these up as they still have interest (that is its normal color). The bottom photo is one of our quote benches and the saying is just as pertinent and appropriate as it was 20 years ago! Our founder, Dr. Robert Yahr continues to be our primary advocate for continued support of this resource.

The Annual Tree Expedition

We had great expedition out to the tree farm this morning to cut and load up over 200 white pines for our holiday lights show. There was great teamwork in abundance and the progress was amazing. We ultimately secure most of these cut trees on stakes and will have them decorated with lights this upcoming Saturday. Some of the trees are simply used for screening or sacrificed for greens. The process when very well with our convoy of six vehicles (including five trailers). We had plenty of room to load these trees up and were able to get them back in good order and get them to their locations for Marv and Terry to secure with wiring (see to the left). Thanks to Ron B., Ron W., John, Mike, Jim, Dave T., Dave J., Polly, Peggy, Larry, Bob A., Bob C., Roger, Charlie, Rollie, Terry, Maury, Jerry, Dick H., Kurt, Doug and the dog.

While we were gone, Marv and Terry put up more displays and lights while Marianne worked on a combination of lights and gardening. Janice worked on garden clean-up and later tested more lights. Little Jerry was here to do more pruning and clean-up and Urban stayed behind as well to continue his work on crabapple suckers in the color rooms garden. With the rest of this lights show up by this Saturday (see deer to the right!), we'll be able to start testing everything next week to "iron out the bugs." Nice shot below of the seed structures of the Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium). I like this grass but we're seeing more reseeding over the years and those that grow it should be ready for babies popping up. This is a nice grass for dried arrangements and makes an interesting rattle once the seed heads dry and a breeze carries thru.

Feeling Less Anxiety...

I would have to say that our preparations for the Holiday Lights Show have gone very well, perhaps the best yet. The nice weather helped but we really sunk our teeth in to this event early and will be able to finish up next week and get everything tested. It takes a good week or two to tweak/adjust for power issues but we're on track to be ready for this event. Marv, Terry, Marianne and Janice all worked on this event today and were able to accomplish some gardening as well. Rose and Urban finished the first coat on all the gates and will add a coat next spring. Dr. Gredler was here mowing and hauling debris to the dump. I was off-site most of the day doing a presentation on container gardening for the Potpourri Garden Club. They were a nice group and very cordial. I wished I had taken my camera to take pictures of Karen's (member of club) fall garden which is one of the best I've seen using so many grasses and perennials with extended interest. We also saw Maury, Del and perhaps others that I missed while gone! Nice white pumpkins above (my house) used for decoration. I think we would use more around here for decoration if I felt confident that they wouldn't end up smashed. Note the golden Irish moss (Sagina subulata 'Aurea') to the left as you look up towards a Japanese lantern. To the right is one of our obelisks doing double duty as it becomes pretty neat during the light show with all the twinkle lights wrapped around it. The destiny of this obelisk after the lights show involves a deep red paint job (color hint for next year). See below for a fall composition that includes a nice yellow extension cord. I think I have about 5 miles run now and will finish the last mile next week.

Productivity Abounds!

We had another great turnout of volunteers today with Grumpies accomplishing some major work. Nice shot to the left of our arched bridge this morning as you peer thru a weeping willow. The fence crew of Dick P., Dick H., John, Gary and Maury continued to put up our makeshift deer fencing which consists of snow fencing and wire. They are protecting our arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) hedges that have been repeatedly decimated over the years. We should have done this last year as some of the damage looks permanent. Regardless, the guys are doing a good job and we're already noticing deer tracks thru the gardens so our timing is perfect. Roger, Ron B., Bob C., Charlie and Trevor worked on planting the last of our daffodils, cleaned up debris and loaded up sand buckets for our winter path treatments during the lights show. Del, Bob A., Vern, Dave and Jim worked on various carpentry projects and we had the gardening skills of Suzy, Glenna and Marilyn this morning as well as they continued to clean up some of our last areas for perennial cutting and leaf collection. Janice helped the ladies, worked on lights and continued to garden thru the afternoon. Larry and I worked on lights and cord issues while Bill and Dr. Gredler kept busy as well. The weather was perfect again and spirits are still high despite the reality that the weather will soon get back to "normal". The shot above and to the right is the bark of the white poplar (Populus alba 'Fialaspire') in the arboretum. Don't forget the value of ornamental bark, particularly during our long winters. Nice shot below of the autumn needle color of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) which is also a deciduous conifer. Tough tree.