Cool & Productive

The day was again overcast and cool with temperatures barely reaching 70 degrees F.  It looks like we'll have a nice "warm up" next week with temperatures reaching the upper 80 degrees and low 90 degree range.  Most of our staff and volunteers today had multiple layers on due to this cold snap.  Some warmth (and consistent precipitation) should help extend the health and vigor of our seasonal plantings.  We had a strong volunteer turnout today and the entire grounds crew was here today as well.  We are not lacking in color as based on the images shown in the blog.  Above is the sunken garden looking vivid this morning.

 'Standing Ovation' little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) - perennial

 Mariachi 'Fuego' Helen's flower (Helenium autumnale) - perennial

 'Robustissima' grape-leaf anemone (Anemone tomentosa) just starting - perennial

 'Limelight' four o'clock (Mirabilis jalapa) - annual

 'Thailand Giant' elephant ear (Colocasia gigantea) - tropical

The grounds staff all had myriad tasks.  Above are Larry H. (far left), Big John (center) and Terry. The guys were working on planting a new tree and composting this area which we are reclaiming from a previous history as an overgrown weed bed.  This is prime real estate by the arched bridge and we'll continue on this project throughout next year as well.  The guys planted a new birch tree and Larry spent most of his day composting this space and potting up some daylilies (Hemerocallis) with Cheryl.  John and Terry also had significant watering duties, pond clean-up, container watering, shearing, etc.  It was a busy day for everyone.  Cheryl spent time in the woodland walk garden as well.  Cindy did a nice job weeding and tidying a large berm and did some hand watering as well.  Janice watered, tidied and worked with the Chestnut House volunteers late this morning.  Bob K. worked with John on pond clean-up, had lots of equipment repair and continues working on his graveling project out in the yard.  I was able to tour the gardens and flag more planting sites for later this week.  I spent most of this August day getting organized for the Fall Plant Sale and Holiday Lights Show which are both quite involved!  It was a collectively productive day for everyone!

Our volunteers had a super day out there.  Kathy was in early and headed out for more weeding in the Alphabet Jungle Garden.  Above are Roy and Mary who headed out to their assigned garden section (shade garden) for some primping.  Kay did another fabulous job installing more plants and has caught up to me placing them for planting!  She put in 80+ plants and many of the locations were not blessed with easy digging!  Gena, Mary, Myrt and Nancy converged on the Potter Daylily Collection for weeding and primping.  Pat was in for some projects and Maury ran more errands.  Dr. Gredler aerated some lawns and Vern dabbled in carpentry today.  Marv B. was in to work on his moss garden areas which still look great.  We also saw Dr. Yahr, Rose N. and many others today including our Chestnut House volunteers like Janelle seen below after digging potatoes at the Horticulture Center.

 'Blue Arrows' rush (Juncus inflexus) in a sea of sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas)

 'Jester' ornamental millet (Pennisetum glaucum) - annual

 'Morning Dew' elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) - tropical

 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) - annual vine

Cool & Cloudy

While the sun did make an appearance later in the afternoon, it was overcast and cool again today.  It continues to be nice "working weather" although some extended heat would be preferable for our annuals and tropicals.  The gardens are still looking nice (see shot above in the North point garden).  That bright pink petunia is Supertunia 'Vista Bubblegum'!  While we continue to actively garden, future events are starting to require more of our time and attention including the Fall Plant Sale (September 12th and 13th, 9 am - 4 pm daily, RBG Members Only Pre-Sale on the 11th!) and the Holiday Lights Show.  Our grounds crew had a busy day of multi-tasking and our volunteers continue to be vital in our day to day work out in the gardens.  All the photos in the blog were taken today.

 'Razzleberry' stonecrop (Sedum hybrida) - perennial

 'Tie Dye' Helen's flower (Helenium autumnale) - perennial

 'Britt Marie Crawford' dark-leaved ligularia (Ligularia dentata) - perennial

 cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) - annual

 'Tardiva' panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) - woody shrub

Kathy (above) continues to be consistently awesome with her gardening (and baking).  She is sans Eva this week but Andrea came in and joined Kathy for weeding in the Alphabet Jungle Garden today.  Stan was out in the Japanese garden tidying up and Dr. Gredler did more mowing and over-seeding of some lawn areas.  Bill O. was also in for his Tuesday mowing rounds.  Pat M. was in to clean the Horticulture Center gutters among other projects.  Kay came in and followed in my morning footsteps to plant 60+ perennials that I placed around the gardens as part of our late summer planting.  We saw many others today as well.

The grounds staff had a busy day.  Big John (above) is testing out a "weed steamer" and we're experimenting on purslane (Portulaca oleracea) to see if it will kill it down through the roots.  John said this was no problem as he's done all the vacuuming at home for the past 20 years...  John also ran irrigation, set up sprinklers, watered, weed whipped, loaded debris, etc.  Bob K. worked on general watering, watering containers and his gravel project.  Larry H. also watered then moved on to push mowing and composting.  Cindy tidied multiple areas and moved on to watering containers and some other projects.  Aside from placing plants for installation by Kay, I'm focused on the looming Fall Plant Sale and am in "pre-strategy mode" for the Holiday Lights Show.

 'White Lava' elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) - Royal Hawaiian Series

 'Madeira' elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) - tropical

 'TigerEye Gold' gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hybrida) - annual

 'Carmencita Red' castor bean (Ricinus communis) - annual

 purple hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab) - annual vine

 fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) - herb in the Thomas Jefferson Collection

 colorful border near the gazebo garden (above)

Peruvian zinnia (Zinnia peruviana) - yellow - annual

Four Star Greenhouse Trial Garden

In case you see this blog first, I did post another blog for Monday, August 24th. Just wanted to show highlights of the trial garden at Four Star Greenhouse in Carleton, Michigan that I enjoyed yesterday.  Lots of great color, combinations and plant ideas in a beautiful setting that I had all to myself!  I left with plenty of ideas!

Back To Cool

Today was another beautiful day although it was a cool morning at 54 degrees F with the high temperature right around 70 degrees F.  It sure feels like early October out in the gardens.  However, the displays (like that above in the North point garden) still look vivid (see below too).  We don't have to water quite as often although our hope is to extend the color as late as possible in to the season.  It was perfect working weather and we had a nice turnout of volunteers that accomplished a wide range of tasks along with our talented grounds crew.

 All-America Selections display (above)

 the warm terrace garden color theme still looks great (above)

 the sunken garden continues to look excellent

Our volunteers had a productive day.  Above are Jim (left) and Dave constructing a small boat...not really.  That will be a raised, accessible planter that rolls and can be moved like a wheelbarrow.  Vern and Ron Y. (sixth photo down) were also in the vicinity working on carpentry projects.  Pat M. was in for more prep work for the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) which continues to get closer on the calendar.  Alan (directly below) did a nice job edging and tidying the beds at the Horticulture Center. Dr. Gredler was out mowing today and Maury ran multiple errands for us.  The second photo down shows Shirley (left) and Betty out in the gardens where they spent time tidying their respective garden beds (which both still look spectacular).  The third photo down shows Ron R. (driving) and Ron P. heading back from path tidying.  The guys, along with Lloyd in the fourth photo down, were not only collecting debris but replacing gravel as needed, weeding and in essence, focusing on path quality.  The fifth photo down shows Marsha M. taking photos in the Smelly Garden theme of the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden.  She is an excellent photographer and allowed me to cut in front of her for the neat monarch shot further below!  Kathy was in for some tidying in multiple areas and we also saw Art and many others.

The grounds crew kept active today. "Newbie" Larry H. (above) spent his day mulching in the Scottish garden which really needed the attention!  He did a nice job. Cindy tidied up multiple areas, weeded, watered and had some duties in the yard as well.  Janice did some hand watering, tidying and did the cutting display as well.  Big John and Terry bonded today as they both set up sprinklers, watered containers, touched up the shearing in the formal gardens and dug up/potted daylilies (Hemerocallis).  I was able to tour the gardens but have some serious desk work to catch up on.  This entire week looks nice and cool.

 'Cherry Brandy' gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) with 'China Town' plume celosia (Celosia plumosa) - annuals

 'Pegasus' begonia (Begonia) - annual

 fruiting structure of Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) - perennial

 'Cherokee Sunset' gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) - annual

 bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) - perennial

 monarchs on blazing star (Liatris sp.) - perennial

 'Jolt Pink' sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) - annual

variegated cattail (Typha latifolia 'Variegata') - perennial