63.5% Planted!

I haven’t blogged in a bit as I’ve been swamped with keeping up with the progress of our spring planting. The 63.5% estimate (regarding percentage of spring planting complete) is quite arbitrary but we are moving quickly to install our annuals and perennials over the coming weeks and have been going non-stop since mid-May. The photo above shows five tough souls planting in the rain tonight out in the Wellness Garden let by Tina B. Our volunteers continue to be exceptional and we’ve had some great assistance with planting from not only our veteran volunteers but additional help from the Bower City Garden Club members, Mercyhealth employees and many others. We continue to see more visitors daily and the gardens have already hosted some early outdoor weddings. The weeds are catching up to us as we juggle planting and other duties but we’re doing our best to make our 30th Anniversary year the best it can be in terms of colorful, engaging and educational displays.

ornamental onion (Allium azureum) – perennial (above) – spreads!
valerian (Valeriana officinalis) – perennial (fragrant but spreads!)
‘Walker’s Low’ catmint (Nepeta faasenii) – perennial (above)
‘Brownie Points’ false indigo (Baptisia hybrida) – perennial (above)
golden Southern catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’) – woody tree (above)
‘Forever Pink’ phlox (Phlox hybrida) – perennial (above)
golden wafer ash (Ptelea trifoliata ‘Aurea’) – woody tree (above)
‘Fireball’ French marigold (Tagetes patula) – annual (above)
goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus) above with some morning light – perennial (above)
The photo above and two below feature some new volunteers helping plant the raised beds in the Wellness Garden
Bev F. (above) was instrumental in laying out our raised bed “sensory scheme” in the Wellness Garden (which Bev will use to engage participants at our Horticultural Therapy Symposium on August 6th)