A Foggy Start

We had a very foggy start to the day which, while a bit eerie, was pretty cool in terms of how the garden looked (above).  The fog lifted quickly as the sun emerged and we had another warm, mostly sunny day.  I’ve been remiss in blog postings as it has been extremely busy with the Fall Plant Sale wrap up, continued gardening efforts and an increasing momentum on our Holiday Light Show (HLS) set up daily with only 9 weeks left for set-up (not a lot of time!).  I gave a tour this morning for members of the Morning Rotary Club that meets at the gardens every Thursday morning and we had a great time.  The day then became very busy for both grounds staff and volunteers with lots of activity.  Larry O., Larry H. and CIndy all had a wide range of tasks including plenty of watering during this dry spell.  We had some exciting news today with the donation of a utility cart from Jim’s Carts N Parts (Milton, WI) which was delivered by Jim Jr. (directly below) this morning.  We greatly appreciate the donation and this cart is a “sweet ride” and welcome addition to the fleet!

Our volunteer efforts over the last two days have been significant out in the gardens and at the Horticulture Center.  Yesterday we had Kathy, Eva, Kristin, Dr. Gredler, Bill O., Gena, Mary, Myrt, Patty, Nancy, Sue, Maury, Marv and many others (bad memory).  Today was another full crew of Alan, Bob K., Bob C., Kathy, Eva, Bonnie, Liz, Marilyn, Dick, Steve, Ron P., Ron Y., Dave, Jim, Vern, Maury, Peg, Dr. Gredler, Rollie, Vera, Firefighter Cathy, Terry and many more!  The volunteers are a very productive group and they work well together in so many instances.  Today was no exception with such a diverse range of projects being addressed.

trouble x 6 with Patty, Sue, Gena, Nancy, Myrt and Mary (left to right) – Wednesday

‘The Giant’ autumn crocus (Colchicum autumale) at peak – perennial

BIOTA sculpture (by O.V. Shaffer) with ‘Yvonne’s Giant’ annual salvia (Salvia splendens) – annual

red verbena (Verbena hybrida) – have to check on that variety

the prairie (above) is looking good!

Mystic Illusion dahlia (Dahlia hybrida ‘Knockout’) with ‘Sylphid’ plume celosia (Celosia plumosa) – annuals

‘Hortensia’ giant coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) – perennial

‘Jimmy Nardello’ pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual

signs of fall with cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) already dropping leaves

our tropical beds, here featuring ‘Maurelii’ Abyssinian bananas (Ensete ventricosum) have filled in well

‘Diane’s Gold’ false forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) – perennial

‘Indian Summer’ gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) amongst the foliage of popcorn cassia (Cassia didymobtrya)

variegated giant reed (Arundo donax ‘Versicolor’) – not hardy

‘Zahara XL White’ zinnia (Zinnia marylandica) – annual

SunPatiens® Compact Tropical Rose impatiens (Impatiens hybrida) – annual

Quick Fire® panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bulk’) – woody shrub

our “Scented Wall” plantings still look great…the dark maroon is chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) – annual