A Sticky Thursday

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Mother Nature missed us again with rain that looked very promising late this morning.  What looked like 2 hours of rain ended up being five minutes of drizzle!  That seems to happen a lot here!  We do have a chance of showers over the next day or so and I hope that materializes!  It was sunny and cool this morning but it became pretty sticky quickly and was pretty tough on everyone.  The gardens continue to look excellent and we had another tour come through today and enjoy the color.  Above is the fern & moss garden this morning.  Despite the heat and humidity, we had a solid turnout of volunteers as well.

Our grounds staff did a nice job today and I’m glad we continued to water even as what I thought was a “slam dunk” for rain approached (and faded away).  Trevor and Nolan both worked on cleaning out the far end of the pond near the gazebo which is messy but vital work.  The guys moved on to watering, fertilizing and some sweeping.  Big John worked on setting up sprinklers, pruning, watering containers and many other projects.  Cindy watered and primped in the beautiful Hummingbird Haven theme of the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden.  She also had some other projects and watering duties.  Larry H. did quite a bit of watering and did a nice job mulching near the rose garden.  I was able to tour the gardens but find that my desk work deadlines are becoming more of a priority each day as they pile up!

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North point garden (above and below) with a view!

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All-America Selections (AAS) winners out on the terrace

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formal annual sections

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‘Sky Rocket’ variegated fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena) – annual

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‘Lacinato’ dinosaur kale (Brassica oleracea) – annual

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nice seasonal hodge podge in the sunken garden (above)

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Our volunteers all contributed plenty of “sweat equity” today.  Above are Vera (left) and Winifred applying a coating of mosquito repellent before doing some serious weeding near the Scottish garden.  The mosquitoes are pretty bad in the shade right now and the season has been perfect for their population to swell.  Ron R. (below) worked on some sign repairs and sweeping (when not mugging for the camera)!  Bob C. (second photo down) filled many more buckets with sand for our Fall Plant Sale signage (sale coming up soon!).  It looks like he’s having a “bucket of fun” (get it?)!  Jim brought in three RECAPPERS to help out today with cleaning the Japanese garden.  Dr. Gredler and Rollie did their mowing rounds today. Dick H. repaired some equipment today while Steve worked on leveling a small brick path.  Kathy and Eva tidied and weeded as did Hal and Doris.  Dave, Vern and Jim all had indoor carpentry projects while Larry O. and Hayden (his grandson) worked on tidying up over at the Horticulture Center.  We also saw Marcia N., Maryam P., Bob D., Bev D., Donna and many others today.

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Ron R.

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Bob C.

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‘Ginger Love’ perennial fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) – perennial

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‘Tie Dye’ Helen’s flower (Helenium autumnale) – perennial

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turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) – perennial

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‘White Queen’ spider flower (Cleome hassleriana) – annual

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‘Little Henry’ sweet coneflower (Rudbeckia subtomentosa) – perennial

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‘Tidal Wave Red Velour’ petunia (Petunia) with Vertigo® elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) – both annuals

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‘Ruby Parfait’ wheat celosia (Celosia argentea spicata) – annual