And More Rain…

We had another 3″ of rain this morning with much of it coming down fast and furious.  The retention pond above (at the Horticulture Center) filled very quickly (that’s why it’s there) and thankfully the water level didn’t get much higher than this.  The gardens are still wet from other recent rains so this saturation comes at a time when we’d prefer more sunshine and heat to get our plants moving along.  We have lots of path washouts and debris to contend with tomorrow which is typical after a storm of this nature.

Larry H., Larry O., Janice and I were on hand as grounds staff although most of our morning activity was inside.  We had plenty of indoor projects and later were able to get outside for some work although the humidity (and associated mosquitoes) took some getting used to!  I’m preparing for the Home Garden Tour this Saturday, July 15th (9 am – 3 pm, rain or shine).  Get your tickets in advance ($10!) at RBG or K&W Greenery.  Enjoy eight spectacular home gardens in the Janesville area and RBG is the ninth stop too!

While we didn’t have many morning volunteers due to the storms, we ended up with a respectable turnout later in the day.  Maury ran errands for us.  Kristin, Jim H., three RECAPPERS, Dale (see below) and Derrick were all in for a wide range of projects.  We also saw Vern, Dick H., Mark S. and a couple of others as well. There was lots of tidying done in the Japanese garden and some more work along the boulder wall along the north path.  All in all, it was a soggy but productive day!

the Heirloom Garden is looking great right now!

‘Prairie Sun’ gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) – annual

Dale S. (above) was one of many volunteers to come in today.  Here he can be seen tidying up one of the moss gardens – this one in the Japanese garden

love the bold foliage and bright flowers of ‘Chinese Dragon’ ligularia (Ligularia japonica) – perennial (above and below)

the photo above and all of those below are some of our really cool trial coneflowers (Echinacea sp.) at the Horticulture Center.  They were glowing today when the sun finally came out!