Another Awesome Day

We’re now 2 for 2 for awesome days this week that we thought would be rainy!  It was another nice sunny day with a temperature near 80 degrees F.  Nice shot above of ‘Fireball’ marigold (Tagetes patula) with such a great shade of reddish orange.  It was nice to see so many visitors enjoying the gardens on a warm day. While we still have plenty of color to share, we are starting to remove select annuals in some areas to make way for continued Holiday Light Show (HLS) preparations which continued today.  Larry H., Terry, Big John  and Cindy all had specific and timely HLS duties throughout the day and I also was able to sling some cords.  Janice worked primarily on gardening tasks as did our volunteers of Kathy P., Terri, Sandi and Dr. Gredler.  We also saw Maury, Kay F., Olive, Vern and many others.  Progress continues daily to wrap up the season and prepare for the next.  October is not a slow month but a short month in terms of all the tasks that have yet to be accomplished.

the Wellness Garden continues to look great well in to October!

‘New Zealand Purple’ castor beans (Ricinus communis) got some size this year! – annuals

Terry (left) and Big John lying down on the job again

Josh & Cathy E. helping out yesterday

‘Honorine Jobert’ Japanese anemone (Anemone hybrida) – perennial (above and below)

golden Japanese orixa (Orixa japonica ‘Aurea’) – woody shrub

fruit clusters on ‘Sun King’ golden Japanese spikenard (Aralia cordata) – perennial

golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’) looking like a golden waterfall

fall color on Majestic Skies™ Northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis ‘Bailskies’) – woody tree

poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) gets decent fall color and will transition to orange and red!

this underappreciated boardwalk and twin Aldo Leopold benches offer a great view of the pond

Cindy is starting to place over 2,500 of these half gallon milk jug “luminaries” for the Holiday Light Show (HLS)