Another Beautiful Day

It was a beautifully sunny day today and the rain over the weekend has kept everything damp…in some cases, overly so.  The weeping willow (Salix) directly above hasn’t minded all the moisture but some plants are resenting being perpetually damp and combined with some cool overnight temperatures, fungal issues abound! There is sure a lot of color out in the gardens and also some great fragrance.  The photo at the very top shows chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) which is a fragrant annual that smells like dark chocolate (from close proximity)!.  One of our garden areas is a scented border and runs along the wall overlooking the observation pier.  We spent a lot of time today tidying up paths, repairing path washouts and in essence, negating much of the obvious results of a very heavy downpour.

 

The grounds staff had a busy day.  Larry O. worked on draining, cleaning and refilling the sunken garden pond and he also worked on some gravel washouts from the storm.  He helped water containers and had to pick up some supplies as well.  Cindy worked on significant “post-storm” issues in other garden areas then shifted to the Hummingbird Haven theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Childrens’ Garden and later watered the yard.  Larry H. worked on repairing many path segments that were affected by the storm.  He also worked on some plant staking and other tasks. Trevor had a wide range of duties today including primping the Giant Aquarium, spreading topsoil, working on drainage problems and significant work with the blower on messy paths.  Big John and Bobby K. dismantled and removed our “everflowing urn” water feature which has been quite problematic.  They then installed our new garden kaleidoscope which looks excellent in that location.  I had some work out in the gardens but am also getting some closure on our Home Garden Tour which was held this past Saturday and enjoyed by over 400 attendees.

golden wafer ash (Ptelea trifoliata ‘Aurea’) – woody tree

popcorn plant (Cassia didymobotrya) is blooming strongly – seasonal plant

‘Armor Yellow’ cockscomb (Celosia cristata) – annual

giant fleabane (Inula magnifica) – perennial

Above are Kathy (left) and Eva getting ready for some fun out in the gardens.  These ladies were two of many that helped out on this beautiful day.  The ladies worked on hauling out caladiums to the gazebo garden which they helped plant and Terri came in later to finish them off. Barb S. helped weed in that area and all the ladies later shifted to weeding in the woodland walk garden.  Alan and Bob K. continued working on weeding while Ron R. and Derrick did path and patio tidying along with Lloyd.  Rollie did a huge amount of mowing and Dick H. ran to the dump and worked on some other projects as well.  Vern, Steve J., Ron Y. and Jim were all working on carpentry projects.  Ron P. continued to repair lights for the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Don and Pearl came in to touch up their garden space and both Kristin and Stan were in to tidy up in the Japanese garden.  Garrett worked on clearing weeds and brush around benches on the other side of the arched bridge while Elaine tidied up in the woodland walk.  Alan M. and Bob K.  continued with their weeding project.  We also saw Gary, Becky and many others today.

Bobby K. (left) and Big John

Barb S. (above)

Lloyd (above)

Rollie (above)

Ron (left) and Derrick

‘Armor Yellow’ cockscomb (Celosia cristata) – annual

‘Strawberry Blonde’ marigold (Tagetes patula) – annual

Mystic Illusion™ dahlia (Dahlia hybrida ‘Knockout’) – annual

Lemon Coral™ stonecrop (Sedum mexicanum) – annual

the raised beds at the Horticulture Center are looking fabulous