Ball Customer Day

The photos in this blog share an adventure that some of us took this past Friday when we enjoyed the Customer Day at the Gardens of the Ball Horticultural Company in West Chicago, Illinois.  Bobby K., Cindy, Trevor, Janice (with husband Mike) and I enjoyed touring the display gardens with 1200 other folks from around the country.  I saw many old friends and was able to capture plenty of images with my new camera (nothing fancy…just another CANON PowerShot…love these!).  Directly above are just some of the coneflower (Echinacea sp.) trials.  We all did our own thing with exploring the trials, going on tours, attending lectures, visiting vendors, etc.  The folks at Ball throw a great shin dig with an excellent lunch as well.  We left Larry H. and Nolan back at the gardens to keep everything moving along with our excellent volunteers.  It was a beautiful day and these are just a small fraction of the exciting things we saw on Friday.  I’ve been to this event seven or eight times in the past and continue to enjoy seeing lots of cool plants!

Sombrero® Baja Burgundy coneflower (Echinacea hybrida ‘Balsombabur’) – perennial

Trevor with some cool new climbing sweet potato vines (Ipomoea batatas ‘Solar Tower Black & Lime’) – annuals

‘Zinderella Purple’ zinnia (Zinnia) – annual

‘Dracula’ cockscomb (Celosia cristata) – annual

sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) trials

‘Canary Wings’ begonia (Begonia sp.) – annual

Summer Romance™ Vining Yellow mandevilla (Mandevilla sp.) – annual

Sweet Summer panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bokrathirteen’) – woody shrub

Lacey Blue  Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Lisslitt’) – perennial