I’ve dozed off a dozen times trying to finish this blog as it was a LONG (but fun) day!  In a nutshell, our Members Only Pre-Sale evening at the Spring Plant Sale went wonderfully!  We had a solid turnout with plenty of of conversation and purchases.  Our volunteers did a great job and the entire staff was involved in some way with this event.  We now head in to three sequential days of the sale (Friday through Sunday, 9 am – 6 pm) and the weather looks great.  Our day in the gardens included the grounds staff of Larry H., Larry O., Cindy and myself.  Our volunteers at the gardens today included Dennis, Dr. Gredler, Kathy, Eva, Alan, Bob, Ron P., Jim, Marv, Bob C., Dave T., Dick H., Mirjam, Marcia and many others.  Our plant sale volunteers included Joy, Gary, Joanne, Gena, Art, Dennis, Alan, Lloyd, Tina, Dave, Barb and Art.

Barb and Dave

Kathy and Mary

Lynn Yahr, Dr. Yahr and myself

this young lady wins “Cutest Customer” of the day

Maryan and Chris ran the membership “hospitality” suite today

plenty of shrubs (above) and pansies (below)

I’ve been behind on the blog lately but not for lack of interest, simply lack of time.  Preparations for the Spring Plant Sale this upcoming weekend have absorbed most of my time and I haven’t been out in the gardens much as I’m helping orchestrate the set-up, layout and pricing of our huge sale which is a vital fundraiser as well.  We have had major accomplishments both out in the gardens and at the plant sale (Horticulture Center) over the last two days and the volunteers were numerous.  I’m sorry I wont be able to list everyone as it has been a whirlwind of activity.  The grounds staff has also had a busy week thus far and the gardens continue to look excellent with ample spring color.  Above are some of our koi in the newly cleaned koi pond looking for a snack!

Pearl and Don

some of our top notch tagging team can be seen above inserting thousands of labels!

directly above and below are photos from the sale last year featuring the herbs (similar this year!)

We have an amazing array of tasty vegetable varieties for sale this year with a heavy focus on tomatoes, peppers and hot peppers.  We also have eggplants, tomatillos, hot peppers and much more!  See the RBG website for vegetable and herb listings in advance of the sale.  Nice shot above of some cherry tomatoes.  Below is a link to an EXCELLENT resource for growing tomatoes which was shared with me by Jackie, the author. Take a look!  Growing tomatoes can be fun and rewarding and who doesn’t like the taste of a freshly picked tomato!?

Growing Tomatoes

The Golden Kiwanis Tree Sale will also be occurring this weekend at the Horticulture Center.  Held on Friday and Saturday (May 12th and 13th) from 8 am until 4 pm, there will be thousands of bare root trees for sale at $2 each.  The sale  will feature Colorado blue spruce, Eastern arborvitae, white pine, sugar maple and red oak.  Check it out.  Above is an example of the trees from last year – ready for immediate planting.

Larry H. is posing with the last load of compost for the spring…he likely hauled over 200 of these throughout the gardens in the past month alone

Today started out chilly but warmed up nicely with ample sunshine!  I’m embarrassed to type that I never even entered the gardens proper as my focus was on our Spring Plant Sale coming up this weekend.  We had two deliveries of perennials today (see top photo) and will likely have the remainder of our plants here by tomorrow.  See our website for more details on this exciting fundraiser that features a wide range of vegetables (many heirlooms!), herbs, perennials, shrubs and much more!  RBG Members receive 10% off their purchases over the duration of the sale and are invited to a Members Only Preview this Thursday evening from 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm for “first dibs”!  My photos share two experiences from this weekend.  Along with my family, we visited Longenecker Gardens at the UW-Arboretum (Madison, WI) and caught some excellent spring color!  The plant seen in the foreground of the photo directly above is prairie smoke (Geum triflorum).  Yesterday (Sunday) I went to the garden of Tom Horner in Waterford, WI.  Tom’s garden was the setting for a lecture/demonstration hosted and arranged by the Midwest Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society.  Twenty five of us enjoyed a wonderful presentation, planting demonstration and then a tour of Tom’s spectacular garden which included a wide range of azaleas and rhododendrons.  It was a blast and I enjoyed my “plant filled” weekend!

The grounds staff had a busy day.  Larry H., Larry O., CIndy, Big John, Bobby K. and I all had a wide range of projects related to the plant sale and certainly out in the gardens.  Tasks including tidying, watering, planting, composting, plant sale duties and much more!  Janice was in briefly as well to address some plant sale preparations.  It was a VERY productive day for our volunteers.  Our garden volunteers included Dennis, Alan, Bob K., Bob C., Ron Y., Dave, Vern, Jim, Steve, Dick H., Dr. Gredler, Maury, Gary, Marv, Stan, Kristin, Jim H., Greg P., Cheryl P., Kathy P., Eva, Rollie and many more.  We also saw Mark S., Maryam, Becky, Urban and others.  Lots of coming and going today!

‘Declaration’ lilac (Syringa x hyacinthiflora) – woody shrub

redbud (Cercis candensis) – woody tree

Chinese lilac (Syringa x chinensis) – woody shrub

Longenecker Horticultural Gardens (above and below) at the UW-Aboretum (Madison, WI)

‘Pink Sparkles’ crabapple (Malus) – woody tree

redbuds (Cercis canadensis)

above is Tom Horner in his garden chatting about azaleas and rhododendrons….his garden was exceptional (see below)!

‘Purple Prince’ barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum) – perennial

balm-leaved deadnettle (Lamium orvala) – perennial

white lilac (Syringa vulgaris) – woody shrub

witchalder (Fothergilla gardenii) – woody shrub

trillium (Trillum sp.) and woodland phlox (Phlox sp.) – perennials

early growth of ‘Katsura’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) – woody tree

‘Domino’ barrenwort (Epimedium hybrida) – perennial

Today was another beautiful, early May day with a chilly start to the morning and then some excellent sunshine and moderate warmth (64 degrees F).  There were many guests in the gardens today with a large rental of the facility with participants enjoying fresh air and early color as seen above and below.  Our larger water features were being cleaned and prepared for the season as well with work to continue throughout the weekend.  We had a busy day for both grounds staff and volunteers as we continue to prepare the gardens for a busy weekend and are continuing preparations for our Spring Plant Sale (see our website for details).  Our shrubs for the sale were delivered today with perennials and herbs to follow next week.

Our grounds staff bounced between many different projects although we all converged to unload our shrub delivery early this afternoon.  Cindy worked on planting more pansies, watering, tidying the entrance garden and weeding.  Larry H. did his pushmowing, staged mulch for volunteers coming in tomorrow, composted and did some major reseeding in thin turf areas.  Bobby K. continued to mount Garden Art Project fish, installed more critters in the Giant Aquarium and helped with myriad other improvements including some expanded phone lines to help with our looming sale.  Janice planted pansies, did her cutting display, continues to organize for the sale and had plenty of other action.  I was able to fertilize most of our lawns and I hope the rain comes this evening.  It was a great day!

there are still plenty of tulips (Tulipa) blooming out front!

‘Pink Champagne’ barrenwort (Epimedium hybrida) – perennial

Lemon Candy™ ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’) – woody shrub

one of many crabapples (Malus) at peak right now throughout the gardens

‘Island Breeze’ plantain lily (Hosta) – perennial

Our volunteers had a very productive day.  Above are Grandpa Terry and Corbin checking out the gardens this morning.  With such a nice day, we had a great turnout of volunteers with Kathy P., Eva, Sandi and Terri all working on weeding issues in the sunken garden and gazebo garden respectively.  Kristin put in some serious tidying time in the Japanese garden and Maury ran some timely errands for us.  Dennis continued work on rebuilding the boulder wall along the North path.  Dave T. and Vern were in to size up some future carpentry projects and we also saw Dr. Gredler and his child bride Alys.  Bill O. was in and we also saw Dave K., Phil G., Mark S. and many others throughout the day.

Kathy P. (left) and Eva

Terri (above)

Sandi (above)

Dennis is being “bolder” with his approach to this boulder wall (get it?)

above and below are just three of the twenty-eight beautiful fish displayed as part of our 2017 Garden Art Project!

shark sighting in the Giant Aquarium today….

‘Princeton Gold’ Norway maple (Acer platanoides) – woody tree

emerging foliage of ‘Sunburst’ false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) – perennial

‘Golden Gift’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree

dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata ‘Edgar Anderson’) – perennial

‘Candy Stripe’ creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) – perennial

‘Tiramisu’ coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial

‘All Gold’ golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) – perennial

fragrant blossoms of Beaver Creek® witch alder (Fothergilla gardenii ‘KLMtwo’) – woody shrub

Last night thirteen participants enjoyed a guided tour of Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, IL.  We started at 6 pm and enjoyed the setting sun and wonderful lighting for photography as we enjoyed the gardens at spring peak!  Thank you to the docents at the gardens as well as Tim Gruner, Director of Horticulture.  Our hosts were very generous with their time and knowledge and we all enjoyed the visit (see photos below).  Nice shot above of ‘Caravelle’ tulip (Tulipa) peaking in front of the Parker Education Center today.

The grounds staff of Cindy B., Larry H., Larry O. and myself all had a busy day.  Cindy planted lots of pansies, tidied and watered our increasing number of plants that have arrived for the grounds and also the Spring Plant Sale (Mother’s Day weekend).  Larry H. worked on a couple projects but primarily spread a whole lot of compost in the entrance garden.  Larry O. weedwhipped, mowed and had some other projects.  I was out with some early herbicide to address some problem areas and continue to prepare for our looming plant sale and other events.

‘Roi du Midi’ tulip (Tulipa)

‘Picture’ tulip (Tulipa)

‘Flashback’ tulip (Tulipa)

‘New Design’ tulip (Tulipa)

‘Marit’ tulip (Tulipa)

‘Avignon Parrot’ tulip (Tulipa)

Above (left to right) are Eva, Liz and Debbie.  The ladies were preparing some beds at the Horticulture Center for a pending expansion of our perennial trials this year.  Debbie worked with Shirley H. in the fern & moss garden on some weeding earlier in the morning.  Lloyd and Bob K. helped prepare the yard for our Spring Plant Sale which included moving a lot of tables around and other hefty tasks.  Bob C. was out tidying paths and both Dr. Gredler and Rollie did their mowing.  Vern, Dave, Jim, Ron Y. and Steve all had more carpentry projects including making more critters for our Giant Aquarium display.  Ron P. continues to repair and process lights for the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Alan M. did a great job painting our English cottage garden gate and the eight large posts of the gazebo.  Gary was in to work on some labels and Peg continued her plant label inventories and repairs.  Dick H. ran to the dump five times today and Maury made a gas run for us.  We also saw Phil, Mark S. and many others today.

Alan M. (above)

vinca vine (Vinca major) – perennial

grafted peashrub (Caragana arborescens) – above and below – woody shrub

variegated wayfaringtree viburnum (Viburnum lantana ‘Variegata’) – woody shrub

‘Pleniflora’ Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica) – woody shrub

The photo above and all of those below are from our tour of Anderson Japanese Gardens last evening.  This 12 acre garden has been consistently ranked the best Japanese garden in the Northern hemisphere!  Go visit.