I ran out of steam last night to finish the blog but all of these photos were from Friday.  The day was quite mild again although we had a period of rumbling thunder followed by a brief rain shower around 10 am.  The winds began to pick up steadily as the temperature dropped and rain moved East.  However, we had a very productive day with a small crew.  Above is the intense fall color on golden Japanese orixa (Orixa japonica ‘Aurea’).  It always amazes me how much color and interest there is out in the November garden and I hope folks will enjoy the details of their own landscapes as we head in to the winter season.  We were able to get closer to finishing our Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up which should be complete by Monday.  Our gardening season will come to a close once the snow flies but we still have plenty of work to do out there!

Big John, Larry H., Cindy and I worked on HLS projects throughout the day and will put final touches on this event Monday before we start the testing and tweaking process.  Our volunteers consisted of Eva, Kathy, Alan, Ron P., Dr. Gredler and a couple of others.

weeping European beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’) with morning light – woody tree

fall color on some of our shrub roses (Rosa rugosa) – woody shrub

the wind was really blowing through these ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grasses (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) – perennial

‘Blue Cloak’ white fir (Abies concolor) – woody tree

work on the new flagstone patio in the English cottage garden (see above) should be complete Monday – note Larry H. in the center putting up lights on that tree

There was a lot of inside decorating at the Parker Center as well on Friday including Terry M., Sandi, Kelly, Carol, Jim and many staff members (Polly, Mark S. Becky, Chris, Maryam, Pam, etc.) along with two RECAPPERS.  The progress was astounding and we appreciate everyone’s time today.

Larry H. (on ladder) adding more screws to this set-up which was moving around a lot in the wind

fall color on ‘Blue Sparkler’ American larch (Larix laricina) – woody shrub

seed heads of Autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) – perennial vine

‘Peve Minaret’ compact bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) – woody tree

fall color on Pacific Sunset® hybrid maple (Acer truncatum x A. platanoides ‘Warrenred’) – woody tree

Rosehill® English oak (Quercus robur ‘Asjes’) – woody tree

‘Skyracer’ tall moor grass (Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea) – perennial

garlic mustard (Alliara petiolata) stays green all winter – pull it now!

The temperature reached 70 degrees F today and it was delightful!  Even the morning was quite mild and we all took advantage of the weather to continue working on garden clean-up and final preparations for the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  I enjoyed likely my last day of 2016 wearing a t-shirt out in the gardens.  Above is the fall color on Sunjoy® Gold Pillar barberry (Berberis thunbergii ‘Maria’).  The grounds staff of Larry H., Larry O., Bobby K. and I all worked on HLS projects and tasks.  Our volunteers worked on a wide range of gardening, HLS and carpentry projects among other things.  Volunteers today included Kathy, Eva, Liz, Gene, Bob K., Alan, Ron Y., Jim, Dave, Steve J., Maury, Dr. Gredler, Vicki, Steve, Cheryl D. and many others.  Cindy and her daughter Kristen were out enjoying the garden as were many other visitors.  Work progresses on our flagstone path project in the English cottage garden (see below).  Tomorrow looks nice although the weekend looks sour.  We’ve enjoyed the warmest fall I can remember!

dried flower heads on Little Lime® panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Jane’) – woody shrub

weeping hornbeam (Carpinus betulus ‘Pendula’) – woody tree

fall color on hornbeam maple (Acer carpinifolium) – woody tree

fall color on cutleaf European beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Asplenifolia’) – woody tree

Larry “The Ladder Man” Holterman putting up more lights out front!

Bob K. (left) and Alan installing deer fencing

Kristen and Cindy enjoying the day

Vicki and Steve

the new flagstone project in the English cottage garden is progressing nicely!

looks like modern art!? – new railings for the gazebo built by our Grumpy carpenters!

fall color on unknown Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) – woody tree

fall needle color on American larch (Larix laricina) – deciduous conifer (note lights on the trunk!)

fall/winter foliage color on PJM rhododendron (Rhododendron hybrida) – woody shrub

‘Nana’ compact hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) – woody tree

intensifying winter stem color on ‘Flame’ willow (Salix hybrida) – woody shrub

The weekend looks quite a bit colder with possible flurries!  That was far from our minds today with temperatures again near 60 degrees F.  Tomorrow should be near 70 degrees F!  Thank you Mother Nature.  Above is the South entrance to the Japanese garden.  The ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) get very intense colors before they drop their leaves.  The weather allowed for more progress on gardening tasks out in the gardens as well as continued efforts on finishing up our Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up.  This is my 18th November running cords for this HLS event and I can’t say I remember milder weather.  In fact, I can remember early snow and trying to get cords connected on days that were 40 degrees F colder than what we’ve had recently.  Our progress went well out in the gardens with Big John, Larry O., Larry H., Bobby K., Cindy and myself all working on HLS-related tasks.

fall color on bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) at the Horticulture Center – deciduous conifer

ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) leaves

fall color on Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii, unknown cultivar) – woody shrub

fall color on ‘Varied Directions’ larch (Larix × marschlinsii) – deciduous conifer

fall color on ‘Riversii’ European beech (Fagus sylvatica) – woody tree

Our volunteers were extremely helpful out in the gardens today with a wide range of gardening tasks accomplished.  Above (left to right) are Myrt, Nancy, Gena, Dr. Tom and Patti.  This quintet did a nice job tidying by the Heirloom Garden and gazebo garden.  Kathy and Eva (below) collected lots of debris and leaves in a couple of other areas as well.  Alan was in for leaf collection and finished heeling in some perennials for the winter as we’ll plant them next spring.  Ron P. repaired lights most of the day and Peg L. continues updating our plant records system.  Bev D. did some work at the Horticulture Center beds.  We also saw Art H. and a couple of others today.  It was a super day.

Bobby K. doing is electrical kung fu

this is the flagstone that is being placed in the English cottage garden

the giant, floating obelisk is ready to go!

fruits on Hamilton’s spindletree (Euonymus hamiltonianus) – woody shrub / small tree

brilliant color on ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) – woody tree

fall color on Ironclad™ Siebold viburnum (Viburnum sieboldii ‘KLMfour’) – woody shrub

fall color on Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica) – woody shrub (note the green stems)

‘Hillside Winter Gold’ white pine (Pinus strobus) – woody tree

fall color on ‘Royal Purple’ smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) – woody shrub/tree

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the weather was again beautiful!  The morning was chilly but the day warmed to 60 degrees F with plenty of sunshine.  I’m glad I had my camera with me all day as I ran cords so I could catch some great, late season color and interest.  Above is the ‘Sunny Delight’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) with some fall color.  We continue to see some visitors out in the gardens and they are getting a sneak peak at our Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up which is roughly 86.4% complete!  The grounds staff focused on the HLS for the majority of the day although our volunteers continue to be so helpful with the garden clean-up efforts that we need to ignore so we can have the HLS ready to go.

Larry H. and Cindy worked on securing icicle lights for a good portion of the day.  Larry moved on to more decorating and Cindy also had some late season shrub planting.  Big John continued to haul out more displays and other elements for the HLS.  This morning we hauled and secured a 20′ tall balsam fir in the English cottage garden as a centerpiece.  This tree is beautiful (and heavy!) and was donated by our grounds guy Terry “Chokehold” Neal.  We’ll put a lot of LED lights on this tree very shortly and it will really glow in that garden space.  Bobby K. had all sorts of projects related to the HLS and continues to upgrade and improve our power for this event with many of his ideas and efforts!  I ran cords.  We also saw Larry O. today.

fall color on weeping larch (Larix decidua ‘Pendula’) – deciduous conifer

fall color on a rhododendron (Rhododendron sp.) – woody shrub

fall color on variegated Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata ‘Goshiki’) – woody tree

fall color yellowing on wild ginger (Asarum canadense) amongst fallen leaves – perennial

the kale (Brassica oleracea) sure enjoys this weather!

Our volunteers had an active day outside!   Above are Eva (left) and Kathy who are scouring the gardens for more perennials to cut back and are collecting additional debris and leaves.  Alan (below) and Bob K. were in to collect more leaves and Bill O. did some mowing and leaf mulching in select locations.  John J. and Steve L. finished installing icicle lights in the Japanese garden and Vicki and Steve did some decorating with greens for the HLS as well.  Maury went on a gas run for us and we also saw Mark S., Polly, Marsha M. and many others today.  The day could not have been more beautiful and we’ll enjoy this late September weather as long as possible (Saturday looks cold and wet!).

Alan M. (above)

Steve and Vicki

Polly (above) was tidying up and arranging Santa’s house for the HLS

we have a lot more empty crates then full ones with lights for the HLS!

fall color on Fireball® burning bush (Euonymus alatus ‘Select’) – woody shrub

‘Silver Tower’ maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) – perennial

work is progressing on a donor-funded project in the English cottage garden with gravel paths being replaced by flagstone

the Olsen Pavilion is hooked up and ready to go (above…center pole)

Big John was involved with a professional photo shoot – this being his casual shot

our druid statue in the reception garden has an intense look!

‘Citronelle’ coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial

‘Red Lightning’ coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial

‘Circus’ coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial

Mid November can get quite busy as we have the confluence of gardening tasks to finish before the snow flies and our Holiday Light Show (HLS) dates are looming which necessitates having everything set-up, tested and tweaked very shortly.  The next two weeks or so will be quite busy and today saw lots of activity as well.  Today our grounds team consisted of Larry O., Larry H., Big John, Cindy, Bobby K. and myself.  We all had HLS duties galore!  Our excellent volunteers included Kathy P., Eva, Bob K., Lloyd, Dave E., Steve J., Ron P., Ron Y., Jim, Dave, Vern, Dick H., Dr. Gredler, Bill O., Peg, John J. and many others.  Suffice it to say that there was a wide range of activities accomplished by our talented staff and volunteers.  The photo above shows me battling my fear of heights as I put lights on the upper level of the gazebo.

some of our trialing black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia sp.) are still blooming at the Horticulture Center – perennial

late fall color on Nikko maple (Acer maximowiczianum) – woody tree

‘Sweet Tea’ foamy bells (xHeucherella) – perennial

Larry O. above connecting cords while Dr. Gredler mows on by…

Dave E. (above) heeling in plants at the Horticulture Center for Spring planting

Bobby K. launched the U.S.S. Ginger with giant obelisk today and got it anchored and connected!

Bob K. (above left) and Lloyd took a nice dent out of this patch of leaves

Dick H. doing what he does best – fixing things!

fall color on fernleaf buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula ‘Asplenifolia’) – woody shrub

last golden leaves (fall color) on this Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus) – woody tree

late emerging foliage of Italian arum (Arum italicum) – perennial

‘Erythrocladum’ striped bark maple (Acer pensylvanicum) – woody tree