Our Fall Symposium went very well today with close to 160 attendees today.  Above are our other speakers, Kerry Ann Mendez and Edward Lyon.  All four or our presentations went well as did our silent auction with plants donated by Roy Klehm of Song Sparrow Nursery.  The weather was beautiful and attendees were able to enjoy the gardens as well.  Our staff and volunteers were very helpful and Pam ran a great event.  Special thanks to Polly, Janice, Mark S., Maryam, Sallye, Carrie, Big John and all of our volunteers that helped keep this event on track and enjoyable for everyone!  Marsha M. took wonderful photos including the one above and many below (thanks Marsha!).

The fog was heavy again this morning.  This black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) seen above looked “eerily cool” this morning in the driving range across from the Horticulture Center.  It was fairly chilly until noon and then it warmed up nicely and we saw quite a few folks out in the gardens.  It’s interesting to hear them say, “You’re already setting up the Holiday Light Show?”.  The answer is that we started this process over 10 weeks ago!  We’re in our last couple of frantic weeks finishing things up before Thanksgiving.  We had some great volunteer help today and the staff worked on Holiday Light Show tasks but also lots of tidying before our Fall Symposium tomorrow which has continued to have an increased attendance number daily (almost 160!).

Larry H. push mowed and put up lights and HLS related items all day.  Larry O. also did some mowing (hopefully our last of the year) and continued his work putting up the Olsen Pavilion.  Big John had various HLS duties and helped others along with doing his share of the push mowing as well. Cindy helped prepare for the Fall Symposium tomorrow and was a “Tidal Wave of Tidying” out in the gardens and particularly near the Parker Education Center.  Bobby K. helped with numerous HLS tasks including running more “juice” out in the gardens.  Janice was in to help prepare for the Symposium later in the afternoon and aside from some meetings, I was slinging more cords for the HLS.  It was a great day out there today and next week looks pretty nice as well.

the red oaks (Quercus rubra) near the Horticulture Center are looking excellent right now

fall color on Korean mountain ash (Sorbus alnifolia) – woody tree (in my neighborhood, had to share!)

the fall color on three-flower maple (Acer triflorum) continues to get more brilliant daily – woody tree

‘Viridis’ cutleaf Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) – woody tree

start of fall color on Royal Raindrops® crabapple (Malus hybrida ‘JFS-KW5’) – woody tree

‘Blondo’ Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) in the background – perennial

Larry H. (above) worked on getting this “photo opportunity” wreath in place for the HLS among other duties.  I was remiss in my photos of our excellent volunteers today but they included Kathy, Eva, Cheryl D., Kristin, Bill O., Maury F. and many others.  Tasks for most of this crew revolved around tidying up the gardens before the busy weekend.  It was a nice day for some fresh air and we’ll take these unseasonable days because we know they’ll be fleeting!

‘Kumson’ variegated greenstem forsythia (Forsythia viridissima var. koreana) – woody shrub

‘October Skies’ aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius) still blooming well – perennial

‘Glamour Red’ kale (Brassica oleracea) continues to get better color daily! – annual

fall color on our oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) is starting to darken up nicely! – woody shrub

fall color on ‘White Tigress’ striped maple (Acer tegmentosum) – woody tree

fall color on Crimson Spire™ upright oak (Quercus robur x Q. alba ‘Crimschmidt’) – woody tree

fall color on weeping European larch (Larix decidua ‘Pendula’) – woody tree

excellent fall color right now on our sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) – woody tree

fall color on ‘Green Mountain’ sugar maple (Acer saccharum) – woody tree

Visibility this morning was minimal with some heavy fog in the area.  Once the fog lifted in mid-morning and the sun arrived, it was another lovely day in the upper 60 degrees F.  This weather, while of concern for being so mild, has been a blessing for late season gardening efforts and the continued progress of getting our Holiday Light Show (HLS) up and ready to go.  Most Thursday blogs include phrases like “epic volunteer turnout” or something like that and today was no exception.  We had quite a few grounds staff on hand and the volunteer turnout was excellent.  We all continue to enjoy the Autumn garden (Japanese garden above) and the details in the late season garden are amazing.  Our Fall Symposium is looming this Saturday and it looks like we’ll have close to 150 attendees which is, I believe, a record for this event.

Cindy continued with her epic luminary project as she continues to place and insert light strands in 2,000 luminaries that line almost the entire route of the HLS.  Larry O. had a couple projects but his emphasis was on getting up lights in the reception garden (see below).  We call this set-up the Olsen Pavilion and we haven’t had this out in the HLS for about four years.  You’ll have to come and experience the Olsen Pavilion and the magic of the entire HLS.  Big John put out a lot of displays, obelisks and other HLS elements today and worked with Bobby K. on getting our second giant obelisk (20′) to the sunken garden.  Larry H. was again a “decorating demon” as he continues to go full speed with getting lights out for the show.  I spent the day running cords and this task will define most of my existence over the coming weeks.  It was another very productive day though!

late season look for ‘Dewey Blue’ dune grass (Panicum amarum, 60″)

Blue Sunrise™ geranium (Geranium hybrida ‘Blogold’) – perennial

Fall Fiesta® sugar maple (Acer saccharum ‘Bailsta’) – woody tree

fall color on ‘Copper Ridges’ doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tometosum) – woody shrub

fall color on bloody cranesbill geranium (Geranium sanguineum) – perennial

peak fall color on this gingko (Ginkgo biloba) – woody tree

the moss garden (above) is looking vivid this time of year

Larry (above) getting the Olsen Pavilion ready in the fog!

Above is Randy M. who is repairing some of the rebar displays that he made for the HLS many years ago with his dad.  Randy was one of many volunteers on hand today.  Our volunteers included Randy, Kathy, Eva, Shirley H., Marilyn, Suzie, Dave E., Steve S., Vicki, Steve J., Alan, Bob K., Maury, Dr. Gredler, Rollie, Dave, Jim, Vern, Ron Y., Dick H., Bob D., Bev D.,Gary and we also saw Becky, our new Executive Director.  The tasks were varied but all well done by our excellent volunteers!

Suzie and Shirley H. (driver)

fall color on ‘Autumn Moon’ fullmoon maple (Acer shirasawanum) – woody tree

Golden Raindrops™ crabapple (Malus transitoria ‘Schmidtcutleaf’) – woody tree

fall color on Korean maple (Acer pseudosieboldianum) – woody tree

the North Point garden looked awesome in the fog this morning

fruits of ‘Red Peacock’ crabapple (Malus hybrida) – woody tree

fall color on vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis, unknown variety) – woody shrub

fall color and flowers on witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) – woody shrub

cool view from underneath an umbrella-leaf magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) – woody tree

The day had a wet start with drizzle which turned to monsoon-like rain with some thunder and lightning for an hour or so.  We had some significant flooding in the garden and path washouts but most of the moisture drained off by the afternoon.  We had a very productive indoor morning with both staff and some volunteers.  It was a day with some very important house cleaning as our Holiday Light Show (HLS) efforts, along with other projects, had created a confusing mess in our Horticulture Center and garage.  We tidied up, tested lights, organized and inventoried HLS supplies, fueled vehicles, etc.  We also continue to run for supplies as needed.  After the rain moved on by 11 am or so, we headed in to the gardens for path repair, HLS work, etc.  Above is the fall color on Tatar maple (Acer tataricum) which is closely related to Amur maple (Acer ginnala).

Staff included Cindy, Big John, Larry H., Larry O. and myself.  Volunteers included Kathy, Eva, Bill O., Vern, Chuck S., Ron P., Dr. Gredler, Dick H. and a couple of others that stopped by throughout the day.

‘Born’s Gracious’ skeleton-leaf silver maple (Acer saccharinum) – woody tree

from the underside of a bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) – woody shrub

I can’t stop photographing the fall peak of our ‘Aconitifolium’ fullmoon maples (Acer japonicum) – woody tree

fall color view from beneath a katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) – woody tree

hostas will also frequently display excellent fall color as well! – perennial

the fruits of these ‘Black Olive’ ornamental hot peppers (Capsicum annuum) are still showing color!

Special thanks to Mr. Gary Smith for his fourth term as our Interim Executive Director.  Gary has been such a huge help at the garden as a volunteer and certainly his leadership skills have kept the gardens on track this year after he was handed some significant and perilous challenges this past Spring.  Well done Gary and thank you!  Gary is now helping transition our new Executive Director, Becky Kronberg, in to her much anticipated leadership role.

the Russo Family Fountain (above) has been cleaned and stored but will return in April of next year to shoot water 40′ in the air!

while they are more spectacular in the water, our Russo Family fountain (rear) and Dancing Waters fountain have been retrieved for storage

the railings on the gazebo are rotting and will be replaced this winter or early spring by our talented Grumpy carpenters

start of fall color on Beaver Creek® witchalder (Fothergilla gardenii ‘KLMtwo’) – woody shrub

fall color from the underside on umbrella-leaf magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) – woody tree (leaves are 15″ long!)

start of fall color on dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) – deciduous conifer (will turn burnt orange!)

cool leaflet from the variegated fiveleaf aralia (Eleutherococcus sieboldianus ‘Variegatus’) – woody shrub

Today was absolutely beautiful and both Cindy and John had shorts on to enjoy the unseasonably awesome start to November.  Even the morning glories (Ipomoea purpurea) above continue to thrive.  We all took advantage of the day and even saw quite a few visitor admiring the gardens and our continued progress on the Holiday LIght Show (HLS).

Cindy, Big John, Larry H. and Bobby K. all worked on a wide range of projects although the focus was continued set-up for the HLS.  The day was long and my time to finish this blog is short…so enjoy the photos from today!

fall color on ‘Aconitifolium’ fullmoon maple (Acer japonicum) – woody tree

fall color on ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) – woody tree

fall color on ‘Green Cascade’ fullmoon maple (Acer japonicum) – woody tree

three-flower maple (Acer triflorum) – woody tree

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

It was delightful working out in the gadens today and I’m sure our volunteers enjoyed it as well.  Eva above (along with Kathy below) worked on clearing debris near the zig-zag bridge.  Marv B. was in to tidy up the moss gardens and Bill O. helped with a bunch of projects as well.  Whitey was in to help put lights up for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) and decorated a bunch of evergreens.  We saw Vern, Maury and many others as well.

Kathy P. (above)

Maury, Gary, Dick (Larry, Moe, Curly) mounting a new screen today

Bill O. (above)

we slid this 20′ tall obelisk on to the U.S.S. Ginger (here with Larry H.)

Whitey

John pulling trees for the HLS – smooths out the path nicely

‘Variegatus’ Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) – perennial

not insignificant fall color on Quick Fire® panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bulk’) – woody shrub

sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) – woody tree

‘Forever Purple’ coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial

the weather is still warm enough for this elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) – tropical

‘Debonair’ pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens) – deciduous conifer

‘Debonair’ pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens) – deciduous conifer

‘Red Fox’ katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) – woody tree