Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t mind if frost has missed us thus far.  Mother Nature has dabbled with some evening temperatures near 34 degrees F over the last couple of weeks and despite some light frost on the turf, the “killing frost” has yet to appear.  The mornings are certainly cooler and we’re all excited about some much needed precipitation tonight through tomorrow.  We’ve removed quite a large portion of our annuals and are cutting back most perennials in anticipation of more Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up which is quite significant.  Fall color continues to progress including on our perennials like the ‘Sweet Tea’ foamy bells (xHeucherella) seen above.  We had a stellar batch of volunteers today working on gardening tasks as well as HLS duties.  Our grounds staff continues to make the most of every day with a similar “balancing act” of tasks.

Cindy hauled out and placed more luminaries and started running lights between these 1/2 gallon, re-purposed milk jugs that will line almost the entire route of the HLS.  Cindy also had some gardening and other tasks.  After watering containers, Larry H. continued putting lights on more trees with a strong focus on those with interesting form that will look great at night, accented by lights.  Big John and Bobby K. continue to bond and spent most of the day pounding stakes and getting our newly donated trees (thanks Sunset Acres Tree Farm in Stoughton!) up and ready for decoration.  I ran cords for about 3 hours but was pulled in some other directions too as we prepare for our upcoming 2017 budget year.

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

‘Solar Eclipse’ foamy bells (xHeucherella) – perennial

some of the sugar maples (Acer saccharum) in more shade are just starting to get some nice fall color! – woody tree

We know it’s a good day when all of our carts are in use.  Above are Marleen (driving) and Magda (scowling at me as usual).  The ladies tidied up their assigned garden area although quite a bit of their border is still very colorful and may last a couple more weeks.  Kathy and Eva tidied up in two different areas and Jenny was in for more tidying in the Hosta Hollow; the garden she and Dave maintain.  Alan helped put new LED lights on some new arches.  Vicki and Steve cleared more plants out of a large area and brought back many loads of debris.  Both Bill O. and Dr. Gredler were in for mowing duties and we also saw Pam, Maryam, Maury, Gary and Pete K.  Nancy was in for some painting and Vern did some work on projects as well.

Alan (above)

Eva (left) and Kathy P.

Nancy (above) continuing her painting project!

Steve and Vicki

King Tut® papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) – not hardy…note the colorful cords in the background!

late season mums are still hanging in there!

containerized Red Monarch™ witch alder (Fothergilla x intermedia ‘KLMFIFTEEN’) will be part of our silent auction at our upcoming Fall Symposium (still time to register!)

sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) tubers from our containers..edible but maybe not tasty!

the Japanese garden (above) looks exceptional right now…the tree in the distance (seen below too) is ‘Aconitifolium’ fullmoon maple (Acer japonicum) – woody tree

fall color on ‘Royal Cloak’ European smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) – large woody shrub

I was amused by this guy today (sunken garden)…who seems displeased with that vine growing up his nose!

Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) is getting some nice fall color – woody vine

Above (left to right) are Dave E., Larry, John, Bobby K. (crouching), Mark S., Alan M., Larry H., Dick H., Bob K. (#2) and Dwight.  Dwight is the owner of Sunset Acres Tree Farm (http://www.sunsetacrestreefarm.com/) near Stoughton, WI and he and his wife donated about 60 evergreen trees to our Holiday Light Show (HLS) this year.  Sunset Acres Tree Farm has supported this event for the fourth year in a row and we appreciate it greatly!  Our volunteers and staff on this expedition cut, loaded and secured a wide range of evergreens for use in the HLS.  Everyone came back exhausted and smelling like pine needles but it was a very successful trip.  Kathy P. made up a nice “care package” of goodies for our trip and the guys sure appreciated it!  It’s always a fun convoy and we made it home without any trees falling off!  Once we made it back to the gardens around the lunch hour, some of these guys continued to help out with various tasks.  Some of my photos further down are from a trip to Longenecker Gardens yesterday which is part of the UW-Arboretum up in Madison.  It was a beautiful day yesterday with plenty of color and interest at the arboretuml.

Larry O., Larry H., Big John, Bob K. and I were all on this trip but had other duties upon our return.  Everyone had further HLS projects to continue which is now certainly a daily task for most of us.  Cindy held down the fort this morning and had a wide range of gardening tasks and watering as well.  We briefly saw Janice but everyone sure enjoyed another nice, sunny, Autumn day!  The grounds staff had an exceptional day.  Our other volunteers today included Kathy, Eva, Shirley H. and firefighter Kathy.  The ladies did a whole lot of clearing out of annuals and perennial debris in multiple areas.  Dr. Gredler was in for mowing and Peg worked on our database.  Dave, Vern, Bob and Ron all had carpentry duties.  Gene collected leaves.  I know that we also had Maury around and some others but I missed seeing other volunteers due to the trip but appreciate their efforts nonetheless!

Sunset Acres Tree Farm (Stoughton, WI)

Larry H. (above) was up in the trailers today arranging pines and here was starting to settle in for a nap

awesome fall color on black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) up at the UW-Arboretum

Longenecker Gardens has a very remarkable woody plant collection

Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) fruits (4″-5″ in diameter!)

fall color on paw paw (Asimina triloba) – woody tree

persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) had ripe fruits (yummy)

winterberry (Ilex verticillata, unknown female variety)

American chestnut (Castanea dentata) had been picked over by the squirrels and other wildlife

the sumac (Rhus sp.) patch above at Longenecker was glowing!

view from underneath a Southern catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides) – woody tree

Our last Volunteer Work Day of 2016 was very successful.  Our focus was bulb planting which went so well that we had time to shift to some leaf and debris clean-up after break.  We’re never quite sure how may volunteers we’ll have but they kept pouring in this morning and we had a great crew to plant bulbs in five locations.  I believe we installed over 12,000 bulbs today!  Aside from our staff of Larry O., Big John, Janice, Maryam, Polly, Mark S. and Gary (all of whom helped today), we had Dawn, Cole, Hal, Doris, Alan, Shirley, Alicia, Barb, Arnie, Greg S., Jody M., Big Jim with four RECAPPERS, Gena, Joe, Mike, Brian, Julie, Jacob, Marv, Elaine and Donna!  That’s 33 staff and volunteers on site this morning for some excellent progress on a beautiful fall day.  All of these photos were taken today.

It’s quite unlikely that the ‘Golden Delicious’ pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) seen above will look like this tomorrow with temperatures in the low 30 degrees F tonight.  The gardens still have lots of color but our removal of annuals continues in advance of the eventual frost that will put more closure to the season.  Today was a mix of sun and clouds with a crisp breeze but our grounds staff and volunteers had a nice day out in the gardens.  We saw more kids enjoying the gardens as part of our youth education program facilitated by our education volunteers.   It was a productive day and we’ll look forward to a solid turnout tomorrow morning (8 am – 12 noon) for our bulb planting Volunteer Work Day (meet at the Parker Education Center!).

Cindy helped organize some bulbs for the work day tomorrow, had some watering duties and spent the bulk of her time finishing clearing out the Hummingbird Haven theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden.  The good news is that this collection will be back in 2017 and will be better than ever!  Janice had a wide range of tasks including container watering, decorating for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) and removing the remainder of the Heirloom Garden plants.  Larry H. also had watering, planting and plenty of HLS action.  I am mired in desk work with budget preparations for 2017.  I was able to get out in the gardens though and the fall color and late season interest is still quite significant.

Diamond Frost® spurge (Euphorbia hypericifolia ‘Inneuphe’) with ‘Icicles’ licorice plant (Helichrysum thianschanicum) – annuals

fall color on Peking cotoneaster (Cotoneaster acutifolius) – woody shrub

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

colorful fruit cluster on Korean mountain ash (Sorbus alnifolia) – woody tree

fall color above on katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) – woody tree

Our volunteers were bundled up today but were very helpful out in the gardens.  Above are Kathy P. (left) and Eva (packing a blade…look closely) in the woodland walk garden where, along with Shirley H. (below), removed more perennials, leaves and other debris from the woodland walk.  This clearing will help with our HLS efforts in that space next week.  Kristin was out tidying up the Japanese garden.  Bill O. did his mowing rounds while Dr. Gredler over-seeded some lawn areas that were a bit thin on grass.  A couple other volunteers stopped by but it was fairly quiet for a Friday.

nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) – annual

pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) blooms strong up until hard frost! – annual

‘Apple Blossom’ snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) doesn’t mind a bit of cold – annual

pollinators are still active out there getting ready for winter! (above on dahlia)

long row of chicken gizzard plant (Iresine herbstii) with some nice lighting! – annual

fall color on the European spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus) – large woody shrub

the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is drifting far and wide! – perennial

‘Redhead’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) getting real bright with cooler temperatures – annual

‘Stripe It Rich’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) – perennial

Italian arum (Arum italicum) – perennial

While colder evening temperatures are arriving soon, there is still plenty of late season color.  Some annuals like this ‘Velvet Elvis’ lavender spurflower (Plectranthus hybrida) seen above are still going strong.  Temperatures around 34 degrees F tomorrow night might test the remainder of our annuals which are being removed in advance of a “killing frost”.  We had a great day out in the gardens and at the Horticulture Center with a wide range of accomplishments.  Both volunteers and staff worked seamlessly together during one of the busiest times of year.

While Larry H., Larry O. and Big John all had mowing duties, the guys also had significant Holiday Light Show (HLS) duties as well.  Bobby K. was in to help John out and had some projects of his own.  Cindy helped with various projects including the continued “purging” in the Hummingbird Haven theme of the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden.  I ran some cords but also had some significant indoor projects on my “to do list” as we also prepare for the 2017 budget year.

fall color before “needle drop” on golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) – woody tree (deciduous conifer)

Packers colors on the transitioning fall color of the bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) – woody shrub

‘Tabasco’ hot pepper (Capsicum frutescens) – annual

flossflower (Ageratum houstonianum) – annual

white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) – perennial

weeping Alaskan cedar (Xanthocyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’) – woody tree

Despite the chilly weather, volunteers like Eva (above) were not daunted!  Our volunteers included Eva, Kathy, Shirley H., Liz, Marilyn, Cheryl D., Dr. Gredler, Maury, Gary, Ron Y., Dave, Vern, Jim, Gene, Alan, Bob K., Bev D., Ron P., Peg, Mary Kay and many others.  Tasks included lots of plant removals (annuals), path tidying, carpentry projects and a lot of other odd jobs.  We also saw Mark S., Jenny E., Marv B., Terry and many others today.  Despite my lack of specific task descriptions for everyone, suffice it to say that we had a great crew.  The education volunteers were out most of the day with students enjoying our fall program.  Our Horticultural Therapy Committee of Darcie, Cindy, Art, Elaine, Karen and I all met as well to discuss our August 9th event next year!

Kathy P. (above)

Marilyn (above showing off her latest dance move)

Shirley H. (left) and Liz

Bob K. and Alan M. (driving) whizzing by on one of MANY trips with debris

Cheryl D. all bundled up

two VIP volunteers – Gary (left) and Maury who was just awarded a medal for his service to RBG

fall color on ‘White Tigress’ striped maple (Acer tegmentosum) – woody tree (in my neighbor’s yard!, not RBG, although we have five!)

ring of kale (Brassica oleracea) – annual

EverColor® ‘Everillo’ sedge (Carex oshimensis) – perennial

‘Sugar Plum’ coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial

‘Rave On’ coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial

fall color on American smokebush (Cotinus obovatus) – large woody shrub / small tree

seed heads of burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii) – perennial

panicled hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) are still showing some nice color here and there – woody shrub

Dolce® Blackcurrant coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial