My favorite time of year is early May with my second favorite time being mid October (right now!).  I love the transition to fall colors like those seen in the bloody cranesbill geranium (Geranium sanguineum) above.  Peak fall color in this area is likely in the next 7-10 days.  However, the cooler temperatures this time of year are quite nice as well.  Today was a combination of cloudy skies, a bit of sunshine, sporadic drizzle, rain and then repeat all of these again.  We had a super turnout of volunteers and the rain didn’t thwart most of our efforts out in the gardens.  We did have some indoor work though to keep occupied with much of it related to Holiday Light Show (HLS) preparations.

Larry H. and Larry O. potted up some ‘Thailand Giant’ elephant ears (Colocasia gigantea) for winter storage and had various watering duties (before it rained).  Larry H. moved on to HLS tasks (see below) while Larry O. had more watering and some other duties.  Janice decorated more obelisks for the HLS, had some meetings and worked with our Chestnut House volunteers.  Big John and Bobby K. put up lights in the sunken garden (see photo below) and had a wide range of other tasks.  I bounced between projects and strung out a record low ONE extension cord today!  I’ll have to pick up my “HLS game” here very soon!  All the photos were from today.

our 44 bananas (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’) have all been dug and potted for winter storage

‘Arendsii’ monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii) – perennial

fall color starting on golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) – deciduous conifer

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

Easy Elegance® Snowdrift shrub rose (Rosa ‘BAIrift’) – woody shrub

Easy Elegance® Paint the Town shrub rose (Rosa ‘BAItown’) – woody shrub

Our volunteer turnout on Wednesdays continues to be quite strong.  Kathy and Eva were joined by Firefighter Kathy (see below) for some plant removals.  We have a chance of frost tonight and sporadically until next week when we think we’ll have a “killing” frost.  We do remove some annuals right before frost as their removal is so much easier before they become mushy and a lot harder to remove after a frost!  Alan (above) and Dick H. have been literal machines over the last two days dicing up two trees that we had dropped on Monday.  Marilyn H. helped yesterday afternoon as well.  Dick H. ran A LOT of debris to the dump over the last couple of days.  Myrt, Patty, Mary and Gena worked on plant removals along with Vicki and Steve.  Marv B. tidied up his two moss areas and we also saw Chuck S., Mary Beth, Dr. Gredler and many others today.  The Chestnut House volunteers also did an excellent job with some removals out in the gardens as well.

Eva (left), Firefighter Kathy and Kathy P. removing caladiums

Bobby K. (left) and John putting up new LED strands in the sunken garden

Larry H. putting lights on the Azumaya

Marv B.

Ron P. in his repair shop

Gena (above)

Patty, Myrt, Mary, Steve, Vicky and Gena (left to right)

Vermillionaire™ hybrid cigar flower (Cuphea hybrida) – annual (great for hummingbirds!)

fall color on ‘Whitespire Senior’ gray birch (Betula populifolia) – woody tree

dwarf lion’s tail (Leonotis leonurus) – annual (great for hummingbirds!)

‘Red Neck Girl’ forsythia sage (Salvia madrensis) – annual for us

colorful calyces on seven-son-flower (Heptacodium miconioides) – large woody shrub

fall color of ‘Red Bull’ big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) – perennial

‘Santa Barbara’ Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha) – annual for us

The day started with light rain and drizzle but the sun made an appearance later in the morning which brought smiles to all of us (note photo above…get it…smiles?).  The grounds staff continued with some work out in the drizzle and we had some great volunteer help inside with a wide range of projects.  This time in October continues our juggling act of tidying, primping, removals, planting and preparations for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) which gets closer on the calendar every day (of course!).  The sunny afternoon was welcomed by all!

The grounds staff consisted of Larry H., Cindy, Big John and me.  Larry H. had some minor watering and put protective mesh on the remainder of the yews (Taxus) in the Japanese garden (deer protection).  The rest of his time was strictly related to HLS preparations in multiple areas.  Big John checked water features but also spent the day with HLS progress.  Cindy did a lot of tidying in multiple areas, watered and pre-dug some begonias that we’ll process to save over the winter.  I had some meetings and continue to catch up on some extremely time sensitive desk work.  I was able to get out in the gardens to mark some HLS elements and took all of these photos today.

fall color of yellow buckeye (Aesculus octandra) – woody tree

flower progression to pink on ‘Tardiva’ panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) – woody shrub

the corner planting maintained by the Robb’s features some very warm colors!

Jolt™ Pink interspecific dianthus (Dianthus hybrida) – annual

‘Redskin’ dahlia (Dahlia variabilis) – annual

‘Blondo’ maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) – perennial

fall color of Acer saccharum subsp. nigrum ‘Green Column’ – woody tree

Our volunteers were in a great mood today except Nancy (seen above) who offered up her paint brush every time I gave her some tips!  She did a great job starting to paint this giant obelisk from yellow to black.  Once complete, this glossy black obelisk will really shine with lights for the HLS.  Kathy and Eva had some indoor work during the drizzle and later continued their “purge” in the sunken garden with removing annuals and cutting back some perennials.  Alan helped Dick H. continue to dice up and haul off a decent chunk of a green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) which was dying of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) – see photo below. We’ll start working on the large blue spruce that was downed as well.  Jenny and Dave (below) did a nice job tidying up the Hosta Hollow and cut back the hostas.  Cutting them back now is so much more efficient than when they turn mushy after a frost!  Bill O. was in for his mowing and Dr. Gredler came in to aerate some lawns.  Our Garden Development & Maintenance Committee meeting consisted of Gary, Larry H., Maury F., Big John, Hal R. and Christy M.  We also saw Janelle, Vern, Mark S. and many others today.

Dave (above) and below with his beautiful wife Jenny in the foreground

Eva (above and below) with Kathy P. in blue

brightening stem color on ‘Flame’ willow (Salix hybrida) – large shrub when trimmed back every March

colder evening temperatures add some color to golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) seen above – perennial

Japanese spindletree (Euonymus hamiltonianus) – large woody shrub

when Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) leaves turn yellow in fall, they emit a fragrance like cotton candy! – woody tree

‘Purple Dome’ New England aster (Aster novae-angliae) – perennial

Mystic Illusion dark-leaved dahlia (Dahlia hybrida ‘Knockout’) – annual

it will be sad when the cold challenges these elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta) – tropical

another green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) bites the dust – woody tree

nice color on this trial garden coneflower (Echinacea ’16P03′) – perennial

Today was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures reaching the low 70 degrees F.  I wonder how many more days we have like this in 2016?  With our set-up window narrowing every day for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up, we continue with an aggressive schedule and are achieving great progress every day.  I was running cords near the arched bridge and caught this photo above of with some nice morning light.  With impending frost likely next week, we are removing some annuals in advance for storage or for the purpose of opening up space for HLS set-up.  There is one late season wedding left on Saturday and we’ll segway entirely in to HLS tasks by the end of the month.  We had a very productive day both inside and outside with staff and volunteers.

Cindy focused primarily on gardening which included lots of watering.  While the season might be ending for some annuals, we have containers and other elements that we’ll continue to maintain.  Cindy also tidied up the front entrance garden by the Parker Education Center.  Larry watered containers and bounced between quite a few different tasks.  Big John and Bobby K. (see below) teamed up to put out more HLS lighting and John continued those efforts this afternoon.  Janice continues to put lights on obelisks and had gardening tasks as well.  I spent a half day running cords and will continue to place cords in areas where they wont conflict with our clean-up efforts over the coming weeks.

fall color on ‘Aconitifolium’ fullmoon maple (Acer japonicum) above – woody tree (will get even more intense)

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

horsetail (Equisetum sp.) – perennial (stays green!)

Little Lemon goldenrod (Solidago hybrida ‘Dansolitlem’) – perennial

fall color on Tiger Eyes® golden staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’) – woody shrub

Firespire™ musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana ‘J.N. Upright’) – woody tree

Bobby K. (left) and Big John putting up icicle lights

Our volunteers, like Bob K. and Alan (driving) above, had a busy day.  Kathy, Eva and Dave E. started cutting back and removing perennials from the sunken garden which needs to be done for HLS purposes.  They hauled out many loads of debris.  Alan, Bob K. and Gene also were removing annuals in multiple locations.  Ron R. was on raking duty and cleaned up many paths while Dr. Gredler and Rollie were out mowing.  Steve and Dick P. had a project on the roof of the Horticulture Center which should help with the winter icing problems we were having over the past couple of winters.  Dick H. ran to the dump often and Maury ran errands after picking up pumpkins for the education program.  Dick H. later worked with Jon J. and Steve L. on removing two large trees in the arboretum.  Jim H. had three RECAPPERS and the guys continued to dig up and pot up our Abyssinian bananas (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’) for winter storage.  Peg was in to work on labels and our woody plant database.  Becky came in to re-letter a memorial bench and Dave T., Vern, Jim and Ron Y. had multiple carpentry projects.  We also saw Gary and many others today.l

Steve J. (left) and Dick P.

‘Wallowa Mountains’ sandwort (Arenaria sp.) – perennial

‘Sentimental Blue’ balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) – perennial

‘Ozawa’ ornamental onion (Allium thunbergii) – perennial

fall color is starting on Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) – woody vine

shredded umbrella leaf (Syneilesis aconitifolia) – perennial

fall color is looking nice on many sumacs (Rhus sp.) like the one above

‘Cimmaron’ lettuce (Lactuca sativa) – annual in the Heirloom Garden

fall color on Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) – woody tree

seeds forming on saucer magnolia (Magnolia soulangiana) – woody tree

dahlias are still looking attractive (for visitors and pollinators alike!)

our garage still has plenty of HLS items in storage but there are less every day!

Sorry this blog posting is a day late!  We had a chilly (and busy!) Friday but the sun did appear later in the day.  Cindy, Janice and Larry O. all had a wide range of duties and our excellent volunteers of Kathy, Eva, Kay, Alan, Steve, Vicki, Kristin, Bill O., Maury and many others were a huge help.  Randy M. was in to repair more displays for the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Nice shot above of the fall color progression on Tiger Eyes® golden staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’).  We had quite a few visitors out in the gardens and I gave a tour for a botany class from UW-Rock County in the afternoon.  Enjoy the photos below…

Mystic Dreamer dahlia (Dahlia hybrida ‘Zone10’) – annual

fruits of the blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis) – perennial

the sunken garden still has some color for the wedding today (Saturday)

Janice (above) was digging and potting neat begonias before it gets too cold for them!

Kathy and Eva kept trying to move this rock but decided to just weed around it…

Steve and Vicky (above), along with Alan, processed 16 Abyssinian bananas (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’) for storage! (see below too)

Kristin (above) looks blurry because she was shivering and my hand was also shivering during this cold morning!

banana processing above and below

Kay (one of the best smiles we have around the gardens)

Magda’s garden bed (above) always looks great throughout the seasons!

‘Flamingo Feather Pink’ wheat celosia (Celosia spicata) – annual

these ‘Red Sun’ zinnias (Zinnia elegans) are still looking vivid! – annual

Main Street Oxford Street™ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘UF12-87-9’) – annual

ColorBlaze® Lime Time™ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

‘Dipt in Wine’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

Last night I did a presentation at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (OBG) in Madison, Wisconsin.  I always get up there early so I can enjoy the garden and wanted to share some photos on the blog.  OBG is a superb garden and they do an excellent job of highlighting the seasons with transitional displays, plant selection, container arrangements, etc.  I caught some wonderful images as the sun was setting and noted some interesting lighting displays that are part of their GLEAM installation.  From the OBG website…”GLEAM, Art in a New Light, returns to Olbrich with an exciting new series of illuminated art installations bringing mystery and delight to the outdoor gardens in the evening. Collaborations between artists and lighting designers create objects and effects that feature light as a dynamic physical presence. An evening wander is sure to inspire all ages as each installation engages the senses and sparks wonder!”  It looks pretty cool!

We had some light showers this morning but our volunteers made a morning of it outside as did our grounds staff.  It looks like more rain later today and in the evening but we were thankful for the time to address mowing and clean-up prior to a busy weekend!  Needless to say,  myriad tasks were accomplished by our staff of Big John, Cindy, Larry O. and Bobby K.  Our volunteers included Kathy, Eva, Suzie, Marilyn, Dick H., Dr. Gredler, Jim, Dave, Vern, Ron Y., Gene, Dave, Jenny E., Steve, Firefighter Kathy, Bob K., Alan M., Maury, Gary, Maryam and many others. Jim came in with three RECAPPERS and they tidied up the Japanese garden.  Randy M. stopped by to repair some of our Holiday Light Show (HLS) displays which he originally built!

Enjoy these photos of Olbrich Botanical Gardens!

fall containers at OBG are always nice!

Carefree Sunshine™ shrub rose (Rosa ‘Radsun’) still blooming nicely! – woody shrub

monkshood (Aconitum sp.) – perennial

‘Lady in Black’ calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorus) – perennial

castor beans (Ricinus communis) – maybe the variety ‘New Zealand Purple’? – annual

prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) in the foreground catching some setting sun – perennial

angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia sp.) that I walked under – heavenly fragrance!