Enjoying Sunrise Today

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Today was the earliest I’ve been at the gardens in many years.  I arrived in pitch black at 5 am to get some things in order before I met two gentlemen (Jeff and Colin) who arrived to do some filming at sunrise.  The guys were very nice and had some impressive equipment.  The morning lighting allowed me to capture some nice images.  Although a bit fuzzy above, the first couple of photos feature our All-America Selections (AAS) garden in front of the building which is a small portion of the entrance garden which also includes the slope planting seen two photos down.  There was certainly lots of color and the morning light was excellent.  The mosquitoes were already bad early in the morning unfortunately!  As the day brightened, our grounds staff and volunteers came in for a full day at the gardens which also included a lot of visitors!

The grounds staff kept busy with a wide range of tasks including plenty of watering.  Trevor and Nolan did their mowing rounds then moved on to weed whipping, fertilizing and watering.  Janice worked in multiple areas and helped get our volunteers organized this morning. Big John set up lots of sprinklers, made a trip with Larry and had myriad other tasks throughout the day.  I continue to prepare for the Fall Plant Sale and was able to get out in the gardens multiple times which included a round of herbicide in our weediest of spots.

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variegated giant reed (Arundo donax ‘Versicolor’) with dark-leaved dahlias (Mystic Series)

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the Heirloom Garden looked excellent this morning

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I love the richness of the border above (near the arboretum)

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‘Limelight’ four o’clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) – annual

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the gazebo garden is looking good – note the gazebo birdfeeder below (English cottage garden) was built to mimic our actual gazebo on the other end of the garden!

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Our volunteers took advantage of a cool morning although it heated up very quickly!  Cheryl (above) weeded and tidied up in the front AAS garden while Kathy (directly below) and Eva were nearby doing the exact same thing.  Kay weeded our narrow perennial border in the terrace garden and really sunk her teeth in to some tough weeds (many woody) along the arborvitae hedge along the back of this space.  Larry O. worked on processing some new plants, went on a trip with Big John and watered the entire yard.  Bill O. did all of his mowing rounds.  We saw Hal, Maury, Gary, Iza and Big John and our Garden Development & Maintenance Committee.  We also saw Chuck S., Judy L., Kristin and many others today.

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Kathy P. (above)

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Eva (above)

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‘Heartthrob’ hibiscus (Hibiscus hybrida) – perennial

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fruiting structure of Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) – perennial (fruit turns red!)

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our raised planter displays at the Horticulture Center have filled out nicely (above)

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some of our “behind-the-scenes” work includes equipment repair with our sturdiest cart (above) needing some TLC