Friday Warm Up

Today was how April ought to be with sunshine and temperatures near 60 degrees F.  This is quite a change from the sleet and snow we had earlier in the week.  The weather looks good for our Earth Day activities tomorrow at the gardens as well as our Compost and Pansy Sale (8 am – 12 noon) at the Horticulture Center.  Directly above are some of the exciting Garden Art Project submittals (frogs!) that have come back already.  We’ll have 30 of these uniquely decorated art pieces out in the gardens shortly and they will be placed in coordination with our Giant Aquarium display which will feature the book The Frightened Frog.  This StoryWalk program will be another exciting partnership with the Hedberg Public Library.  We had a great day out in the gardens with plenty of action.

With shifting schedules due to the rough weather mid-week, we had a pretty full grounds staff today with Cindy, Larry H., Bobby K., Big John and Terry.  Everyone was outside all day with a wide range of duties including path repair, hauling soil, installing containers, tidying, planting, etc.  Everyone was in full motion. Despite some of my office obligations with special events and ordering, I was able to get out in the gardens for a bit as well.  Our volunteer crew included Kathy P., Dr. Gredler, Maury and Dave T.  We also saw Tina B. and Marlene.

‘Harmony’ reticulated iris (Iris reticulata) – perennial

our first bulk compost delivery has arrived!

winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) amongst some quickly melting snow today

daffodils (Narcissus) are recovering from the abusive weather earlier this week

winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis)

Cindy was planting pansies in containers for some early color

the last two days we’ve had irrigation repairs and improvements throughout the gardens (above is a repair)

peonies (Paeonia sp.) didn’t lose a beat this week and continue to add height daily!

the crocus (that haven’t been eaten by deer or rabbits!) look great out in the gardens right now