Still Hanging In There!

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The gardens still have lots of color despite the very cool evenings we’ve experienced recently and with high temperatures only in the lower 60 degrees F range.  Above is a nice shot of ‘Elephant Head’ amaranth (Amaranthus gangeticus) with Abyssinian bananas (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’) near the arboretum this morning.  We had a tour today from central Illinois with many University of Illinois Master Gardener volunteers in attendance.  I think I’ve done a talk for this group as many of the folks looked familiar.  They loved the late season garden and as evidenced in these photos, there is still much to see!  Our volunteers had a busy day including our tour guides involved with our group from Illinois.  Kathy and Eva were removing spent annuals from multiple locations while Jenny and Dave headed out to tidy the hosta hollow after Jenny prepared some bulb labels for use later next month.  Nancy M. was in to do some weeding at the Horticulture Center and Del did some tidying up out in the gardens.  Bill O. did his mowing rounds and we also saw Dave E., Dick H., Maury, Lynn Y. and many others today.

The grounds staff had some gardening tasks today although preparations for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) are also occurring daily!  Cindy worked on some watering duties, mum planting in containers and plenty of tidying.  Big John also had watering duties, tree planting and lots of HLS preparations.  Larry H. also had some watering to accomplish but spent the bulk of the day on more HLS preparations in and near the Japanese garden.  I organized our remaining plants in the yard that will be planted shortly.  I was also able to scout the gardens for planting locations so we’re ready to roll.  I’ll likely become involved with running cords for the HLS in the next week or two.

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‘Wasabi’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) at 48″ tall! – annual

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‘White Wedding’ zinnia (Zinnia elegans) – annual

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fruits of ‘Leprechaun’ crabapple (Malus sp.) – woody tree

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inflorescences (flower/seed heads) on Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis, unknown variety) – perennial

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‘Sarastro’ bellflower (Campanula hybrida) still blooming! – perennial

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interesting trunk on this young, striped bark maple (Acer pensylvanicum) – woody tree

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

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edible fruits of the corneliancherry dogwood (Cornus mas ‘Golden Glory’) – woody tree (research fruit preparation!)

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‘Blazin’ Rose’ bloodleaf (Iresine hybrida) – annual

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the formal annual sections still look good and those obelisks (and the boxwoods) will get lights soon too!

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‘The Giant’ Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) – perennial (poisonous!)

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weeping white pine (Pinus strobus ‘Pendula’) – woody tree (will look super cool at the Holiday Light Show!)

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‘Ruby Parfait’ wheat celosia (Celosia argentea spicata) – annual

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‘Sea Weed’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

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

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

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‘Las Vegas Pink’ globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) – annual

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‘St. Louis’ Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) – perennial