The Gardens Approach Peak Summer Color

It was another beautiful day at the gardens.  Nice shot of ‘Lilac Squirrel’ burnet (Sanguisorba hakusanensis) that I still need to find a spot for out in the gardens. This will be a fun new perennial to try.  This evening we hosted our next Rhythm & Blooms concert with Gary the Band in the gazebo garden.  We saw a lot of visitors today at the gardens and I ran in to a colleague (Mark Z.) who used to manage the beautiful gardens at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (excellent museum and gardens!).  I had a great chat with he and his wife but spent most of the day frantically getting ready for the remainder of a busy week which includes our Wellness Garden dedication ceremony tomorrow (10:30 am, everyone is invited!) and our Home Garden Tour (HGT) on Saturday, July 21st (9 am – 3 pm).  Get your tickets for the HGT in advance for only $10 ($12 the day of the event) at the gardens or K&W Greenery.  Our grounds staff of Big John, Cindy, Bobby K., Shania, Ibhar, Alex and myself all had a busy day which included watering, pruning, shearing, weeding and much more! Two gentlemen from Evergreen Irrigation (Rockford, IL) were on hand all day to work on the irrigation around the new Wellness Garden.  Our volunteer crew of Dr. Tom, Kathy P., Eva, Marleen, Connie, Stan, Bill O., Vern, Maury, Terri and many others continued to help the gardens look exceptional as they head in to their summer peak of color over the coming weeks.

bloom of ‘Candle Fire’ okra (Abelmoschus) – annual

the fountain in the new Wellness Garden

the Russo Fountain is looking great on a daily basis

above and below are the foliage and flowers of ‘Chinese Dragon’ leopard plant (Ligularia chinensis) – perennial

‘Beauty of Ernst’ Color Flash®false spirea (Astilbe x arendsii) – perennial

the mosses in the fern & moss garden are looking vivid!

golden Japanese orixa (Orixa japonica ‘Aurea’) – woody shrub