Tours Take Advantage of Garden Peak

Nice shot directly above of bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) which is starting to bloom strongly right now.  We continue to have a nice extension of peak summer color and some recent evening tours have enjoyed this summer peak.  On Wednesday evening I gave a tour for the Walworth County Master Gardeners and we enjoyed the gardens during a nice gap in the rain.  Last night I gave a tour for members of the Wisconsin Hosta Society and while we enjoyed the gardens, we didn’t quite avoid the rain and had some “sideways drizzle” to contend with for 30 minutes or so.  I’m comfortable saying that there isn’t any portion of the garden that is dry right now!  The collections are all looking good so come and visit!

We had a great crew of grounds folks (Cindy, Trevor, Janice and Bobby K.) along with our volunteers (Kathy, Eva, Bill, Hal, Maury, Steve, Kay, Jim, RECAPPERS, etc.) for a productive day getting ready for a busy weekend.  We continue to mow, weed and tidy up and thankfully didn’t have to worry much about watering today.  With four weddings tomorrow (Saturday), along with a busy day for general visitation, we like to get everything in order on Friday.

‘Love & Wishes’ salvia (Salvia hybrida) – annual

The Chestnut House team this past Wednesday

Vertigo® elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is looking good with ‘Golden Jubilee’ hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) in the foreground and ‘Torch’ Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) in the background along some other neighbors

‘China Town’ plume celosia (Celosia plumosa) is looking good right now (above) – annual

‘Cupcakes Mix’ cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) – annual

‘Pink Frost’ variegated Japanese Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium fortunei) – perennial

variegated obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) – perennial

‘Mongolian Gem’ German garlic (Allium senescens) – perennial

Marv B. continues to transplant moss (above) to expand our neat moss gardens

‘Banana Boat’ Japanese sedge (Carex siderosticha) – perennial

scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) – annual

foliage of ‘Bull Dog’ okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) above and okra flower below (photo from Chicago Botanic Garden visit)

yellow Peruvian zinnia (Zinnia peruviana) – annual

‘Velvet Elvis’ lavender spurflower (Plectranthus hybrida) – annual

‘Alexander’s Great’ false forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) – perennial

‘Samantha’ variegated lantana (Lantana camara) – annual