Vivid Color on a Hot Day!

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Today ended up being a typical late July day with sunshine and temperatures reaching the upper 80 degrees F.  We focused on watering in the later portion of the day with plenty of other activity in the morning.  Above is a nice shot of our corner planter that is always well maintained by Hal and Doris every year.  The sculpture is called ‘Biota’ is was created by artist Vern Shaffer.  This bed also features All-America Selections (AAS) winners which are our focus for the entrance garden.  AAS is holding their annual Summer Summit in Madison, WI in late August and will come down to view our expansive AAS collection.  We’re looking forward to the visit from so many VIPs!  We had great teamwork today with the grounds staff and volunteers steadily working through what quickly became a sticky day.  The gardens are close to peak summer color although we make all efforts to maintain this color well in to late summer!

Big John had lots of watering today (irrigation, sprinklers, containers, etc.) and also worked on sweeping, smoothing gravel, road trips, etc.  Cindy had watering and tidying is some other areas but then focused her energy on the Hummingbird Haven theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden which is absolutely gorgeous right now (see photo below).  Larry H. had weeding, path work, lots of watering and various odd jobs that he efficiently accomplished.  Trevor and Nolan had a day split between mowing and watering.  I was able to get out in the gardens but am preparing for our Horticultural Therapy seminar next Wednesday (see our website for details).  We had another great day but are wary of the increasing heat this week.  Some rain tomorrow would be nice….knock on wood.

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RBG prairie restoration (above)

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Tidal Wave® Red Velour petunia (Petunia) with ‘Purple Majesty’ ornamental millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and Tiger Eyes® staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’) in the background

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‘Torch’ Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) – annual

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MESA™ ‘Yellow’ blanket flower (Gaillardia grandiflora) – perennial

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the All-America Selections (AAS) in the front bed are looking excellent today!

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the classic ‘Purple Wave’ petunia (Petunia) looking vivid – annual

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the All-America Selections (AAS) out on in the terrace garden are looking great!

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Unstoppable Upright® Fire begonia (Begonia boliviensis) looking excellent – annual

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Cindy B. in the Hummingbird Haven which she has meticulously maintained!

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my first monarch in the Hummingbird Haven (Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden)

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Our volunteers today were excellent and with the increasing heat of the day, we tried to shuffle everyone in to the shade.  Above is Kathy P. weeding in the fern & moss garden with Eva.  The ladies started weeding in the entrance garden and shifted to this shady respite.  Kay did a great job tidying up the woodland glen garden (formerly the color rooms garden).  Don and Pearl tidied up their assigned garden area which is looking excellent!  Dr. Gredler worked on a project in the Horticulture Center as did Hal R.  Bill O. was out mowing and we also saw Maury F., Chuck S., Art H. and many others today.  Larry O. worked on some projects at the Horticulture Center and watered the yard as well.  Sutton was in to plant some containers for me and did a nice job as well.

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Had a nice tour with Randy Burdick (Burdick’s Greenhouse) and Dorothy S. (past volunteer)

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a nice white collection under these birches (Betula sp.) by the North Point garden

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‘All Gold’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) – perennial

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TERRA NOVA® ‘Marrakesh’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

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‘Purpurkerze’ false spirea (Astilbe chinensis) – perennial

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cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) – perennial