Youthful Exuberance

 

It was a sunny and mild day (76 degrees F!) with a nice breeze.  It was also a very busy day at the gardens with oodles of visitors, tours and 40 kids coming to the gardens from the Harrison Elementary Summer School program for some volunteer work and a tour.  The kids were energetic and a great help.  We planted a couple thousand zinnias in a garden space and along with help from Janice P. and Barb C., we think they had a great experience.  We gave all the kids a sensitive plant to take home and nurture as part of their visit (see top photo).  Directly above is Janice P. with a neat prop that is included in our very well received Plants of the World (POTW) Collection created by Janice and Patrea W. (with maintenance help from Mike P., Kevin C. and Tom K.).  We had a great day with lots of watering as we missed some rain yesterday that would have been most welcome.  Ibhar, Alex, Shania, Janice, Cindy and I all had a wide range of tasks.  Our excellent volunteers included Robert, Eva, Kathy P., Connie, Kay, Kristin, Flannery, Steve, Peg and likely some others that I missed throughout the day.  We also saw Ann, Ken, Dave and Art giving tours.  We continue to put finishing touches on our planting and the weeding control efforts will continue to be our primary focus in the coming weeks.

rich colors in the center urn under the formal garden pergola (above)

‘The Fairy’ rose (Rosa sp.) – woody shrub

nice patch of ‘Astra Blue’ balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) in the alpine garden – perennial

‘Bronze Pink’ copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana) – annual

TIDBITS™ ‘Tammy’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

Mainstreet Dutch Mill Drive™ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

raised beds are filling in nicely – more about this garden very soon!

‘Rocket Man’ hybrid coneflower (Echinacea hybrida) – perennial

our Harrison Elementary volunteers (and chaperones!) did a great job today (above and two below)

great work by new volunteer Robert sorting our plastics (above and below)!

‘Cupcakes White’ cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) – annual

Plants of the World (POTW) Collection featuring plants from 13 different countries!