Abundant Sunshine
It was a gorgeous day today with ample sunshine. Nice shot directly above of our largest ‘Elizabeth’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) near the sunken garden at peak bloom. With all the recent rain, plants are going bonkers right now with the turf also keeping pace and weeds also getting a strong foothold. I would say that the next 4-6 weeks are the most challenging in terms of our efforts as we have to balance traditional gardening (mowing, weeding, watering) with aggressive planting, special events, volunteer planting days, etc. Busy busy. Our grounds staff of Cindy, Alex, Big John, Terry, Larry H. and I all had a wide range of tasks. We picked up more plants and continue to get our plans in order for planting over the next six weeks or so. Our wonderful volunteers consisted of Kathy P., Eva, Dr. Gredler, Maury, Sandi, Terri, Vern, Barb C., Bill O. and some others. We were spread thin but we all enjoyed the day. I had my camera with me as I went on another herbicide route to address the earliest weeds coming up in our patio areas.
‘Vanity’ variegated red maple (Acer rubrum) – woody tree (above)
variegated sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus ‘Variegatum’) – woody tree
‘Elizabeth’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree (above)
variegated five-leaf aralia (Eleutherococcus sieboldianus ‘Variegatus’) – woody shrub
variegated wayfaringtree viburnum (Viburnum lantana ‘Variegatum’) – woody tree
Kathy P. (foreground) and Eva planting today
Terri (left) and Sandi tidying up before the concert in the gazebo garden tonight!
patch of Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) – perennial
variegated sweet flag (Acorus calamus ‘Variegatus’) – perennial
‘E.A. Bowles’ variegated mockorange (Philadelphus coronarius) – woody shrub
lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) – perennial
Valentine® bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Hordival’) – perennial
‘Little Leo’ leopard’s bane (Doronicum orientale) – perennial
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) – perennial
‘Valerie Finnis’ grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) – perennial bulb