Our last work day went excellent today and the weather was perfect.  We planted bulbs in three locations which included lots of tulips, alliums, anemones and irises.  We also removed annuals from a good sized bed as well.  Above are Flannery and Dylan who were part of our crew today which also included Cathy, Gena, Sue, Barb, Alan, Garrett, Josef, Debbie, Brian, Mr. Hauri, his daughter and someone else I didn’t get a name for in time.  Marleen, Marcia and Mirjam were tidying up their areas in other locations and we had some nice help from Big John, Bill O. and Larry H.  Dave K. was on hand to help work on the equipment and we also saw Maury and some others.  It was a super day.

Alan M. (above) and some of his work below…

Cathy (above)

Garrett (left), Flannery and Dylan

We had another warm sunny day and were happy to see lots more visitors enjoying the gardens.  Temperatures look colder next week and we’re on track for frost at some point I’m sure.  The two structures directly above on the trailer are for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) and we had some help moving these in to place today!  Efforts out in the gardens are focused primarily on HLS duties although we’re getting a lot of “end of the season” type gardening in as well.  Our grounds staff of Cindy, Larry H., Bobby K., Janice, Terry, Big John and myself all had a wide range of duties with most of our efforts geared towards HLS progress.  Cindy was able to spend time in the Hummingbird Haven garden which still looks great.  Our volunteers of Dennis, Shirley H., Kathy, Eva, Cheryl, Jim H., four RECAPPERS, Bill O., Maury and Kaye F., Vern and many others accomplished a wide range of tasks.  I’m not sure we’ll have too many more days like this until May!

with no frost yet…the terrace garden is still looking sharp (above)

‘China Town’ plume celosia (Celosia plumosa) – annual

most of our maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) selections are blooming nicely right now – perennial

neat shot of the formal annual sections from the roof (where I was running cords with Mark S.)

Above are Bobby K., Larry H. Big John, Mark S., Terry and Cindy passing me the giant obelisk which we secured in the U.S.S. Ginger (our raft where I took this photo while everyone else was straining).  Below is Bobby K. taking this HLS feature out to the middle of the pond where the Russo Fountain was all summer (hauled back for winter storage).  We use the same power source and that floating obelisk has over 3,000 LED twinkle lights on it.

fruiting structures opening on Eastern wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus) – woody shrub

the gazebo was originally positioned to enjoy this centered view of the arched bridge

fruiting structure of red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) – woody tree

this border (maintained by Dylan and Flannery) is still looking nice and vivid!

Randy M. is back in action repairing our rope lighting displays (which he built over 17 years ago with his dad!)

saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) – perennial

fall color is starting on the oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) – woody shrub

cone of the Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) – woody conifer

‘Peppermint Spice’ coral bells (Heuchera) – perennial

The photo directly above and directly below were taken from the roof of the Rath Environmental Center where I was running cords for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) as the “rooftop ninja” (although I have a healthy fear of heights!).  Above is ‘Fenway Gold’ Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) which will still turn a pinkish/orange fall color in the coming weeks.  The formal gardens can be seen below with most of our annuals cleared in advance of both frost and cords for the HLS.  Today had a chilly start which we expect in October but we weren’t prepared for the perfect 70 degree sunny day which was just gorgeous.  I was surprised to see so few visitors but we did host the grounds staff from The Christopher Farm and Gardens (Sheboygan, WI).  We had a nice tour and “talked shop” which is always a valuable exchange.

The grounds staff had a busy day with continued focus on the looming HLS (opens November 24th this year!).  Larry O. push mowed and continued his HLS preparations.  Larry H. continues to sling many lights daily for the HLS and has done so for the past 8 weeks already.  Cindy had some watering and gardening duties but also continued her placement of half gallon milk jug luminaries for the HLS.  Bobby K. worked with Larry H. on decorating one of our giant, 20′ tall obelisks and had more electrical improvement duties.  After my tour I spent the afternoon running cords which will absorb more of my time over the coming weeks.

Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) – woody vine

newly planted primrose (Primula sp.) blooming out of season – perennial

ripening fruits of ‘Black Pearl’ ornamental hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual

some of our tropicals are already for hauling to their winter homes (local greenhouses)

Our volunteers were a huge help today and we had an excellent turnout.  The photos directly above and below, however, are from yesterday.  Above is Steve E. removing annuals in a space that will see HLS decorations early next week.  Steve E. is one of our rookie volunteers this year and we had a bumper crop of excellent new helpers this year.  Directly below is Dale Sievert (“Mr. Moss”) who designed and built our two moss gardens (now maintained and improved by Marv B.).  Dale stopped by the gardens yesterday and then did a presentation for the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society on moss gardening last night at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI).    Our volunteers today included Bonnie, Shirley H., Vera, Kathy, Eva, Alan, Bob K., Brian, Kay, Ron Y., Dave, Jim, Vern, Steve, Dr. Gredler, Rollie, Peg and many others.  The order of the day out in the gardens was plant cutting and removals.

Dale Sievert (“Mr. Moss”) above

Bobby K. is hiding behind the obelisk as he attaches the top and bottom prior to putting on LED twinkle lights

Brian processed over forty ‘Thailand Giant’ elephant ears (Colocasia gigantea) today and brought them back for re-potting

Bob K. (left) and Alan M. (with Brian photobombing in the back)

Kay did a nice job (as always) with her “clearing kung fu” this afternoon (in her assigned garden space)

fall color of hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) – woody tree

variegated fiveleaf aralia (Eleutherococcus sieboldianus) – woody shrub

‘Aconitifolium’ fullmoon maple (Acer japonicum) in foreground which will ultimately turn bright red – woody tree

the Japanese garden today as seen from the upper path

fall color (above and below) of Firespire™ musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana ‘J.N. Upright’) – woody tree

I love this time of year.  It was another cool start to the day but we all shed layers quickly as the sun came out and along with a light breeze, the day was beautiful and around 70 degrees F.  The arched bridge above is already festooned with lights for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) and our preparations are continuing in earnest.  We saw lots of visitors today including kids who enjoyed our fall programs with Marlene and Barb.  While the weather looks cooler next week (still no frost), we’re moving ahead with removals as we need to continue with the momentum for our HLS set-up!  We’ve probably removed 50% of the annuals thus far with the rest to be cleared throughout next week.  Our grounds staff of Larry O., Larry H., Bobby K. and I all had various duties including significant HLS related tasks.  Janice was also in to work with the Chestnut House volunteers.

fall color on Beaver Creek® witchalder (Fothergilla gardenii ‘KLMtwo’) – woody shrub

one of four visitors to the compost pile (nibbling on composting pumpkins!)

Above are Kathy (left) and Eva coming back with one of many loads of debris.  Removing annuals and cutting back perennials was the order of the day and we also had Steve E., Kay and Vicky O. doing the same thing.  Lots of debris came back for the compost pile. Greg and Cheryl P. did a nice job tidying up the Japanese garden which included lots of leaf raking.  Gena, Myrt, Nancy, Mary and Patty worked with Lisa I. on a big project in the daylily collection with some removals and many new additions.  Jim had the help of three RECAPPERS and the guys cut back and dug up all of our bananas which will be ready for winter storage soon.  The Chestnut House volunteers (see below) were in action today too!  We also saw many others today which was quite busy.

the Chestnut House volunteers (above and below) processing their vegetables

Victoria (above)

monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii) blooming nicely right now – perennial

neat double Adirondack chair made by our Grumpies (out by the gazebo)

shot from beneath a weeping Alaskan cypress (Xanthocyparis nootkatensis) – woody tree

maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) – perennial

‘Chartreuse Wiggles’ plantain lily (Hosta) – perennial

golden fall color on Japanese spikenard (Aralia cordata) – perennial

‘Dark Beauty’ toadlily (Tricyrtis formosana) – perennial

the Chestnut House volunteers did a great job picking produce today including the peppers (Capsicum) seen above and below!

Cool shots above and below of one of our giant, 20′ obelisks being moved and positioned for decorating with LED lights and ultimately, situated out on the U.S.S. Ginger (our raft).  This is a neat feature of the Holiday Light Show (HLS) which continues to be a huge priority with only five weeks left for set up before this huge fundraising event. Our grounds staff today of Cindy, Bobby K., Larry H., Big John and Terry all had HLS duties including helping move this obelisk (while I took the photo!).  Our volunteers (Kathy, Eva, Jenny, Marleen, Sandi, Vicky, Vern and many others) had a busy day with much of the focus being clearing plants and cutting back perennials.  We also had some meetings at the Horticulture Center to discuss details for 2018 events like the Home Garden Tour (July 21) and Horticulture Therapy Committee (August 8).  Our committee volunteers included Darcie, Art, Karen, Elaine, Cora, Barb, Janet, Sue, Jean and Marsha M.  It’s one of the busiest times of year right now…second only to our spring planting time in early June.  Rich Eyre of Rich’s Foxwillow Pines (Woodstock, IL) did a great job with his lecture this evening with 27 in attendance.

Majestic™ elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) – annual

fall color of Eye Stopper™ corktree (Phellodendron lavallei ‘Longenecker’) – woody tree

the Heirloom Garden still has some treasures growing

our annual beds (above) are still hanging in there!

seed capsules on ‘Zanzibariensis’ castor bean (Ricinus communis) – annual

neat detail above in the Scottish garden

Tiger Eyes® golden sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’) – woody shrub

‘Stairway to Heaven’ Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium reptans) – perennial

fruiting structures of ‘Sun King’ Japanese spikenard (Aralia cordata) – perennial

‘Fireball’ French marigold (Tagetes patula) – annual

cords galore

the druid is a great feature in the reception garden

this antique sleigh will be part of the HLS interior decorations this year!