Today was another hot one which required the watering attention of most of the grounds staff (Larry O., Larry H., CIndy, Big John and myself).  Terry was in to help with Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up and Bobby K. was around to help with a new project at the gardens.  After watering duties, the grounds staff had diverse projects but ultimately the HLS is becoming a larger portion of everyone’s day!  We do continue to make efforts to extend interest out in a garden which continues to look more “autumn-like” every day! Nice shot above of ‘Stripe it Rich’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) looking good in the woodland walk garden.  It looks like he heat will break late tomorrow with Wednesday ushering in more appropriate temperatures around 70 degrees F.

‘Miyazaki’ toadlily (Tricyrtis hirta) – perennial

‘Jewel’ copperleaf (Alternanthera hybrida) – annual

‘Dale’s Strain’ coral bells (Heuchera americana) – perennial

early fall color on fragrant snowball viburnum (Viburnum carlcephalum) – woody shrub

We had a great batch of volunteers today that weathered the heat for a seventh day in a row.  It was another 90 degree F day although at least the morning temperature was reasonable.  Our volunteers worked on myriad projects.  Volunteers included Kathy, Eva, Firefighter Cathy, Ron R., Lloyd, Derrick, Bob K., Alan, Dick P., Dick H., Maury, Ron Y., Jim, Steve, Vern, Dave, Dennis, Garrett, Rollie, Marv, Barb T. and many more.  We also saw Maryam, Hayley and some others on this productive, albeit very hot day!

Dennis (left) and Garrett (spaced out)

straightening and re-staking a recently moved Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) – conifer

Dr. Gredler mowing in the distance

Jim (left) and Steve working on new obelisks

Ron “Darth Vader” Yoss working on a cool sleigh

‘Peter Harrison’ aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii) – perennial

aster (Symphyotrichum sp.) – unknown variety – perennial

fall color on golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) – deciduous conifer

‘Hot Pops Purple’ ornamental hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual

popcorn cassia (Cassia didymobotrya) – tropical

‘Purple Dome’ aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) – perennial

The chance of rain today didn’t materialize by the time of typing this blog although we sure hoped we would see some precipitation.  Since we rarely count on it, we continued with an aggressive watering campaign today with a combination of irrigation, sprinklers and good, old-fashioned hand watering!  It looks like the high tomorrow will only be 70 degrees F which is a bit more comfortable than this recent heat wave.  Nice shot above of ‘Lorelei’ Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida) which normally would have more pink in it but is still quite showy (perennial).  We saw quite a few visitors today including a young school group.  Our color is still hanging in there but we are sliding well past peak color with our annuals and are starting to remove some here and there as needed.

Our grounds staff of Larry H., Big John, Terry and Cindy all had watering duties in many locations.  Cindy continued gardening after finishing the cutting display while the gentlemen shifted to Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up.  Our volunteers today included Kathy and Eva (garden clean-up), Steve E. (watering and leaf collection) and Elaine S. (planting and leaf collection).  We also saw Maury and a couple others today.  It was relatively quiet although we sure can use as much help as possible with clean-up efforts.  The cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) are really shedding leaves now!

‘Sophistica Lime Green’ petunia (Petunia) – annual

nice foliage combination in the gazebo garden

pods are opening up on common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) – perennial

‘Spring Green’ cockscomb (Celosia cristata) – annual

‘XXL Vera Cruz’ dahlia (Dahlia sp.) – annual

white Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata ‘Alba’) – annual (with no dark center)

variegated shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’) – tropical

the “watering can convoy” to help address all of our container watering needs!

‘Fireworks’ fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena) – not hardy (annual)

fall color starting on Tiger Eyes® golden sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’) – woody shrub

false aster (Boltonia asteroides) – perennial

‘Dr. Robert Yahr’ hosta (Hosta sp.) – newly dedicated to our founder ($75 each while supplies last!)

The fall color is starting on the Firespire™ musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana ‘J.N. Upright’) seen directly above.  This is a neat introduction from Michael Yanny of Johnson Nursery (WI) that has excellent form and fall color.  It was a darn hot day. The morning was even muggy but at least tolerable for the start of the day out in the gardens.  We all jumped right in to watering duties knowing that we’re heading in to a hot and dry weekend.  Larry H., Janice and I were on grounds staff and much of both Larry’s and Janice’s day involved watering.  I ran irrigation in many areas too.  Larry did continue working on Holiday Light Show (HLS) preparations later in the afternoon while Janice had some other projects too.  Bobby K. was in to help with a new project out in the arboretum this morning.  I bounced between a lot of projects but was happy to have just enough folks to get through watering and tidying for the busy weekend!

variegated maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’) – perennial

‘Fireworks’ rough-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) – perennial

the sunken garden (above) still has plenty of color!

‘Candy Cane Red’ variegated sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual (above and below)

‘Summer Jewel Pink’ sage (Salvia coccinea) – annual for us

‘Torch’ Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) – annual

Our volunteers, like Cherly D. above, weathered the heat well today.  Cheryl was tidying up down in the fern & moss garden and has a great eye for “detail work”.  Kathy and Eva were out collecting leaves and both Sandi and Terri were in to tidy up the gazebo borders.  Kristin spent a huge chunk of the day tidying up in the Japanese garden and she does a great job.  Bill helped us water and Marleen was in to help here and there as well.  Dennis put in some “sweat equity” with his north path project today which is looking exceptional!  Jim also worked with four RECAPPERS on leaf collection and tidying in and around the Japanese garden.  We also saw Maury, Hal R. and some others today.  It was brutal heat today but it looks like it will cool down by the end of next week. Keeping everything watered is our number one priority right now.

Kristin (working her kung fu in the Japanese garden)

Sandi (left) and Terri in the gazebo garden

Eva (left) and Kathy on leaf patrol

Korean feather reed grass (Calamagrostis brachytricha) – perennial

the “anchor” in our Gothic color theme this year – ‘China Town’ plume celosia (Celosia plumosa) – annual

pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) – annual (hummingbird magnet!)

came across these stacked rocks (by visitors) this morning in the Japanese garden – impressive!

this oversized Adirondack chair has been popular this year!

despite lots of leaves drifting down, the shade garden (above) still looks great!

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

Today was another unseasonably hot one with temperatures again reaching over 90 degrees F.  Watering was the order of the day although our water system was off for a hour or so due to some “compromised” water lines that we had to fix quickly.  I’m not a big fan of this late season heat but it didn’t keep away the many visitors we saw around the gardens today.  Larry O. did a lot of watering today and helped with a wide range of other challenges.  Larry H. also has myriad watering duties, mowed and also put in significant time on Holiday Light Show (HLS) preparations.  Cindy continued to restock our mum selection at the Parker Education Center, tidied and also had plenty of watering.  Bobby K. was on hand to mow and help with the water line repairs.  I helped water today and continue to get ready for the upcoming fall season.  Nice shot above of ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius).

love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus ‘Red Tails’) – annual

Sweet William catchfly (Silene armeria) – perennial

‘Elephant Head’ amaranth (Amaranthus gangeticus) – annual

‘Limelight’ panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) – woody shrub

Our tough volunteers weathered the heat today and accomplished projects such as leaf raking, path tidying, brush cutting, errands, watering and much more.  Above are Marilyn (driving) and Suzy coming back from raking.  Lloyd and Bob C. tidied up paths while Marv B. worked on his moss areas.  Bob K. and Alan cleared brush to help our view of oncoming traffic (coming down the Sharon Road hill).  Maury ran errands and Rollie went and picked up some engraved bricks for us.  Dr. Gredler mowed while Dave, Vern, Steve and Jim worked on carpentry projects.  Ron P. continued repairing lights for the looming HLS set-up.  Winifred and Vera were also involved with tidying and watering.  We also saw Elaine, Marv, Betty, Big John and many others today.

Kathy (left) and Eva

Mike’s Tree Moving was on site today moving two trees (fun to watch!)

Lloyd, Bob C. and Dr. Gredler (left to right) – above

‘Numex Suave Orange’ hot pepper (Capsicum chinense) – annual

the dark “Gothic theme” out on the terrace (above and below) is still looking exceptional!

‘Arendsii’ monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii) – perennial

the border above (nicely maintained by volunteers Don and Pearl) features Megawatt™ Pink Bronze Leaf begonia (Begonia hybrida) en masse!

Today was hot!  We didn’t expect to see 90 degrees F this late in September considering how cool and damp it has been all year. but those are the cards we’ve been dealt!  The intense heat, breeze and recent lack of rain made watering a huge priority today.  Nice shot above of ‘Helen Campbell’ spider flower (Cleome hassleriana) catching some morning light (annual).  Our grounds staff of Larry H., Larry O., Bobby K. and myself all had a wide range of duties.  Larry O. and Bobby K. had quite a few jobs with our water lines, irrigation and watering while Larry H. helped water and continued his excellent progress on the Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up.  It was a very busy day at the gardens with lots of visitors and activity out in the gardens proper.  It looks like we’ll have three more days of 90 degrees F which will be a curve ball in terms of watering but we’ll be up to the task.

‘Fireball’ French marigold (Tagetes patula) – annual

impressive hole dug by a tree spade to accept a “soon to be relocated” tree…unfortunately 2 irrigation lines were severed (my fault!)

Our volunteers, like Kay above, were a huge help today.  Kay tidied up her area in the shade garden which is seeing plenty of cottonwood (Populus deltoides) leaves drifting down consistently.  Kathy and Eva tidied multiple areas and Kristin was in to do her thing in the Japanese garden which included lots of primping.  Gena, Myrt, Nancy and Patty were all on hand to continue tidying up in the woodland walk garden.  Dennis continued his Herculean efforts on the north path improvement project. We had eleven volunteers helping this morning as part of the United Way Day of Caring.  We did a whole lot of leaf raking which was definitely warranted.  Janice worked with our Chestnut House volunteers on some projects which also included leaf collection.  We saw many other volunteers today.

we had the help of 11 excellent volunteers today as part of the United Way Day of Caring – they did A LOT of raking!

Mike O. was large and in charge with hauling leaves to the compost pile today

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

the fern & moss garden

‘Queen Red Lime’ zinnia (Zinnia elegans) – annual

fragrant heliotrope (Heliotropium aborescens ‘Alba’) – annual

the entrance garden (above) still is looking quite vivid

‘Iron Butterfly’ ironweed (Vernonia lettermannii) – perennial

‘Bonanza Orange’ French marigold (Tagetes patula) – annual

white autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale ‘Album’) – perennial

a colorful border in the gazebo garden