It was a whirlwind day of preparations for the Fall Plant Sale which opens tomorrow (Thursday, September 7th) afternoon from 4:30 pm until 7:30 pm for RBG Members Only.  Members get “first dibs” on Thursday and their 10% discount extends throughout the duration of the sale!  The sale then continues on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 am until 6 pm daily at the Horticulture Center (follow the signs on Palmer Drive).  Offerings include giant mums ($9), ornamental grasses (the most ever!), perennials for sun and shade, spring blooming bulbs, shrubberies, kale, asters, bagged compost and much more!  We had MANY volunteers helping with our pricing and tagging today under the guidance of Janice and myself.  Larry O., Larry H. and Bobby K. helped keep the gardens looking nice (and watered) and all three guys helped with some portion of plant sale preparations.  The Story and Stroll program had an enormous turnout on this beautiful day with many youngsters and their parents/grandparents enjoying the gardens as well. Kathy, Eva, Mirjam, Marcia, Stan and Kristin were all out gardening and we appreciate all of our many taggers today

Eva (left) and Kathy P. potting up some new daylilies (Hemerocallis) – perennial

asters for instant color! – $5 each!

large mum planters (3 plants + 1 annual fountain grass) – $35 each!

Neat shot of a paw paw (Asimina triloba) fruit above!  This blog is being posted MANY days late but I wanted to still update some text!  The Fall Plant Sale, held at the Horticulture Center, is looming!  Our Members Only event is tomorrow (Thursday) night from 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm.  Members receive 10% off all purchases for the duration of the sale.  The sale is open for the public on Friday through Sunday (September 8-10) from 9 am until 6 pm.  We have lots of mums, bulbs, perennials, shrubs and much more!

‘Thailand Giant’ elephant ear (Colocasia gigantea) – tropical

yellow waxy bells (Kirengeshoma palmata) – perennial

‘Chartreuse Wiggles’ plantain lily (Hosta) with ‘Stripe it Rich’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) – perennials

gentian sage (Salvia patens ‘Patio Deep Blue’) – annual

‘Bishop of Llandaff’ dahlia (Dahlia) – annual

Dragon Wing® Red begonia (Begonia hybrida) – annual

‘Religious Radish’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

‘Lacinato’ dinosaur kale (Brassica oleracea) – annual

‘Flamingo Feather Pink’ wheat celosia (Celosia spicata) – annual

‘Ping Pong White’ globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) – annual

neat border with Megawatt™ ‘Pink Bronze Leaf’ begonias (Begonia hybrida) – annual

‘Crego Mix’ Chinese aster (Callistephus chinensis) – annual

‘Ruby Parfait’ wheat celosia (Celosia argentea spicata) – annual

over 2,000 mums of many colors will also be available at the Fall Plant Sale

‘Blue Fortune’ hyssop (Agastache hybrida) – perennial (at the Fall Plant Sale!)

we have our largest selection of perennial ornamental grasses this year at the Fall Plant Sale – like this fountain grass (Pennisetum sp.)

lots of perennials (including many natives) for full sun at the Fall Plant Sale

lots of shade tolerant perennials available at the Fall Plant Sale this year!

We had another super day at the gardens with more deliveries arriving for our Fall Plant Sale which starts next week (check out our website!).  We had more mums arrive and another delivery of excellent perennials which included lots of ornamental grasses.  Nice shot above featuring the fruits of white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) photographed today.  The gardens still look exceptional although we keep seeing signs of early fall with some leaf colors changing and the 56 degree F start to the day felt like early October and not August!  It finally warmed up to about 70 degrees F as a high temperature.  We continue to primp the gardens but recent efforts also include not only the extensive preparations for the fall plant sale but the start of our Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up.

Our grounds staff of Larry O., Larry H., Cindy and I all had a busy day.  Our summer helper, Trevor, finished up yesterday so our skeleton crew will be more “skeletonized” in the coming weeks.  We kept up with watering, unloading plants, tidying and Larry H. spent another full day putting up lights for the HLS in the Japanese garden.  While I didn’t get any photos of our volunteers today, we had another great turnout which included Kathy, Eva, Vera, Kay, Ron R., Ron Y., Lloyd, Bob K., Alan, Derrick, Vern, Jim, Steve, Dick H., Maury, Jenny, Gary, Dr. Gredler, Rollie and many more.  We also saw Maryam, Chris D., Becky, Kelli C. and others.  It was a super day!

fruiting cluster of Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) – perennial

‘Raiche Form’ wood aster (Aster divaricatus) – perennial

‘Evening Fragrance’ angel’s trumpet (Datura meteloides) – annual

Quick Fire® panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bulk’) – woody plant

chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) – annual (light but decadently chocolate scent!)

‘Fireworks’ fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena) – annual

goldenrods (Solidago sp.) are starting to bloom a bit early this year! – perennial

Royal Hawaiian® ‘Black Coral’ elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) – tropical

‘Coffee Cups’ elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) – tropical

‘Dracula’ cocskcomb (Celosia cristata) – annual

‘Ping Pong Lavender’ globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) – annual

‘Robustissima’ grape-leaf anemone (Anemone tomentosa) – perennial

cool shot in sunken garden – note the 5′ tall ‘Garland Orange’ marigolds (Tagetes erecta) to the lower right! – annual

‘Tie Dye’ Helen’s flower (Helenium autumnale) – perennial

‘Crego Mix’ Chinese aster (Callistephus chinensis) in the Heirloom Garden – annual

annual beds like the one seen above are still looking pretty good despite cooler than average temperatures in August

It was another nice day out in the gardens.  Beautiful shot of a morning glory (Ipomoea sp.) above!  Our first mum delivery for the Fall Plant Sale arrived today and we’re prepared for deliveries almost daily as the yard at the Horticulture Center will fill up quickly with not only mums but perennials, bulbs, kale, shrubs and much more!  Check out our website for more event details.  We had some great volunteer help today with Kathy, Eva, Steve E., Del, Derrick, Chuck, Gary, Maury and many others on hand to work on various tasks and projects.  Our grounds staff of Larry H., Big John, Cindy, Trevor and I all had various tasks as well.  Late rains last night helped keep things wet out in the gardens so we continue to focus on other efforts with plenty of mowing, pruning, tidying and even setting up lights for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) occurring today!  It was another great day at the gardens and visitors continue to enjoy a colorful garden.

‘Princess’ elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and ‘Hot Biscuits’ amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) – annuals

cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) in the Heirloom Garden – annual

‘Maurelii’ Abyssinian banana (Ensete ventricosum) in the Heirloom Garden

yellow waxy bells (Kirengeshoma palmata) – perennial

‘Flower Tower’ tall tickseed (Coreopsis tripteris) at 8′ tall! – perennial

bold foliage with ‘Thailand Giant’ elephant ear (Colocasia gigantea) in the foreground and ‘Maurelii’ Abyssinian banana (Ensete ventricosum) in the back

Rock ‘N Grow^® ‘Pure Joy’ stonecrop (Sedum hybrida) – perennial

additional shots of the beautiful Hummingbird Haven theme (above and below) in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden

lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina) and donkeytail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) – perennials

‘Little Henry’ compact sweet coneflower (Rudbeckia subtomentosa) – perennial

‘Lemon Queen’ perennial sunflower (Helianthus hybrida) – perennial

brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba) – perennial

popcorn cassia (Cassia didymobotrya) – annual

the “Gothic theme” (above and two below) is looking pretty good right now

turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) – perennial

fragrant flowers on plantain lily (Hosta) – perennial

‘Snow Princess’ pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) – annual

Nice shot directly above of ‘Moudry’ perennial fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) looking good near the arboretum this morning.  I was off on vacation all of last week so my return today involved a lot of catching up!  The gardens continue to look spectacular and recent rains have helped keep moisture consistent throughout the gardens.  We still are having consistent visitation and our summer color is still very strong throughout our 20 acres.  With the Fall Plant Sale and Holiday Light Show (HLS) looming, much of my “behind-the-scenes” preparations for these events is happening now while we also continue to garden.  Our grounds staff of Larry O., Larry H., Cindy, Big John, Janice and Trevor all had a wide range of duties which included fertlizing, watering, mowing, pruning, mulching, tidying and even starting to put up the first lights for the HLS!  Another busy and productive day with cool temperatures but decent sunshine as well.

‘Silver Dollar’ panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) – woody shrub

fruiting structures of Japanese spikenard (Aralia cordata) – perennial

bold tropicals in the gazebo garden

amethyst flower (Browallia americana ‘Starlight Blue’) – annual

‘Red Cauli’ stonecrop (Sedum telephium) – perennial

neat nasturtium (Tropaeolum sp.) in the Heirloom Garden

Monday saw another exceptional turnout of volunteers to assist with a wide range of projects.  Bob K. (above left) and Alan can be seen moving benches and tables for our looming Fall Plant Sale which opens next Thursday, September 7th for RBG Members (get a membership that day and shop with 10% off!) and for the public on Friday, September 8th through Sunday, September 10th.  We’ll again feature perennials, bulbs, mums, shrubs, compost and much more!  Kathy and Eva were out doing weeding and tidying.  Marv B. was working on his mossy areas.  Ron R., Lloyd and Derrick were out collecting leaves (yes, the cottonwoods are already dropping leaves!).  Dick P. and Maury were here for some tasks and errands and Dick H. ran to the dump and had some other projects.  Gary worked on creating new labels while Peg was in later to continue her label/plant record work.  Dennis and Garrett continued progress on our north path which is looking great.  Ron P. was in to work on lights for the upcoming Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Ron Y., Steve, Vern, Dave and Jim all had various carpentry projects to work on this morning.  Kristin, Stan, Greg and Cheryl were all in to tidy up in the Japanese garden.  Dr. Gredler and Rollie did their push mowing rounds.  We also saw Mark S., Bobby K. and many others today.

Eva (above)

Kathy P. (above)

Marv B. (above)

Maury (left) and Dick P.

Lloyd (above)

Ron R. (scowling)

can you tell that Larry O. (above) has been string trimming!?

‘Ivory’ African marigold (Tagetes erecta) – annual

‘Indian Summer’ gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) – annual

Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus) – annual

the “Gothic theme” out in the terrace garden (above) is well represented!

‘Pink Pepper’ ornamental onion (Allium hybrida) – perennial

a nice combination in our “Gothic theme” this year

the Hummingbird Haven theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden is still looking great!

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

‘Razzleberry’ stonecrop (Sedum hybrida) – perennial