Nice shot directly above of bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) which is starting to bloom strongly right now.  We continue to have a nice extension of peak summer color and some recent evening tours have enjoyed this summer peak.  On Wednesday evening I gave a tour for the Walworth County Master Gardeners and we enjoyed the gardens during a nice gap in the rain.  Last night I gave a tour for members of the Wisconsin Hosta Society and while we enjoyed the gardens, we didn’t quite avoid the rain and had some “sideways drizzle” to contend with for 30 minutes or so.  I’m comfortable saying that there isn’t any portion of the garden that is dry right now!  The collections are all looking good so come and visit!

We had a great crew of grounds folks (Cindy, Trevor, Janice and Bobby K.) along with our volunteers (Kathy, Eva, Bill, Hal, Maury, Steve, Kay, Jim, RECAPPERS, etc.) for a productive day getting ready for a busy weekend.  We continue to mow, weed and tidy up and thankfully didn’t have to worry much about watering today.  With four weddings tomorrow (Saturday), along with a busy day for general visitation, we like to get everything in order on Friday.

‘Love & Wishes’ salvia (Salvia hybrida) – annual

The Chestnut House team this past Wednesday

Vertigo® elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is looking good with ‘Golden Jubilee’ hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) in the foreground and ‘Torch’ Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) in the background along some other neighbors

‘China Town’ plume celosia (Celosia plumosa) is looking good right now (above) – annual

‘Cupcakes Mix’ cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) – annual

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

variegated obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) – perennial

‘Mongolian Gem’ German garlic (Allium senescens) – perennial

Marv B. continues to transplant moss (above) to expand our neat moss gardens

‘Banana Boat’ Japanese sedge (Carex siderosticha) – perennial

scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) – annual

foliage of ‘Bull Dog’ okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) above and okra flower below (photo from Chicago Botanic Garden visit)

yellow Peruvian zinnia (Zinnia peruviana) – annual

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

‘Alexander’s Great’ false forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) – perennial

‘Samantha’ variegated lantana (Lantana camara) – annual

The rain missed us throughout the day which created the necessity for lots of watering.  Our grounds crew of Bobby K.., Trevor and I had a full day with the help of volunteers Kathy, Eva, Stan, Kristin, Janice and the Chestnut House volunteers.  We also saw Dr. Yahr, Lynn, Mark S., Maryam and many others.

These photos were taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden yesterday in the Plant Evaluation Garden managed by Richard Hawke.  I was tickled to catch these hibiscus (all herbaceous) at peak bloom with their huge, “dinner-plate” sized blooms.  Many also had maroon foliage and/or a more compact form.  Breeding in hibiscus selections continues to be exciting and everyone appreciates them when they are in bloom.  The variety directly above is ‘Mars Madness’ with Summerific® ‘Perfect Storm’ at the top.

Summerific® ‘Cherry Cheesecake’

‘Vintage Wine’

Summerific® ‘Berry Awesome’

‘Starry Starry Night’

‘Plum Fantasy’

Summerific® ‘Perfect Storm’

‘Jazzberry Jam’

‘Mocha Moon’

Above (left to right) are Trevor, Bob, Cindy, John and Janice at the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG) today.  The weather was perfect at 80 degrees F with ample sunshine and pleasant breeze.  We didn’t really go to Brazil of course but the CBG had a really neat “Brazil inspired” theme throughout the gardens.  We left Larry O. back to keep an eye on the gardens with many volunteers.  We had a great day touring the gardens and had some “behind-the-scenes” tours as well.  CBG is one of my favorite gardens and certainly one of the best in the country.

Grecian urn plant (Quesnelia marmorata)

blue tango urn plant (Aechmea ‘Blue Tango’)

‘Pretoria’ canna (Canna)

‘Kees Orange’ African marigold (Tagetes erecta) – annual

English walled garden

Japanese garden

‘Pink Planet’ german onion (Allium senescens) – perennial

Sweet Summer panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bokrathirteen’) – woody shrub

Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium sp.)

‘Amistad’ salvia (Salvia hybrida) – annual

‘Rosie Posie’ hummingbird mint (Agastache hybrida) – perennial

‘Millenium’ ornamental onion (Allium hybrida) – perennial

Buehler Enabling Garden

The day started out overcast with some promising rain heading our way.  The rain swung south and we ended up with a nice sunny day at around 80 degrees F.  The very top photo is a testament to how wet has been this summer!  We are seeing mushrooms in many locations and this spot is in a shady location with lots of mulch!  Above is the ‘Hinomaru’ cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) looking lovely.  The gardens continue to look wonderful and continue to be at their August peak.

Our grounds staff had a busy day.  Cindy worked on tidying multiple areas to include the front entrance garden, terrace and Hummingbird Haven.  She also had some watering duties.  Big John planted, sheared, watered and pruned in many locations.  Trevor did some blower rounds, edging work and push mowed.  Larry had watering duties as well as significant pruning out in the woodland walk garden.  I was able to put out more plants for installation and continue to keep up with looming events like the Fall Plant Sale and Holiday Light Show.

‘Benary Giant Bright Pink’ zinnia (Zinnia elegans) – annual

the Hummingbird Haven theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden continues to looks spectacular (above and two below)

another photo of our Gothic theme this year

‘Summer Chocolate’ mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) – non hardy woody plant

We had another superb turnout of volunteers today like Dr. Gredler (seen above).  Doc and Rollie took care of our mowing needs in many locations.  Kathy, Eva, Shirley and Winifred all helped weed the front entrance gardens slope then shifted to some other areas.  Alan, Ron R., Bob K. and Lloyd put up our four Fall Plant Sale tents out in the yard of the Horticulture Center.  Dick H. ran to the dump and was cutting up strap aluminum for future plant labels.  Maury ran errands for us.  Ron Y., Dave, Steve and Jim worked on carpentry projects.  Garrett and Dennis continued their work on the North path and are doing an excellent job of upgrading that old route.  Derrick and Dick P. worked on leveling and improving our brick walkways in the sunken garden which are much in need of their attention.  Both Gary and Peg were in to work on labeling needs.  We also saw Mark S., Becky, Vern and many others today.

Marv (left) and Terry

Maury (above)

Garrett (left) and Dennis

Shirley (in the back), Eva (not smiling in the middle) and Kathy P. (giving me the evil eye) on the far right

Steve J. (above)

‘Ivory’ African marigold (Tagetes erecta) – annual

SunPatiens^® ‘Compact Tropical Rose’ (Impatiens x hybrida ‘SAKIMP037’)

annual beds in the arboretum (above and below)

garden beds like those in the gazebo garden (above) and arboretum (below) are filling in nicely

Directly above is our Gothic color theme out in the terrace garden.  We continue to have a lush season with well-timed rain arriving yesterday afternoon and light sprinkles interspersed throughout today.  Our dark theme has been quite popular and has filled in nicely over these last 2.5 months or so. The top image shows some very early fall color on Tiger Eyes® golden staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’).  We are seeing some other early signs of fall with foliage shifts that make you think it is a month later than it is.  Our recent evening temperatures have been quite “September-like” as well.

We had a great day at the gardens.  The heavy rain that arrived for 15 minutes yesterday didn’t cause many problems and our clean-up went well throughout a day that also saw plenty of visitors enjoying another August day in the mid 70 degrees F.  Janice, Bobby K., Trevor and I were here for grounds duties which including tidying, primping, mowing, NO watering and some other odds and ends as we get ready for another busy weekend that also has three weddings!  We had some great volunteer help as well.

‘Santos Purple’ rigid verbena (Verbena rigida) – annual for us

swallowtail caterpillar on bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare ‘Smokey’)

nice combo in the Hummingbird Haven

‘Morton’ Himalayan pine (Pinus wallichiana) – woody tree (five-needled pine)

Amur maackia (Maackia amurensis) in full bloom! – woody tree

‘Chocolate Drop’ stonecrop (Sedum telephium) – perennial

Viette’s Little Suzy black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Blovi’) – perennial

Above is Janice doing her thing in the Heirloom Garden which looks great right now.  Our volunteers today included Kathy and Eva (see below) who shifted between weeding/tidying duties in multiple garden areas.  We always tidy our wedding gardens before the weekend that the ladies helped with that as well.  Shirley H. was back in action and weeding in the Scottish garden which certainly needed her undivided attention.  Bill O. was out mowing and both Stan and Kristin were in to tidy up the Japanese garden.  Vicky O. was in to tidy her two assigned gardens.  We saw a couple others but it was a relatively quiet (but productive) day!

Kathy P. (the stern one to the left) and Eva

the Giant Aquarium is looking great right now!

‘Heartthrob’ hibiscus (Hibiscus hybrida) – perennial

a nice tropical look with ‘Thailand Giant’ elephant ear (Colocasia gigantea) and Abyssinian banana (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’)

‘Pearl Frost’ variegated orixa (Orixa japonica) – woody shrub

capsules (with nuts inside) of yellow buckeye (Aesculus octandra) – woody tree

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

‘Vanity’ variegated red maple (Acer rubrum) – woody tree