We had another great day out in the gardens although we had some drizzle in the morning with a burst of heavy rain later in the afternoon.  The gardens continue to see lots of visitors enjoying peak summer color.  Above is a portion of one of our many seasonal beds positioned throughout the gardens.  The grass is Vertigo® elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum ‘Tift 8’) with ‘Prairie Sun’ gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) in the foreground.   Watering hasn’t been a huge challenge recently so we’ve been able to focus on other improvement projects.  It was a skeleton crew today for grounds with Larry O., Trevor and myself.  We had a wide range of projects but also the assistance of lots of great volunteers.

‘Spring Green’ cockscomb (Celosia cristata) – annual

‘Red Head’ perennial fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides)

‘Blushing Bride’ Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) – woody shrub

‘Citrus Lemon Yellow’ signet marigold (Tagetes tenuifolia) – annual

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

‘Sleepy Hollow’ daylily (Hemerocallis) – perennial

My Monet® weigela (Weigela florida ‘Verweig’) – woody shrub

Japanese painted fern (Athyirum niponicum var. pictum) – perennial

Dr. Tom seen last night (Wed.) tidying up the Heirloom Garden

Larry O. (left) and Dick H.

We had some great volunteer help today which is, of course, typical of every day at the gardens!  Above are Kathy (left) and Marilyn having way too much fun.  The ladies weeded in a couple of areas and did a great job tidying up the woodland glen garden.  Alan and Bob (below) worked on weeding our outer fence line.  Derrick (further below) continued re-setting some of the bricks in the sunken garden and Dick P. was out placing memorial bricks.  Dr. Gredler and Rollie did their mowing rounds and Dick H. helped Larry O. out (two photos above) bringing back our raised beds from the other building and hauling debris to the dump.  Jim, Dave, Steve and Ron Y. worked on various carpentry projects while Ron P. continues to repair lights for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) which we will start setting up within the next month or so.  We also saw Chuck, Tom K., El, Bill O. and many others today.

Alan (above)

Bob K. (above)

Derrick (the Australian) – G’day mate!

sunken garden composition

cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) – annual

‘Royal Blue Ensign’ dwarf morning glory (Convolvulus tricolor) – annual

‘Hot Biscuits’ amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) – annual

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

Phoenix™ Red beardtongue (Penstemon hybrida) – annual

resurrection lilies (Lycoris squamigera) continues to amaze! – perennial

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

Our third annual Horticulture Therapy Symposium was spectacular today.  Above are Mike and Amy who were two of close to 80 participants.  Mike was also one of six speakers who also included Dr. Larson, Dr. Olson, Dr. McCoy, Jennica, Leslie, Sheri and myself.  We had great support from our additional committee members of Janice, Art, Elaine, Cindy and Karen.  RBG staff of Mark S., Hayley, Chris D. and Maryam were also super helpful.  We had a great keynote presentation from Dr. Larson, excellent break out sessions, tours, activities, etc.  It was a super day.  Later in the evening, I gave a tour for members of the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society (WHPS).  Larry O., Trevor and Bobby K. kept the gardens going with lots of volunteer help as well.  These photos are just some of our event highlights.

The day went quickly for me today and while I had a lot to accomplish, knowing that we had a nice, soaking, 7/10″ of rain overnight took the stress off of watering today!  It is liberating to have that off your plate!  Nice combo shot above of a blazing star (Liatris sp.) with zinnia in the Hummingbird Haven.  While I was off running errands for our Horticulture Therapy Symposium (Gardening for Life) this Wednesday, lots of activity was happening at the gardens including MANY visitors.  We are at summer peak right now and I think it really shows throughout our 20 acres.  Cindy, Larry O., Janice and Trevor were our grounds people today and had a wide range of tasks and duties.  I also gave a tour for some folks (Richard, Janice and Alex) who were visiting from the Chicago Botanic Garden.  We had a great tour and chat on the perfect day!  Our volunteers (Kathy, Eva, Bob K., Alan, Ron R., Derrick, Garrett, Dennis, Ron P., Ron Y., Dave, Vern, Dick H., Gary S., Peg, Kristin, Stan, Art, Magda and many others were very busy today but the weather was perfect!

ROYAL HAWAIIAN® ‘Maui Gold’ elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) with  Amore™ ‘Queen of Hearts’ petunia (Petunia) – both seasonals

South American verbena (Verbena bonariensis) – annual

‘Coffee Cups’ elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) with ‘Lime Green’ flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) – annuals

Sugar Tip® variegated Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus ‘America Irene Scott’) – woody plant

‘Rainbow Loveliness’ fringed pinks (Dianthus x hybrida) – annual (super fragrant!)

resurrection lily (Lycoris squamigera) – perennial

Chicago Botanic Garden VIPs (Janice, Richard and Alex) – left to right in both images

‘Jazz Marble’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

tall sulphur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) – annual

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

‘Candy Cane Red’ variegated pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual

scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) – annual

silver spurflower (Plectranthus argentatus) – annual

‘Cheyenne Sky’ perennial switch grass (Panicum virgatum) – perennial

amethyst flower (Browalia speciosa) – annual

‘All Gold’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) wall planting – perennial

the Gothic theme in the entrance garden is looking good!

‘Bishop of Llandaff’ dahlia (Dahlia sp.) – annual

On a dark and drizzly, October-like Friday, I headed up to Madison for a couple of purposes.  My primary purpose was to go on Larry Meiller’s Garden Talk show on Wisconsin Public Radio (hosted by Jill with Larry off on vacation) to discuss the gardens and other topics.  My secondary purpose was to meet with Mike M. to work out some final logistics for our Horticulture Therapy Symposium (Gardening for Life) which is next Wednesday, August 9th (final registration on Monday, August 7th!).  The weather was quite cool and I’m glad I had a hooded sweatshirt as the day stayed cool throughout.  I arrived in Madison early enough to visit the Botany Garden as well as Allen Centennial Garden.  Both of these lovely gardens are on the UW-Madison campus.  After the radio show, which went well, and lunch with Mike, I stopped by Olbrich Botanical Garden (Madison, WI) on the way home to see how things were looking.  The garden was packed with families and kids going in to the Blooming Butterflies exhibit/event in the conservatory.  I enjoyed the gardens and took plenty of photos throughout the day to get my plant fix.  I left RBG in good hands with Cindy, Bobby K. and Trevor.  I’m sure we had excellent volunteer support as well to get ready for a mild and sunny weekend which should be quite busy (including two weddings).

UW Botany Garden (above and below)

Agriculture Hall with the annual vinca (Catharanthus) “UW”!

massive bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) on Linden Drive across from the Horticulture Building and greenhouses – love those lower branches (with a sign to not climb on the tree too!)

old Dean of Agriculture residence (future offices) at Allen Centennial Gardens – UW Madison campus (above and two below)

Olbrich was looking great (above and rest below…)

rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) with ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud (Cercis canadensis)

cool new building at OBG made of reclaimed barn lumber and boards

Korean angelica (Angelica gigas) – biennial

Thai pavilion at OBG

Herb garden at OBG

‘Monet Moment’ hybrid cardinal flower (Lobelia hybrida) – perennial

‘Mynelle’s Starfish’ daylily (Hemerocallis) – perennial

If the sun poked out at all today, it was for very brief moments.  After some light rain last night, the day has been overcast with storms slowly working their way towards us over the course of the day.  The lighting was perfect for photos although I’ll confess that some of these blog photos were taken earlier in the week with more sunshine.  Above is the Mystic Illusion dark-leaved dahlia (Dahlia hybrida ‘Knockout’).  We had another productive Thursday with a strong turnout of volunteers. It was nice to see a busy garden with many guests taking advantage of the day.

Our volunteers today included Kathy, Dr. Gredler, Eva, Liz, Bonnie, Marilyn, Bob K., Derrick, Ron R., Ron P., Ron Y., Dave, Jim, Steve J., Big Jim, four RECAPPERS and we also Maryam and many others as well.  We are working on a wide range of gardening projects, special events preparations, carpentry, continued preparations for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) and much more!  It was another great day.  Update!  The rain didn’t amount to much later in the day but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

the Coleus Collection is looking good

the Heirloom Garden has filled in nicely

‘Elephant Head’ amaranth (Amaranthus gangeticus) – annual

Graceful Grasses® Vertigo® elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum ‘Tift 8’)

Little Quick Fire® panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘SMHPLQF’) – woody shrub

‘Shockwave’ variegated garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) getting ready to bloom! – perennial

Titan™ ‘Dark Red’ annual vinca (Catharanthus roseus) – annual

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

the Hummingbird Haven in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden (above) is looking awesome right now

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

nice informal hedge of variegated fiveleaf aralia (Eleutherococcus sieboldianus ‘Variegatus’) – woody shrub

come see our beautiful 2017 Garden Art Projects (above and below) out in the gardens before they are auctioned off on September 8th (5:30 pm – 8:30 pm)

our ‘Thailand Giant’ (Colocasia gigantea) elephant ears are blooming in many locations and are interesting to observe!

Easy Elegance® Sunrise Sunset rose (Rosa ‘BAIset’)

‘Hopi Red Dye’ amaranth (Amaranthus hybrida) – annual