The gardens still have lots of color despite the very cool evenings we’ve experienced recently and with high temperatures only in the lower 60 degrees F range.  Above is a nice shot of ‘Elephant Head’ amaranth (Amaranthus gangeticus) with Abyssinian bananas (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’) near the arboretum this morning.  We had a tour today from central Illinois with many University of Illinois Master Gardener volunteers in attendance.  I think I’ve done a talk for this group as many of the folks looked familiar.  They loved the late season garden and as evidenced in these photos, there is still much to see!  Our volunteers had a busy day including our tour guides involved with our group from Illinois.  Kathy and Eva were removing spent annuals from multiple locations while Jenny and Dave headed out to tidy the hosta hollow after Jenny prepared some bulb labels for use later next month.  Nancy M. was in to do some weeding at the Horticulture Center and Del did some tidying up out in the gardens.  Bill O. did his mowing rounds and we also saw Dave E., Dick H., Maury, Lynn Y. and many others today.

The grounds staff had some gardening tasks today although preparations for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) are also occurring daily!  Cindy worked on some watering duties, mum planting in containers and plenty of tidying.  Big John also had watering duties, tree planting and lots of HLS preparations.  Larry H. also had some watering to accomplish but spent the bulk of the day on more HLS preparations in and near the Japanese garden.  I organized our remaining plants in the yard that will be planted shortly.  I was also able to scout the gardens for planting locations so we’re ready to roll.  I’ll likely become involved with running cords for the HLS in the next week or two.

‘Wasabi’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) at 48″ tall! – annual

‘White Wedding’ zinnia (Zinnia elegans) – annual

fruits of ‘Leprechaun’ crabapple (Malus sp.) – woody tree

inflorescences (flower/seed heads) on Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis, unknown variety) – perennial

‘Sarastro’ bellflower (Campanula hybrida) still blooming! – perennial

interesting trunk on this young, striped bark maple (Acer pensylvanicum) – woody tree

Tiger Eyes® golden staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’) is getting some fall color – woody shrub

edible fruits of the corneliancherry dogwood (Cornus mas ‘Golden Glory’) – woody tree (research fruit preparation!)

‘Blazin’ Rose’ bloodleaf (Iresine hybrida) – annual

the formal annual sections still look good and those obelisks (and the boxwoods) will get lights soon too!

‘The Giant’ Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) – perennial (poisonous!)

weeping white pine (Pinus strobus ‘Pendula’) – woody tree (will look super cool at the Holiday Light Show!)

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

‘Sea Weed’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

weeping Alaskan cedar (Xanthocyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’) – woody tree

‘October Skies’ aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius) – perennial

‘Las Vegas Pink’ globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) – annual

‘St. Louis’ Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) – perennial

The temperature this morning was quite chilly but with October arriving this Saturday, the temperatures this week will be quite average.  The sunshine was welcome as was the rain (albeit fast and furious) that arrived yesterday afternoon (.5″).  The weekend went well at the gardens with multiple weddings, a huge cross country meet adjacent to the gardens, lots of Homecoming visitors for photos and much more.  We continue to sell mums for $7 at the Parker Education Center but there aren’t many left!  Spring blooming bulbs are also for sale in the Cottage Garden Gallery.  We had an excellent volunteer turnout today and are doing the juggling act of gardening tasks and Holiday Light Show (HLS) set-up.  Nice shot of a morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) above on our chain link fence at the Horticulture Center.

The grounds staff had a busy day.  The welcome rain yesterday allowed us to have minimal watering today but we still needed to check containers and the yard for watering needs as the wind was quite strong despite the cooler temperatures (high of 66 degrees F today).  Larry O. worked on checking out some electrical issues, testing displays for the HLS and lots of watering.  Larry H. worked on repairing path washouts here and there, watered containers and spent a lot more time on getting up lights in the Japanese garden which I bet is 80% done already!  Cindy tidied up in multiple locations with a focus on preserving color and removing unsightly annuals.  She also watered and did an excellent job on the cutting display.  Big John hauled the remainder of our mums up to the main building (only $7 each!), put up lots of HLS lights and had a wide range of other duties.  I was able to get out in the gardens for a tour and am amazed at how nice everything still looks.  I flagged some locations for new trees and continue to work on lots of preparations for 2017 (grants, orders, etc.).

‘Tardiva’ panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) is looking even more colorful! – woody shrub

‘Miyazaki’ toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta) – perennial

nice composition with ‘Sky Rocket’ variegated fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena) in the foreground – annual

Vertigo® elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) – annual

‘Bowles Golden’ sedge (Carex elata) – perennial

this spider was seen hanging out on ‘Torch’ Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) this morning – annual

We had a great turnout of volunteers despite me showing only one volunteer photo (Alan M., above) in this blog!  Kathy and Eva planted mums in the sunken garden then joined Shirley H. out front in the entrance garden to remove spent annuals.  Alan and Bob K. swept up and tidied many paths out in the gardens.  Dr. Gredler and Rollie did their mowing rounds as Dick H. had other projects including making runs to the dump site.  Ron P. processed, repaired and prepared lights for the HLS.  Vern, Dave and Ron Y. continued on carpentry projects with some help from Steve who continued on some other projects as well.  We also saw Gary S., Maryam, Jim S., Carol S. and some others today.  Peg continued working on our labeling and spent time getting our plant records (woodies) up to date which is most appreciated!

‘First Snow’ heath aster (Aster ericoides) – perennial

Unstoppable Upright® Fire begonias (Begonia boliviensis) in the Hummingbird Haven – annual

these yellow Adirondack chairs receive lots of visitors for the nice (and relaxing) view!

‘Mariposa’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

‘Silver Tower’ maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) – perennial

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

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

colorful seeds on umbrella leaf magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) – woody tree

I picked some paw paw (Asimina triloba) fruits today that we’ll sample (tastes like banana custard!)

We had a little rain overnight which should keep the gardens damp through the cooler weekend.  We had a small crew today with Janice and Larry H. on grounds, Bill O. mowing and Kathy and Eva out tidying up.  Kay was in to tidy her area and Chuck S. did a recycling run.  I’m attending the 2nd Annual Ornamental Grass Day today at Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, Inc. (Hebron, IL) which should be fun.  There will be tours, speakers and Brent Horvath, owner of that nursery, has introduced some excellent perennial grasses so I’m very interested in seeing what he has on display.  I’ll post some photos of this experience in a blog tomorrow.

Wednesday evening I traveled up to Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI) to attend the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society meeting.  Consider joining this group as they host/provide wonderful seminars, have events, trips, plant sales, etc.  Irvin Etienne from the Indianapolis Museum of Art did a presentation on Nativars (selected varieties of native species) which was very well received.  As with any trip I make up to Olbrich for a presentation, I get there early to check out the gardens.  It had just rained heavily and it was quite cloudy but I was able to take many photos of this excellent garden as the sun was setting.  Olbrich does an excellent job of maintaining and providing strong seasonal interest.  Above is little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) getting some late season color with asters in the background.  This vignette was in their front gravel garden which is extremely colorful right now.  Enjoy the images and make the trip to Olbrich (and RBG) soon if you can!

kale and cabbage (Brassica) are prominent in their early and late season containers (above and below)

hairy balls (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) – annual

‘Dragon’s Breath’ plume celosia (Celosia argentea plumosa) – annual

‘Gibraltar’ bush clover (Lespedeza thunbergii) – woody (dies to the ground)

a portion of the herb garden with late color (above)

‘Morning Light’ maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) – perennial

‘New Zealand Purple’ castor bean (Ricinus communis) – annual

golden paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera ‘Golden Shadow’) – not hardy (usually)

I love this little sitting nook!

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

fun containers!

‘Avalanche’ white bush clover (Lespedeza thunbergii) – woody (dies to the ground)

bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) with ‘Tara’ prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) – both perennials

The forecast indicated a cloudy day for this Thursday with some rain possible later in the day.  The doppler radar looked promising for earlier rain (which we really don’t need) but that never materialized and everyone took advantage of the dry day and accomplished a wide range of tasks.  I warned everyone to work quickly before it rained and while that ended up being a fib, it got people moving!  This border above, despite the removal of some spent annuals, continues to be exciting to view.

The grounds staff kept busy with some minor watering duties, mowing and much more.  Larry O., Larry H. and Big John all did their mowing today and while Larry O. moved on to watering and some other tasks, the other two guys continued putting up lights for the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  I placed some plant signs and welcomed a tour among other duties.  I was able to meet and greet Irvin Etienne who is a horticulturist from the Indianapolis Museum of Art which has a gorgeous campus.  We had a great time chatting about plants and enjoying the gardens (first visit of Irvin).

‘Versicolor’ variegated giant reed (Arundo donax ‘Versicolor’) – annual

this showy border continues to have a rich saturation of colors!

this border (above) in the Hummingbird Haven was seeing lots of hummingbird activity this morning!

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

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

the tropicals along the gazebo garden border are still quite colorful!

Our volunteers had a productive morning even after I lied to everyone and said that rain was inevitable!  Above are Bob K. (left) and Alan collecting leaves although the guys were involved with some other tasks including taking down a tent and sweeping up here and there.  Suzie, Marilyn, Kathy, Eva and Vera all worked on tidying in the front entrance garden which worked well as we had a tour arrive later this morning from Illinois.  Vicki and Steve tidied multiple garden areas and planted some mums.  They do an excellent job of clean-up!  Kristin and Stan were in for some tidying in the Japanese garden and Jim H. came in to continue some of that same attention in that garden.  Vern, Dave and Steve worked on some carpentry projects while Ron P. continued to prepare lights for the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Dr. Gredler did his mowing rounds and Rollie made a road trip to pick up some bricks.  Peg was in to check on labeling and plant records needs.  We also saw Maury, Maryam, Gary and many others today.  With my tours and meetings, I likely missed some of our volunteers but certainly appreciate all their efforts!

Marilyn, Kathy and Suzie (above) and Eva below

We had a VIP at the gardens today….Irvin Etienne, horticulturist from the Indianapolis Museum of Art, stopped by this morning for a tour after giving a presentation last night for the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society up at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI)

Monarch Promise™ variegated milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) with ‘Purple Knight’ calico plant (Alternanthera dentata) – annuals

‘Torch’ Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) – annual

‘Lime Time’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual

‘Stainless Steel’ false eranthemum (Pseuderanthemum sp.) – annual

It rained most of today although we had some brief forays out in to the gardens between rain drops.  We had oodles of indoor work to accomplish including the unpacking and processing of about 30,000 new lights (mostly LED) for the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Big John, Larry H. and Larry O. all worked on HLS related tasks after some work out in the gardens during the “not so dry spells”.  Janice and I had desk work to catch up including some closure on the Fall Plant Sale.  Our indoor help today included Kathy, Eva, Sutton and the Chestnut House volunteers.  Jim H. also brought in some RECAPPERS and the guys were able to an hour of clean-up in the drizzle before it became a real downpour!  It was a timely day to process all of these new lights as they’ll go out in the gardens shortly and will be ready to go.  We also saw Mark S., Pam G., Dr. McCoy, Dr. Gredler and many others today.

I thought I’d include some color in the blog on this dismal day and all the orange you’re seeing is from butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa).  The Perennial Plant Association (PPA) has selected this plant as the 2017 Perennial Plant of the Year which doesn’t surprise me at all.  This stalwart native can tolerate a wide range of soils, blooms for three months (June, July and August) and attracts a wide range of wildlife (butterflies, bees, hummingbirds) that enjoy this plant as a nectar source.  The monarch butterfly is certainly a big fan and we see no shortage of pollinators on this perennial during this long bloom period.  Reaching a mature height of 30″ or so, this long-lived perennial prefers full sun and is very drought tolerant.