A Crisp & Glorious Day

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It’s quite unlikely that the ‘Golden Delicious’ pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) seen above will look like this tomorrow with temperatures in the low 30 degrees F tonight.  The gardens still have lots of color but our removal of annuals continues in advance of the eventual frost that will put more closure to the season.  Today was a mix of sun and clouds with a crisp breeze but our grounds staff and volunteers had a nice day out in the gardens.  We saw more kids enjoying the gardens as part of our youth education program facilitated by our education volunteers.   It was a productive day and we’ll look forward to a solid turnout tomorrow morning (8 am – 12 noon) for our bulb planting Volunteer Work Day (meet at the Parker Education Center!).

 

Cindy helped organize some bulbs for the work day tomorrow, had some watering duties and spent the bulk of her time finishing clearing out the Hummingbird Haven theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden.  The good news is that this collection will be back in 2017 and will be better than ever!  Janice had a wide range of tasks including container watering, decorating for the Holiday Light Show (HLS) and removing the remainder of the Heirloom Garden plants.  Larry H. also had watering, planting and plenty of HLS action.  I am mired in desk work with budget preparations for 2017.  I was able to get out in the gardens though and the fall color and late season interest is still quite significant.

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Diamond Frost® spurge (Euphorbia hypericifolia ‘Inneuphe’) with ‘Icicles’ licorice plant (Helichrysum thianschanicum) – annuals

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fall color on Peking cotoneaster (Cotoneaster acutifolius) – woody shrub

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fall color on Korean maple (Acer pseudosieboldianum) – woody tree

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colorful fruit cluster on Korean mountain ash (Sorbus alnifolia) – woody tree

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fall color above on katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) – woody tree

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Our volunteers were bundled up today but were very helpful out in the gardens.  Above are Kathy P. (left) and Eva (packing a blade…look closely) in the woodland walk garden where, along with Shirley H. (below), removed more perennials, leaves and other debris from the woodland walk.  This clearing will help with our HLS efforts in that space next week.  Kristin was out tidying up the Japanese garden.  Bill O. did his mowing rounds while Dr. Gredler over-seeded some lawn areas that were a bit thin on grass.  A couple other volunteers stopped by but it was fairly quiet for a Friday.

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nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) – annual

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pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) blooms strong up until hard frost! – annual

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‘Apple Blossom’ snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) doesn’t mind a bit of cold – annual

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pollinators are still active out there getting ready for winter! (above on dahlia)

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long row of chicken gizzard plant (Iresine herbstii) with some nice lighting! – annual

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fall color on the European spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus) – large woody shrub

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the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is drifting far and wide! – perennial

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‘Redhead’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) getting real bright with cooler temperatures – annual

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‘Stripe It Rich’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) – perennial

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Italian arum (Arum italicum) – perennial