Today was overcast with intermittent drizzle, particularly in the afternoon.  I thought we would have a total rain out today but did have some dry periods that allowed for work out in the gardens.  We also had a full crew at the Horticulture Center. Above is Terry (yesterday) moving our second giant Adirondack chair back from the gardens.  Our two chairs were a hit at the Holiday Lights Show and will be repainted and brought back out as part of our Alphabet Jungle Garden theme (more on that in a blog next week).  The windows and doors seen below will also go back in to that lush and colorful garden.  Larry, Big John and Janice all had a wide range of tasks today including plenty of indoor work as the weather dictated.  John went on a major shopping spree for garden equipment, fertilizer and supplies while Janice did a huge amount of work for the looming Spring Plant Sale on Mother’s Day weekend.

Bob C., Ron R. and Alan M. didn’t let the threat of rain stop them from getting some garden work done including composting and raking.  John and Larry were also out in the gardens for a bit and Urban came in for some afternoon pruning.  Gary B., Pat S. (new Grumpette) and Dr. Gredler had plenty of painting duties and were joined by Gene.  Ron Y., Dave, Jim, Vern and Bob K. continued with carpentry projects which includes the construction of more obelisks for the Spring Plant Sale and sales out of the Cottage Garden Gallery.  Vern and Bob K. were around in the afternoon as well.  Dick H. ran five loads to the dump and helped Maury haul supplies to storage.  Maury had other errands and Bill O. came in this afternoon to help out.  Gary S. worked on more labeling and Jenny E. stopped by to pick up more lists that she’ll translate and convert to new labels for incoming seasonal plants.  We also saw Rollie, Dr. Yahr, Ken C. and many others today.  The second image down shows our “indoor jungle” of elephant ears (Colocasia and Alocasia) and bananas (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’) that we’ve had inside since early October.  They are getting by but will thrive once we can get them outside and planted!  The remaining photos feature the very popular Thomas Jefferson Collection that was such a hit last year.  This is the second and last year of that collection out in the gardens.

The image both above and below were taken yesterday of the pasque flowers (Pulsatilla vulgaris) emerging in the alpine garden.  We have 12 or so plants in that area and it’s so much fun to watch this tough perennial go from this fuzzy spring growth to beautiful blossoms and wispy seed heads later in the season.  All the photos in this blog are of our pasque flowers in that specific garden area although we have them elsewhere too.  This member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) is native to the grasslands of Europe and loves full sun.  It will be less than 12″ tall with a similar width and really roots in well for drought tolerance.  The bloom time is quite long and the seed heads certainly extend the show.  Enjoy the selections below including double forms.

We had a productive day with plenty of garden activity under overcast skies.  It was colder than yesterday with the high under 50 degrees F.  We had some light drizzle in the morning but thankfully had a relatively dry day for garden work.  Cindy, Big John, Janice, Cheryl and Larry all had a wide range of tasks out in the gardens including tidying up, cutting back roses, removals, etc.  Larry worked with our irrigation crew again today and the gardens continue to show more growth each day.  Eva, Kathy and Peg did a nice job continuing their garden clean-up efforts in more areas.  They brought back many loads of debris.  Urban stopped by later for some pruning duties.  Nancy N. and Dr. Gredler were in for painting duties and Bill O. helped with a wide range of activities.  We also saw Maury, Gary and many others today.