Happy Spring!
Happy Spring! Sometimes the first day of spring includes freezing temperatures, sleet or even snow. Not so today with sunny skies and a high temperature around 60 degrees F. I was able to scout out the entire garden this morning and while we still have some clean-up to accomplish, the gardens are starting so show more signs of life every day. With more rain arriving later in the week and consistent mild temperatures, the spring transition (my favorite time of year) will be in full swing shortly!
We had a very productive day both out in the gardens and at the Horticulture Center. Larry O., Ron R., Dennis and Lloyd were all out hauling back Holiday Light Show (HLS) displays for storage. Most of the HLS has been taken down but there are still some remnants that we’ll collect in the coming week or so. Janice was in to produce more labels for the big Spring Plant Sale coming up on Mother’s Day weekend! Kathy P. went on a stick and debris collecting expedition and came back with many full carts (see below)! Kay was back in action and tidied up her garden space near the end of the shade garden. Jim H. had the RECAPPERS at the gardens today and the guys did a fabulous job tidying up multiple areas. Steve J. and Jim continued assembling new obelisks (for sale in the Cottage Garden Gallery and at our Spring Plant Sale!) while Bobby K. put sealant on new obelisk pieces as yet to be assembled. Dr. Gredler continued painting while Gary S. continued to work on servicing our laser engraver. Stan and Kristin came in for some work in the Japanese garden and we also saw Maury, Rollie and many others as well!
the moss garden (above and below) is nice and vivid this time of year!
‘Carsten’s Wintergold’ mugo pine (Pinus mugo)
winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is really starting to bloom well
Vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis, unknown variety) – large woody shrub
Dr. Gredler above with some nice purple
Bobby K. (above) preparing slats for our obelisks
Jim (back) and Steve J.
Kathy P. (above) with one of many loads
Dennis, Ron R. and Larry O. (left to right)
snowdrops (Galanthus sp.) both above and below (double seen below)
trillium (Trillium sp.) is emerging quickly with buds ready to open soon!
these daffodils (Narcissus) near the pond will likely bloom by the end of the week!
Siberian squill (Scilla siberica)
hellebores (Helleborus sp.) are budding up nicely (above)
Our Spring Symposium (“Edible Landscaping”) this past Saturday went very well. Photographed below (photo by Marsha Mood) with yours truly is Rosalind Creasy (left) and Lisa Hilgenberg (Chicago Botanic Garden). We had over 100 attendees enjoy presentations by the three of us and Rosalind’s books (some seen above) sold like hotcakes! We had a silent auction with some wonderful donations from Song Sparrow Nursery and the weather was nice enough that attendees could walk the gardens. Kudos to our education coordinator, Pam and all of the volunteers that helped organize and facilitate this event. Polly, Cindy B., Marcia L., Marcia Mood and many others helped make the day run smoothly!
