Summer Color Persists!
Today was another beautiful day at the gardens and the one day Clearance Sale for the Fall Plant Sale was well attended at the Horticulture Center. We will continue to sell mums, asters and bulbs from the Parker Education Center while supplies last. After being involved with the plant sale for so many days, I was able to get out in the gardens for a bit to reconnect and was pleased with how good everything looked. There was still lots of color out there although some annuals are starting to require removal. Nice shot above of ‘Banana Boat’ Japanese sedge (Carex siderosticha) in the shade garden. We continue to see many visitors out in the gardens and hope to extend the show throughout the month. We brought in the Garden Art projects (frogs!) for the auction this Thursday for these wonderful pieces that have been displayed for the past four months. Check out our website for more details. Our grounds staff of Cindy, Alex, Big John, Terry and Janice all had a wide range of duties throughout the day. We had a strong volunteer turnout of Dennis, Derrick, Ron R., Lloyd, Kathy P., Eva, Winifred, Dick H., Dick P., Gary, Ron Y., Jim, Dave, Alan, Bob K., Vern, Steve J., Del, Marv and many others. Our plant sale helpers included Ken, Mary Kay, Marleen, Tina, Grace and Lloyd. It was a busy day!
‘Misty Blue’ white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) – perennial
‘Ginger Love’ fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) – perennial
‘Dipt in Wine’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) – annual
rich border in the sunken garden (above)
Steel Tower™ eucalyptus (Eucalyptus gunnii) – not hardy
‘Blue Armor’ kale (Brassica oleracea) – annual
Quick Fire® panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bulk’) – woody shrub
bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) – perennial
‘The Giant’ autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) – perennial
golden Japanese orixa (Orixa japonica) – woody shrub
Dennis (above) is powered by his Death Wish coffee and is doing an awesome job creating new paths
Lloyd (left) and Ron R.
Kathy P. (left) and Eva
‘Queeny Orange Lime’ zinnia (Zinnia elegans) – annual
‘Pink Frost’ variegated Japanese Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium fortunei) – perennial
‘Fireball’ hibiscus (Hibiscus hybrida) – perennial
‘Dancing Wind’ big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) – perennial
BIG® ‘Red with Bronze Leaf’ hybrid begonia (Begonia x benariensis) – annual
‘Thailand Giant’ elephant ears (Colocasia gigantea) – tropical
sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) – semi-woody vine (above and below)
‘Purple Flash’ ornamental hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual
Burgundy Candy™ ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Podaras 1’) – woody shrub
with all the rain, the Abyssinian bananas (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’) have gotten tall (over 12′!)
‘All Gold’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) – perennial
nice composition with variegated giant reed (Arundo donax ‘Versicolor’) in the back – non hardy grass
cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) – annual