Today had a cool start and it warmed to a comfortable 75 degrees F with plenty of sunshine.  Nice shot above of the vivid new growth on a ‘Red Obelisk’ columnar European beech (Fagus sylvatica) near the French Formal Garden and alpine garden.  It was a smaller crew today.  Cindy, Bobby K., Alex and I held down the fort today with a focus on our usual Friday activities of checking watering needs (including many new baskets and planted containers), processing incoming plants, mowing and much more. Our gardening volunteers included Kathy, Eva and Lloyd although we also saw Barb C., Sandi and some others today.  It was a relatively quiet day although we saw lots of visitors out in the gardens and the spring colors are quite vibrant with all of the fresh growth and shift of peak coloration from tulips (Tulipa) to ornamental onions (Allium) throughout the gardens.  I spent the day laying out plants in two areas for our first (of five!) Volunteer Planting Workdays (8 am – 12 noon Saturday!).

‘Nugget’ golden hops vine (Humulus lupulus) – perennial vine

emerging foliage of golden meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria ‘Aurea’) – perennial

‘Red Dragon’ contorted filbert (Corylus avellana) – woody tree

our early peonies (Paeonia) are starting! – above and two below (unknown varieties) – perennial

‘Purple Haze’ filbert (Corylus hybrida) – woody tree

pink lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis ‘Rosea’) – perennial

foliage of ‘Herman’s Pride’ yellow archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) – perennial

variegated moor grass (Molinia caerulea ‘Variegata’) emerging…- perennial

variegated wayfaringtree viburnum (Viburnum lantana ‘Variegatum’) – woody tree

‘Rainbow’s End’ dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca) – woody tree

bloom of the ‘Sunflower’ paw paw (Asimina triloba) – woody tree

Nice shot above of Rodger’s flower (Rodgersia aesculifolia) emerging quickly in the shade garden with bold foliage!  It was another nice Thursday with a consistently large group of volunteers coming in to help out.  While we were quite short staffed (Janice, Cindy and me), a lot of work was accomplished throughout the gardens.  It was nice to see more visitors and more kids out in the gardens for our youth education programs.  With our first volunteer planting Saturday coming up this weekend (8 am – 12 noon), I spent a good portion of the day hauling plants out to various garden areas and will continue that process tomorrow as well.  Our wonderful volunteers included Kathy, Eva, Suzi, Bob K., Alan, Ron R., Steve E., Lloyd, Ron Y., Dave, Vern, Jim, Dick H., Dick P., Maury, Dr. Gredler, Bill, Peg and our talented Chestnut House Volunteers (under Janice’s guidance) among many others.  We also saw Mark S., Gary, Jim H., Larry O., Steve J. and many others today.

Coppertina® ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Mindia’) – woody shrub

‘Miss Honeybee’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree

‘Golden Gift’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – above and below – woody tree

Eva (left) and Suzi H. (above)

Dick H. (left) and Dick P. setting memorial bricks (above)

wild hyacinth (Camassia cusickii) – perennial bulb

‘Flaming Baltic’ tulip (Tulipa) – bulb

It was another nice, warm sunny day with temperatures around 80 degrees F.  Nice shot above of ‘Bonfire’ spurge (Euphorbia polychroma) looking colorful in the English cottage garden.  We had a busy day at the gardens.  There was a self-guided tour going through the gardens as well as some youth education opportunities.  It was nice to see lots of visitors out in the gardens.  I ran for more plants (as did Larry and Alex) and we had more deliveries as well.  Our grounds staff of Larry H., Alex, Bobby K. and I all had to wear many hats as we juggled planting, picking up plants, watering, accepting deliveries and coordinating our volunteers.  I’m glad we have 29 years of experience doing these things as it is important to keep everything (and everyone!) moving.  Our super duper volunteers today included Kathy, Eva, Barb, Sandi, Terry, Gena, Mary, Nancy, Patti, Stan, Kristin, Greg, Cheryl, Maury, Dr. Gredler and some others.  It was a busy day and a long one (hence my abbreviated text here!).  Enjoy the photos from today though!

ornamental onions (Allium sp.) galore! – perennial bulb

wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) – perennial

‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ plantain lily (Hosta) – perennial

Lotus Moon™ pearlbush (Exochorda x macrantha ‘Bailmoon’) – woody shrub (above and below)

Kathy (left) and Eva (right before they ran me over…)

Kay (above) working her kung fu and planting 36 new perennials

‘Blue Danube’ wild hyacinth (Camassia leichtlinii) – perennial bulb

‘Leprechaun’ crabapple (Malus) – woody tree

Dream Catcher® beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis ‘Maradco’) – woody shrub

grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) will finish soon – perennial bulb

‘Sutherland Gold’ elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) – woody shrub

It was a gorgeous day today with ample sunshine.  Nice shot directly above of our largest ‘Elizabeth’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) near the sunken garden at peak bloom.  With all the recent rain, plants are going bonkers right now with the turf also keeping pace and weeds also getting a strong foothold.  I would say that the next 4-6 weeks are the most challenging in terms of our efforts as we have to balance traditional gardening (mowing, weeding, watering) with aggressive planting, special events, volunteer planting days, etc.  Busy busy.  Our grounds staff of Cindy, Alex, Big John, Terry, Larry H. and I all had a wide range of tasks.  We picked up more plants and continue to get our plans in order for planting over the next six weeks or so.  Our wonderful volunteers consisted of Kathy P., Eva, Dr. Gredler, Maury, Sandi, Terri, Vern, Barb C., Bill O. and some others.  We were spread thin but we all enjoyed the day.  I had my camera with me as I went on another herbicide route to address the earliest weeds coming up in our patio areas.

‘Vanity’ variegated red maple (Acer rubrum) – woody tree (above)

variegated sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus ‘Variegatum’) – woody tree

‘Elizabeth’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree (above)

variegated five-leaf aralia (Eleutherococcus sieboldianus ‘Variegatus’) – woody shrub

variegated wayfaringtree viburnum (Viburnum lantana ‘Variegatum’) – woody tree

Kathy P. (foreground) and Eva planting today

Terri (left) and Sandi tidying up before the concert in the gazebo garden tonight!

patch of Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) – perennial

variegated sweet flag (Acorus calamus ‘Variegatus’) – perennial

‘E.A. Bowles’ variegated mockorange (Philadelphus coronarius) – woody shrub

lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) – perennial

Valentine® bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Hordival’) – perennial

‘Little Leo’ leopard’s bane (Doronicum orientale) – perennial

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) – perennial

‘Valerie Finnis’ grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) – perennial bulb

It was so busy today, I wasn’t able to take any photos.  We hit the ground running with our plant pick-ups with four trips today as the last day of our plant sale (clearance) continued at the Horticulture Center.  We had a new grounds person (Alex) start as well as a new assigned garden volunteer (Sharon).  Our grounds staff of Big John, Terry, Larry H., Cindy, Janice and Alex all had a full day.  Thanks to our plant sale volunteers today of Ken, Steve, Tina, Sylvia, Dale and Mary Kay. They did a great job keeping the sale going although we had a dismal turnout unfortunately.   Our other volunteers included Kathy P., Marv, Ron R., Ron Y., Dave, Jim, Vern, Barb C., Dick H., Maury, Kevin C., Nancy with four RECAPPERS, Dr. Gredler, Alan M. and many more!  All the photos here were from my visit Sunday afternoon at Longenecker Gardens at the UW-Arboretum (Madison, WI, USA). Enjoy!

‘Declaration’ lilac (Syringa x hyacinthiflora) – woody shrub

‘Charles Joly’ French lilac (Syringa vulgaris) – woody shrub

‘Frederick Law Olmsted’ French lilac (Syringa vulgaris) – woody shrub

‘April Dawn’ rhododendron (Rhododendron hybrida) – woody shrub

Lotus Moon™ pearlbush (Exochorda x macrantha ‘Bailmoon’) – woody shrub

‘Cameo’ flowering quince (Chaenomeles x superba) – woody shrub

‘Windy City’ dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) – woody shrub

interesting bark of the Sakhalin corktree (Phellodendron amurense var. sachalinense) – woody tree

double hazzard cherry (Prunus avium ‘Plena’) – woody tree

redbud (Cercis canadensis) grouping with Lavender Twist® (‘Covey’) in the foreground – woody trees

beautiful redbud (Cercis canadensis) above – woody tree

white redbud (Cercis canadensis f. alba ‘Royal White’) – woody tree

‘Charming Lady’ magnolia [Magnolia hybrida – (M. ‘Lennei’ x M. ‘Toro’)] – woody tree (above and below)

‘Pink Weeper’ crabapple (Malus × gloriosa ‘Oekonomierat Echtermeyer’) – woody tree

‘Van Eseltine’ crabapple (Malus)  – woody tree

‘Solar Flair’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree

‘Lois’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree (above and below)

‘Elizabeth’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree (above and below)

‘Purple Haze’ lilac (Syringa hybrida) – woody shrub

‘Pink Charm’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree (above)

‘Burgundy Spire’ magnolia (Magnolia hybrida) – woody tree