Nice shot directly above of spiderwort (Tradescantia sp.) which is blooming prolifically throughout the gardens…primarily due to it reseeding around here and there!  It is beautiful though.  To say it was a crazy day is an understatement.  We had a entire slew of volunteers in today working on a wide range of projects including planting, sweeping, weeding, fountain installation, mowing, Japanese fence repair, StoryWalk preparations, etc.  I wont have the time or energy to list everything that happened today but our volunteer role call today included Ron R., Derrick, Lloyd, Steve, Dennis, Dr. Gredler, Stan, Kristin, Eva, Kathy P., Cathy E., Mike P., Kevin C., Shirley H., Ron Y., Dave, Jim, Vern, Steve, Alan, Bob K., Dick H., Dick P., Maury, Dylan, Flannery, Sandi, Barb C., Marleen, Marlene, Mary D. and many more.  That’s over 30+ volunteers on a Monday!  We also saw Marsha M., Gary, Herb, Dan, Mario and many others today.  It was crazy but lots was accomplished.  Our excellent grounds staff of Shania, Alex, Big John, Cindy, Terry, Janice, Larry H., Bobby K. and me all had plenty of tasks as well.

‘Sun King’ Japanese spikenard (Aralia cordata) – perennial

goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus) – perennial

Campfire^® Fireburst burr marigolds (Bidens hybrida ‘KOIBID1510’) – annual

SunPatiens^® Compact Tropical Rose interspecific impatiens (Impatiens hybrida) – annual

variegated horseradish (Armoracia rusticana ‘Variegata’) – perennial

‘Amber Moon’ false spirea (Astilbe chinensis) – perennial

‘Ivory Silk’ Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata) – woody tree

above and below are some shots of our new fountain being set in to place with lots of elbow grease (and me in charge of photography)

Maury filling the new fountain above…

Sandi, Barb, Marlene, Mary D. and Marleen (from left to right) getting ready for the grand opening of our StoryWalk display/program this Wednesday in partnership with the Hedberg Public Library.  Great team effort here!

Barb C. above (photo from Sandi S., thanks!) has been the ringleader with this StoryWalk set-up

Star of Persia (Allium christophii) with lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) – perennials

‘Misty Lace’ hybrid goatsbeard (Aruncus hybrida) – perennial

prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) – perennial

blue globe allium (Allium azureum) – perennial (reseeds!)

Bobby K. (above) working on the Russo Family Fountain – he is a VERY handy guy to have around

aging petals (formerly white) of a hybrid magnolia (Magnolia sieboldii x tripetala) – woody tree

Kristin and Stan (excellent caretakers of the Japanese garden)

‘Orange Marmalade’ Martagon lily (Lilium martagon) – perennial

The photo above is from the reception garden which was the nexus for our Volunteer Planting Work Day this morning.  That archway is from the original Parker Pen Building in Janesville, WI and is on permanent loan from the Rock County Historical Society.  Beyond that arch is the sunken garden.  We had a nice turnout of volunteers this morning, including some Daisies (pre Girl Scouts), for planting in the reception garden and a small area nearby.  Larry O., Big John and Janice were on hand to help and we had volunteer planting/weeding help from Alan, Heather, Barb, Kim, Gena, Donna, Maggie, Hannah and Bobby. The four Daisies came with parents or grandparents and helped plant for about an hour.  We also had a great crew of volunteers weeding and planting in the alpine garden. These folks, including Iza, Tom and Damon, did a wonderful job and are all members of the WI-IL Chapter of North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS).  We also saw Bill, Sandi, Maury, Bill, Dr. Gredler, Steve, Sue and many others.  The rose seen above (English Cottage garden) is ‘William Baffin’.

Janice only charged these Daisies $1 each for the ride

thanks WI-IL NARGS members for volunteering today!

goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus) – perennial

As can be seen in many of these photos…we had a great volunteer turnout this morning and the weather was beautiful although quite warm by the afternooh.  Above (left to right) are Eva, Kathy P., Suzy and Vera all planting out in the gardens.  I hope we do get some rain Friday to be honest as that puts us in a good position for the weekend.  However, it’s “out of our hands” as they say!  Our grounds staff of Cindy B., Janice, Larry H., Bobby K., Shania and Alex all had a very busy day.  Our volunteers today included the four ladies above plus Cathy E., the Chestnut House volunteers, Sandi, Terri, Jim, Ron Y., Ron R., Alan, Bob K., Dr. Gredler, Dr. Mike P., Dr. Thomas K., Kathy P. (#2!), Mary H., Steve, Dick H., Maury, Greg, Cheryl, Barb, Marcia, Mirjam, Bill O. and many more!  If was a busy day with lots of planting, tidying and general gardening work and improvements.

Marcia L. (above left) and Mirjam in the English cottage garden this morning

Jim, Dave and Ron Y. (left to right) working on a new top for the Japanese garden fence

Mary H. (left) with Kathy P. (above)

Sandi (left) and Terri planting away (above)

Firefighter Cathy E. (above) with her beautiful Garden Art Project

Dr. Tom K. (above)

I also made my annual trek up to The Flower Factory (Stoughton, WI) and picked up a large load of perennials that I ordered for the gardens.  It was nice to catch up with Nancy and David, the owners of The Flower Factory.  I did a quick tour and noted some fun plants (seen below…)

cool stonecrop (Sedum sp.) troughs

I always loved the planted roof on this little shed (above)

‘Red Feathers’ echium (Echium amoenum) – perennial

‘Trehane’ broadleaf speedwell (Veronica teucrium) – perennial

they always have a great hosta assortment to sift through!

cFashionably Early Crystal garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) – perennial

‘Early Crystal’ garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) – perennial

‘All Gold’ Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) – perennial grass

the classic “blue bottle tree” at The Flower Factory

Most of us came in today not expecting possible showers until this evening.  However, we had two bursts of rain this morning and everyone hightailed it back to the Horticulture Center for some indoor work.  Above are Marv and grandson Avery who also worked outside in the moss gardens which grandpa maintains.  We had a nice planting team inside (see directly below) during the second storm as well.  Our grounds staff of Shania, Alex, Larry H., Bobby K. and I all had myriad projects both inside and outside.  Other volunteers included Kathy P., Eva, Stan, Kristin, Steve, Flannery, Dylan, Sandi, Barb, Kay, Karen, Maury, Peg and many others.  It was a nice day out in the gardens and not overly hot (thankfully!).  Our Wednesday evening planting crew included Tina B., Sue, Alan, Dylan, Flannery, Big John and me.  Larry and Amy H. were Garden Ambassadors out in the gardens on a well attended evening.  We got quite a bit planted and watered in nicely. More planting tomorrow…

repotting on a rainy day with Marv, Avery, Karen, Shania and Alex (left to right)

Kay planting and tidying in the shade garden (above)

Larry H. (left) and Bobby K. checking on our problematic fountain

‘Amazone’ Jerusalem sage (Phlomis amazone) – perennial

snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum) – perennial

globe flower (Trollius europaeus) – perennial

valerian (Valeriana officinalis) – perennial (smells like vanilla! – spreads!)

‘Palace Purple’ coral bells (Heuchera micrantha) – perennial

this is the front slope (entrance garden) planting from last Saturday!

‘Briant Rubidor’ golden weigela (Weigela florida) – woody shrub

‘Tortuosa Purpurea’ contored purple European beech (Fagus sylvatica) – woody tree (above and below)

‘Mystic Sparkler’ dark-leaved dahlia (Dahlia hybrida) – annual

‘Alakazaam’ plantain lily (Hosta) – perennial

Star of Persia (Allium christophii) – perennial bulb

photo above from the North path where lots of stabilization work is occurring thanks to Dennis and his volunteers

Today was another beautiful one and more plants went in the ground!  Nice shot above of ‘Taylor’s Sunburst’ lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) with bright yellow new growth on the “candles”.  We had another excellent day with lots of tasks accomplished and great progress with planting from some of our veteran volunteers.  Our grounds staff of Cindy, Shania, Big John, Larry H., Alex, Terry and I all had a wide range of duties throughout the gardens.  We had a decent volunteer turnout as well.  Don, Pearl, Marleen, Terri and Sandi all planted and got a whole lot of plants installed.  Other volunteers included Dr. Gredler, Bill, Maury, Stan, Steve, Barb, Vern, Peg, Kathy P., Eva and others.  The gardens continue to look excellent and I believe we have planted about 50% of our annuals which is pretty good for this point in June.  More planting in earnest over the coming weeks to be sure!

tricolor European beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Roseomarginata’) – woody tree

Don and Pearl ready to get started planting their assigned garden area

classic white peonies (Paeonia, unknown variety) at peak in the reception garden – perennial

climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris) in bloom today – woody vine

purple catalpa (Catalpa x erubescens ‘Purpurea’) – woody tree

Kathy P. (left), Eva and Cherub buddy

‘Rooguchi’ clematis (Clematis hybrida) – perennial vine