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It was another sunny day although the temperatures continue to be below "normal" and the wind was a bit chilly this morning.  It was, however, a great day to be out in the gardens.  I did a morning tour and really checked out the entire gardens.  This time of year is frustrating as the clean up chores begin to stack up and our focus over the coming weeks will be to tidy up every garden area, cut back grasses and make the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) remnants disappear.  I also faced my fear of heights and climbed to the top of the gazebo to remove lights off the upper peak (which I put on).  That was fun.  I'm noticing a lot more of the earliest bulbs blooming strongly like the snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) above and the double snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis 'Flore Pleno') directly below.  Both these shots were taken from ground level.  Further down, in order, are Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), winter adonis or pheasant's eye (Adonus amurensis 'Fukujukai') and some white crocus (Crocus sp.).  I continue to work on more special event preparation and some work on a presentation I'm giving at the International Lilac Society Convention in Madison this early May (http://madtownlilac.com/).  The lilacs should be timed nicely for this visit and I'm looking forward to seeing the lilac collection at Longenecker Gardens at the UW-Arboretum.  
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While cool, it was a nice day to garden.  Cindy B., one of two new RBG grounds staff members, finished her day 2 by cutting more ornamental grasses down out in the North point garden.  Above is some of her earlier "handiwork" and her current focus has been on cool season grasses like 'Karl Foerster' feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) that will start growing actively very soon.  Big John brought in some containers from last year, tidied up the front of the building,  cut back perennials and bounced between many projects.  Pat (not on the clock today), seen below, is converting our Spring Tree Sale signs to reflect the shift in dates.  Due to late digging of these bare root trees in Northern WI, we're shifting the tree sale from April 19, 20 and 21 to May 10th, 11th and 12th (9 am - 4 pm).  This shift made sense and we'll now have this "uber event" that will include our traditional Spring Plant Sale and the tree sale as well. 
Dr. Gredler (second photo down) put a fresh coat of paint on some of Kris' signs for the Pollinator's Paradise theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden.  Bill O. was in to help Larry repair our Gator (third photo down) and the guys worked on some other projects as well.  We also saw Mary, Lori, Rita, Sue M., Urban, Maury and many others.  
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We continue to get entries for our Photography Contest and there are some beautiful entries.  This is the second year we've had this contest and winning submissions will be incorporated in to our 2014 RBG 25th Anniversary Calendar.  The deadline for submissions is April 30th and additional details can be viewed at http://rotarybotanicalgardens.org/events/photography-contest.  Photos need to have been taken at RBG.  The photos below were shared by Ken Tapp, above and beyond his submissions for the contest.  What beautiful shots although I can wait until December of this year to see any more of this (just before our Holiday Lights Show...).  Thanks for sharing Ken!
[Image] Courtesy of Ken Tapp [Image] Courtesy of Ken Tapp [Image] Courtesy of Ken Tapp [Image] Courtesy of Ken Tapp