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[Image]   [Image]   It wasn't hard to find more signs of Spring this morning with the two hellebore (Helleborus sp.) shots above!  It was another sunny day and while it didn't get over 60 degrees F, it was pleasant working weather as we continued our spring activities both inside and out.  This time of year is a delicate balance of garden clean-up, spring event preparations, label/signage updating, water feature preparations, etc.  There is a lot going on even prior to receiving any of our new plants (which have already begun arriving!).  It's nice to see the return of more and more volunteers each week as we have a busy year ahead with the celebration of our 25th Anniversary and the annual goal and challenge of having the gardens look the best ever!  Below are some other images from today.   [Image] daffodils (Narcissus) [Image] daffodils (Narcissus 'Jetfire') [Image]
As usual, we had a nice volunteer turnout at the gardens today.  Jessica (seen above) came in for another round of painting and took over for Bev D. (second photo down) who accomplished the first coat of pink on these repurposed containers yesterday.  Bev's a little sloppy with the paint as her shirt was yellow to start with....  Kay (directly below) was a whirlwind of garden clean-up and was actually out removing our first wave of weeds in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden.  Dr. Gredler came in for some more mowing touch-up and Rollie drove up to Madison to pick-up our latest brick order for installation tomorrow.  Pat C. came in to produce replacement labels for some of the broken ones out in the gardens that she's recently inventoried.  She is coming up with a good system for on site "first aid" to repair and replace labels.  Janice is also helping with this process.  Maury ran some errands for us and we also saw Jumbo Jim, Deb G., Joy O., Art H. and many others.

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[Image]   The grounds staff had myriad tasks today and everyone was able to get some fresh air.  Above are Janice (left) and Cindy potting up some of our incoming plugs.  These are the four varieties that we'll be featuring in our American Garden Award (AGA) display which allows visitors to vote on their favorite!  Janice then worked on the Spring Plant Sale (see our website for more details) which is looming (Mother's Day weekend) and we're excited about all the fun plants we'll be offering.  However, there is lots of work in the background to get a sale of this scope and caliber ready to go.  Janice also had outdoor duties and freshened up the cutting display.  Cindy moved on to more garden clean-up in select areas.  Big John and Terry worked on setting out more obelisks (see below, Terry driving...poorly).  The guys also worked on composting, spreading mulch and other duties.  Pat was in for a half day and worked primarily on painting.  This winter involved a record amount of painting and we're finally seeing the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel."  I was able to tour the gardens this morning and continue to prepare for volunteer training and our big events.  The busy season is upon us!  Further below are some other fun shots from this morning.   [Image]
[Image] Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) [Image] 'Pink Sunrise' grape hyacinth (Muscari sp.) [Image] garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus sp.) - fragrant! [Image] colorful containers in our Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden which will feature our "Pollinator's Paradise" theme using All-America Selections (AAS) winning annuals that will be perfect for bringing in the bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators [Image] I've taken this shot a hundred times and never tire of that beautiful view to the arched bridge in the distance