What Fun!

I'm sure "What fun!" is what Tyler is saying about digging up the irrigation lines on Friday. He and Richard and Lloyd did a fantastic job of fixing my mistake. I have the best volunteers in the world.

Here's a little TNT, Tom and Tony, City Arborists who are currently removing a stump from behind the amphitheater.

The results of a little TNT in the International Garden. They'll be grinding down the stump later in the winter. You know. On a slow day.

And speaking of winter, here is a lovely winter fat. Something we'll all be seeing way too much of after Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for sure.

And on the newsy side, the misters are indeed working in the greenhouses for all of you who were worried about that. And yes, the "Japanese Garden" is coming along just great. Thank you for asking. I should have a plant list ready to post soon.

There were the greatest kids from Delta visiting the WCBG the last two days. I'm sorry I didn't get a sound clip of them doing their wolf cry. It was fantastic.

The Watson Island cleanup is going really well. Take a stroll on the island and see for yourself.

Technical Difficulties

I know, I know, it has been almost a week. But I've been beleaguered by technology. First the camera, next the internet connection. Hopefully it will all be resolved soon. In the meantime, there have been all kinds of excitement happening at the Gardens. Monday was a typical catch-up day, I actually got a ton of paperwork done and some good research on nectar sources for our butterflies. Tuesday was meeting day. But in the greenhouse we saw nature in action. Those of you who are a little more sensitive may want to skip this part and head on down to the next picture. There we were in the greenhouses admiring the butterflies when "Hey! Look at this! A spider is eating one of the butterflies!" And sure enough it was. I wish they'd just stick to a steady diet of ghost ants and do us all a favor but spiders have a mind of their own. Well, maybe a nerve or two or their own. The phone camera just doesn't do it justice. Poor little julia.

So, on to today. Today was a great day! Why? Because the first bunch of trees from the City came today. I love the City. They are donating a lot of trees to us. Not these little things either. Nice big evergreens. Shade trees. A few ornamentals. Fabulous trees. Well Tom and Willy started planting them today. I even got to dig a hole for one. Yeah, that is me with my perfect tree hole.

So what I'm not showing is the irrigation line I cut through. Ooops. Tomorrow I get to find out how to repair an irrigation line. See you then.

Cacti

Donna and Kathleen did some fabulous work on the cacti today just look.

Sometimes it pays to be the runt. Take a gander at this banana yucca. Mama and one pup were unceremoniously removed but the one left behind looks just great.

So, I hear that the Chinle Cactus and Succulent Club is the only group that espaliers their cacti. I'm so glad they do. Isn't this cholla beautiful?

OK. It just cracked me up that we have cholla, crabapple and that awful fragmites all within 10 feet of each other. I didn't intend for the telephone pole to be the focus but I find it poetic with its upright manner and symetrical crossbar, let alone the fact that it isn't underground yet: we still have our utilities sprouting up on poles.

On the non-pictorial side I learned an awful lot about the greenhouse today from Scott. I won't bore you with the details but you'll notice the happy butterflies and blooming plants in the greenhouse.

The other exciting thing is Niki's plan for our holiday decorations. I know you may be thinking it is a little early but she has been working on them since September. It promises to be a really nice display. You'll see, in December, but you'll see. ;)

Take Action!

Only after reading my favorite blog, Garden Rant, did I realize that today is "Blog Action Day". I'd write something really elegant and moving but I think Michele's post says it all.

Brrrr!

It has been cold the past few nights bringing death and destruction to the gardens. The poor dahlias bit the dust. And they were so gorgeous just a few days ago, now, they are black and dead looking.

The hyacinth bean and the Denver daisy also crumpled in the cold. The chrysanthemums on the other hand are happy as can be. Fall is here!

It has been really nice in the greenhouse the last couple of days. Really warm and the butterflies are flying around. The bananas are ripening. The fish are swimming. Very nice.

Exploding Brain

It is Wednesday morning and I still haven't got my brain squished back into my skull. Saturday was just as amazing and informative as Sunday. We went to the Orchid Show. There weren't a lot of orchids, it wasn't a big show, but the plants that were there were spectacular. I'll get some photos up as soon as I can get them from Kenton. Who is a little under the weather, by the way. There is something going around. So all of you make sure to drink your orange juice and get plenty of rest and all that jazz. Take care of yourselves. And now back to our regularly scheduled blog.

Here is the picture of the nice C-Dot guy who stopped to help us in Glenwood Canyon. I hear the smiley face keeps the bears at bay.




And here is Kenton tightening the lug nuts. Yes, I know. It is almost too much excitement for one day.

Out of the Office

"Where have I been?" you are asking. Well, Kenton and I took off for Denver yesterday. With the new garden there is plenty afoot. The trip started out well enough. Then was the flat tire in Glenwood Canyon. A C-DOT truck showed up in about 5 minutes. It seems like there are cameras all along the interstate there in the canyon. Kinda creepy but I was sure happy to see him show up. I got a great picture of the back of his head and one of Kenton changing the tire. Of course I forgot the cable so you'll just have to wait.

We met with Dan Johnson and Ebi Kondo, native plant guy and Japanese Garden guy respectively. They spent all morning with us.

As if that weren't enough, we spent the afternoon with Kelly Grummonds from Timberline Nursery. He spent all afternoon with us.

I am amazed and delighted at how many people, really important and smart people, there are in the world who want to help our little garden.

I need to let everything settle a little bit before I tell you about all the amazing things we learned today. I think my brain is about to explode so if you see me walking around with duct tape encircling my head you'll know what happened.

The Mystery is Revealed!

Wednesday is a pretty good day for revealing much anticipated news. Today is the day you find out about the mystery garden. If you've been keeping up on this blog you'll know that there are a lot of really great changes happening at the gardens. One of these really great changes is the development of a new garden, a Japanese Garden. Now, wipe that expression off of your face. Everyone looks at me like that when I mention Japanese Garden. It isn't what you think. I know Western Colorado isn't the ideal place for a Japanese Garden. And I know WCBG isn't exactly the dream spot for it either, especially since the focus of the Gardens is being refined, (more on that later).

I did have the "Japanese Garden Manifesto" posted on-line here a couple of days ago. I can't leave it up because after today (Friday) and our meeting with Dan Johnson and Ebi Kondo it is most definitely going to be refined. For those of you who read it, it is the starting point. For those of you who didn't, the new garden will still be a big mystery for a while longer. Isn't it great to have a little suspense in your life?

Tech Troubles

The sad news is that my camera bit the dust. So I've been making do with the camera on my phone. And it just isn't the same. However, one must make do with what one has. Keep a stiff upper lip and all that rubbish.

OK. These first photos of are the Release of Tammy the Turtle. A turtle happened to come into the possession of the Gardens last week and after doing some research we decided it would be best to release her into the outdoor pond.

Picture 1: Tammy going into the pond.

Picture 2: A very wary Tammy.


Picture 3: Hey Mikey! She likes it! Off goes Tammy to explore her new home.

Picture 4: Nothing to do with The Release of Tammy. This is a cool spider Tyler found on the side of the shed. The phone doesn't zoom in so I kinda looks like a wad of gum but take my word for it, it is a really cool spider.

Triumph!

I finally got the pump working in the amphitheater. After trying one thing and the other I finally put in a new foot valve. Nothing. The pump still wasn't pulling water. Did you know a pump won't work if it has a vacuum lock? It doesn't. But, if you break the lock it works like a dream. Now if I could only get the control valves working......