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......