Two Handsome Guys, Orchids and Boy Am I Happy The Garden Tour Is Over

OK. Lets start with the Garden Tour. It was a smashing success. I don't have an official count yet from Meredith but it is in the neighborhood of 600. More than last year. Yay! I still have a job for a few more weeks. ;) The gardens I saw were amazing and I hear that people noticed the 50 billion annuals that got planted last week. There are still a few left to go in the ground. Hopefully I can get to that this week although I am back to being consumed by the irrigation system this week.

Deb brought some gorgeous orchids down for the Garden Tour. They look much better than my pictures.

Last Friday Randy (on the left) and Tom (on the right) came down to cut down two of the few trees we have. We are getting solar panels installed this week and they had to go. They were very healthy aspen trees and it was sad to see them go and so fast. Randy and Tom had them down and chipped in about 10 minutes.

The greenhouses need a little attention after being neglected for the last couple of weeks. I'm lucky to have Richard. Also, Lloyd stopped by to check on the pump and make sure it wasn't under water yet. I haven't gotten any river pictures for the last few days but it has been rising. The warm, ok, hot, weather has been melting the snow. I didn't pull the pump because I hear this peak isn't going to be as high as the last one. I sure hope not. We'll see tomorrow.

Water Lilies and Still More Annuals and a Cute Little Snake

I'm still planting annuals. The gardens are looking good though. City Market called today with a donation of still more annuals. There are plenty of places to fill in and I could always do annuals in containers. Good thing Kim and Hazel came down yesterday to help out. I don't know how I would have gotten everything done without them. And Richard, helping with the weeds. And Clayton mowing the grass and doing about 50 other things. Here he is in action.


This yucca is just stunning. I've been so busy running around getting ready for the Garden Tour that I would have missed it if Kathleen hadn't pointed it out to me. Like, how could you miss it?

I know that the water in the pond is low but the lilies don't seem to mind and water is really clear. I'll get the water level up after the weekend. If I do it now the lilies will be underwater and no one will be able to enjoy them. Except me. I took about 20 pictures of them yesterday. But I won't bore you with them all, just three.

Clayton and I got the pump reattached down at the amphitheater and there finally is water down there. YAYYY!!!! Of course I did have to slog around on the river bank a little and get my little tootsies wet but I'm just thrilled I didn't get stuck. Anyway, on my way back from making everything was OK down there at the end of the day I spied this little guy. Ain't he cute?

High Water, Saving Baby Skunks, Planting Annuals and A Moth

A lot has been going on the last four days, mainly getting everything ready for the Gardent Tour this weekend. The volunteers and I went to Lois's for breakfast Friday morning. I had the chicken fried steak. Yum. Then while Don and Lloyd were transplanting the hibiscus and stachys I went out to Orchard Mesa Greenhouse and picked up 28 flats of annuals. Instant garden, just add annuals. They are gorgeous. I wanted to take a photo of them because they look so good but you'll just have to come down for the Garden Tour and see them in person. I left at 1pm, the time I'm supposed to leave and I missed all the fun. Wayne from Lunsford came out and got the swamp cooler going. The guys from the city came out to survey the levy so we know exactly where it is. I did manage to get some photos of the river, I think Friday was when it peaked. It didn't flood area where the pump is or the amphitheater so the weddings over the weekend should go as planned, unless someone gets cold feet. ;)

You can't even tell that there is a beaver damn under there any more.

The water came within 5 feet of the bridge but no flooding except along the north channel trail, which is to be expected because it is in the flood plain.

Friday the roses started blooming. Aren't they stunning?

Saturday Elva, Diana, Marty and I met to talk about the tours and the docent situation. I was planning on coming down and doing some work anyway but it was good we met. It was also good because Marty noticed there were six forlorn, baby skunks without their mama. Rick got rid of the ground squirrel but it seems like a mama skunk and her babies moved into the burrow. He got the mama skunk last week and didn't realize that there were babies left behind. Marty was the one who noticed this morning so he came down on a Saturday, in the rain to rescue six baby skunks who all promptly sprayed him. He's our hero. All I saw of the baby skunks were their tails but they sure were cute. I should have gotten a picture but Rick told me to stay away or I'd get sprayed so I did. Stay away that is.

And here are Saturday's flood pictures.

Sunday was half a day of pulling weeds from the Native Garden. I should have done a before and after picture because the difference is so dramatic.

Monday was annual planting. Kenton came out and planted a bed. I did the garden bed in the children's garden and the other two beds out front by where Kenton was working. Paul watered everything and weeded. Joy and Ruth were there working on the sensory garden. Our volunteers are amazing coming out on a holiday.

Tuesday is more annual planting. I'm sure glad Nicole, Richard and Frances showed up today or I never would get it done. As it is there are still maybe 10 flats to go. Hopefully I can get them in this morning. I still need to work on the pond, get the pumps going and coordinate the dirt delivery for the dahlia bed. Celebration Plaza is looking good. The plants are in. The trees went in yesterday and it seems they had a little irrigation irritation of their own. I feel their pain.

Here is a moth I found Tuesday morning. At first glance Richard thinks it is a sphinx moth.

I think that gets you all caught up. I'm off for another day at the Gardens!

No Camera

I can't believe I forgot my camera yesterday. All kinds of camera worthy things were happening. The plants are going into Celebration Plaza and things are really shaping up over there. The water level is super high. It is amazing. It wasn't quite up to where the pump was but it was close. It is close to the bridge that goes onto Watson Island and of course there is a little flooding on the north channel trail. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like today.

So, I did a lot of paperwork catch up today. I got almost all the way through with the butterfly permit. It will be good to get that finished. I made an appointment with the butterfly folks in Westminster next month. I'll be going down for Plant Select and so I figured that I'd stay a little longer and check in with the butterfly folks. We have almost all the volunteers we need for the Garden Tour. And I'm ready to go get some annuals. I only need 25-30 flats. Not the 200 I thought. Gee. If I'd only thought for a moment I'd have realized that I was thinking six-pack and saying flat. As Clayton would say, "Duh!"

And the last thing I'm sorry I forgot the camera for: This cute little philodendrum that is growning in front of the puparium finally bloomed! And it looks like more are on the way. I noticed that yesterday when I was spraying for mealy bugs and scale in the greenhouses.

I'm putting the camera in my bag right now so I don't forget it. ;)

Water Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Irrigate With

That doesn't look too awful, does it?

Oh but it is. The river is rising very quickly now. It looks like it has risen at least a foot since yesterday. I have a spot down by the pump where I can make a guesstimate as to how high the river is getting.

Here is my usual shot, looking east off of the bridge that connects the amphitheater to Watson Island. I am mesmerized by the current of the water and I'm wondering if it is going to flood the Gardens. I think it will spill over into the amphitheater. I had to do an emergency pump evacuation yesterday. The river was up so high it was starting to erode the bank under the concrete base where the pump that irrigates the amphitheater rests. Isn't that just how it goes? I got the irrigation working and now I have to move the pump. Well, as I keep saying, I am going to do a little flood irrigation down in the amphitheater. ;) We are all wondering if it will go over the dyke or not. I'm really curious to see how high the water is going to get.

The irises are really hitting their prime. They look just wonderful. I was out at Willow Bend Iris Farm last night. Their irises are looking great and should look perfect for the Garden Tour. That is coming up a week from Saturday, May 31 and June 1. Do you have your tickets yet?

Still More Irrigation Irritations

Well, there is nothing wrong with the controller. It may be that there is a problem with the solenoid but I can't get the friggin' thing off. Grr.... It is time for me to do a few pushups and get a little more upper body strength or just go find a really big hammer. ;) Anyway the other control valve had problems, a broken solenoid and an internal part was also broken. Hopefully I can get both of those things fixed today.

The good news is the board approved a little money to buy some annuals. YAY! Plant shopping is so much fun.

You all have a good day.

Rebooting

Well, "rebooting" the controller did not work. So I took it down to GJ Pipe and hopefully they will be able to clear it and get it so I can get it to working and then all my irrigation problems in the amphitheater will be solved. Right.

So, of course, the problem with the other controllers wasn't the electricity at all. Someone had closed the valve so there was no water in the system. Great. So then I start running through the watering programs for the beds that really need water RIGHT NOW and I can't get the zone for the middle of the front lawn to turn off. Yes, I tried the controller. First thing. I even unplugged it. Nothing. So then of course the next thing to check is the control valve. Great. Yes, I know I figured out how to change the diaphragm in a scrubber valve thanks to the Rain Bird website but I still am not real thrilled to open one up and start poking around. So, I'll do it in the morning. ;)

Monte did show me all the steps to getting the irrigation pond pump going and we both concluded while the pump was working it was not sucking water. Maybe the intake is plugged? One way to find out. I'll be going for a dip in the irrigation pond tomorrow. Yee haw. Good thing I work in a place filled with gorgeous flowers.

Aren't these great? I'd like to say I planted them but I didn't. I just got the irises thinned and uncovered the pretty purple plant (that I still don't know the name of) by moving the geranium.

And down in the amphitheater the volunteer blue flax is perfect against the veronica.

Here is Clayton looking handsome as always. He is pointing to the sign that talks about the clean-up of the area. It used to be a junkyard. He did a lot of work on the clean-up. Before that the Gardens were storage for mill tailings. Before that a peony farm. It has kind of gone full circle. There will be peonies in the garden by the office and they came from a place out on the Redlands and they just may be from the peonies that were originally from the garden where the Gardens are today. Cool.

And of course, I can't forget today's pictures of the ever rising river.