By: Michael Jesiolowski – Rotary Botanical GardensDirector of Horticulture
Holiday Light Show displays taken down? Check! Plant Sale plants ordered? Check! Freezing
temperatures gone? Well, maybe not so much.
Even though the temperatures are still chilly, the signs of spring are unmistakable. Snow is melting, birds are singing, and plants are awakening from their months long hibernation. We are upon one of my favorite times of year when we have a lot of goodness in terms of plants and warmer weather to look forward to.
It feels like long ago that we were working to plant Fall bulbs with eyes towards this moment of when we would see the fruition of all our digging, drilling, and troweling in bulbs. With over 55,000 new bulbs including large drifts of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, and alliums we can’t wait for the color in mid-late April! We are already seeing snowdrops and winter aconite starting to bloom.
In addition to our inaugural ‘Bulb Fest’, we are planning a large display of over 50 different types of Dahlias, which will showcase different colors and forms and will be in bloom in late summer and early fall. We would love to see you at the garden this Spring!
Rotary Botanical Gardens opens for its regular season on April 1. To learn more about the Gardens, click here.
Read more from Michael:
… “We have methodically looked at the collection from many directions. Low hanging fruit such as replacing weedy species like Populus deltoides, Acer negundo, Ulmus rubra, and Robinia pseudoacacia with species that add more value to the collection has been a priority. When appropriate, we are adding back in species that are uncommon such as Elsholtzia stauntonii, Disanthus cercidifolius, and Acer mandshuricum.
Spaces have been re-imagined or are in the process of transformation. For example, an area next to the shoreline, adjacent to the Japanese Garden. This space is loaded with Equisetum hyemale, which is entrenched in the area.
Embracing the Equisetum because it is evergreen, we are converting the area into a Winter Walk. We’ve created a path, removed a dozen cottonwood trees among other scrub, and will be replanting with plants that have strong winter interest because Wisconsin winters are at least 4 months long, right?
Other improvements include the creation of a Cherry Blossom walk that features 13 Prunus x yedoensis trees, the revamping of our North Path Garden to plants native to Rock County and reworking the Koi Pond.” …
Read Michael’s full 2021 Year in Review blog here.