Repairs, Weeding and UW Arboreteum

This morning a new Herman Miller Aeron desk chair arrived. I now enjoy the luxury of sitting in a chair designed based on advanced ergonomic principles. Ann, my wife, remarked that I may never get out of this chair because sitting feels so good.

Last Saturday, June 17th, six neighbors joined Ann and I to care for the Prospect Gardens.  I worked on preparing the section of a garden, pictured to the right, for repairs. Early Tuesday morning a fast moving storm dumped several inches of rain. So much rain fell in a short time period, drenching the Gardens and causing erosion. The rushing water moved the good size rocks down the steep slope while flattening the flowering plants. I dug up the plants, with their exposed roots, and moved them to other sections of the gardens. They will survive this trauma.

Dan and Carissa, from the city engineering department, met with me on Friday. The city will replace the rocks and clean out a nearby storm sewer.  We all realized this is a band-aide solution.  The more complicated challenge involves how water flows down North Prospect Street leading to the Gardens. Most likely a new storm sewer is required.

Pictured here, along with me, are the intrepid and dedicated volunteers. Starting from the top left and moving to the right are Laura, Loren, Ken, Joyce, me, Bob and Ann N. My wife Ann took the picture. Beside weeding, she made and provided the scrumptious Pecan Tassies, which were so enjoyed during the break. Bob likes to joke that Ann's treats are the primary reason he volunteers.

A special thank you to all and an extra thank you goes to Bob.  Bob, better known as "mulch king", broke five ribs in a bike accident early this Spring. We welcomed him back while being concerned that he might be overdoing it. He assured us that was not the case.

 
Here's Joyce and Laura pulling weeds from the rocky slope of a section of the Gardens (on the Dudgeon Monroe side). The weeds are plentiful with their roots under the rocks. To the extend possible, the roots are dug out after lifting up the rocks.  I often refer to caring for the Prospect Gardens as "extreme gardening", meaning that because of the underlying rocks, extra effort is involved.

Here's Loren pulling weeds along the ditch line. Loren also volunteers at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. I feel grateful that he does both. Visiting Olbrich, at least once, is always on my summer "must do" list.

The UW Arboretum is another favorite, which I visited Sunday morning. I walked the 50 acre Greene Prairie, located south of the Beltline. Starting in 1933 and for the next approximately 15 years, Henry Greene and a few of his friends planted more than 12,000 seedlings and plants, and an unknown number of seeds, representing at least 133 species of plants including white ladyslipper, downy phlox, creamy wild indigo, rattlesnake master, showy blazingstar, compass plant, prairie dock and bottle gentian. His efforts remind me that Prospect Gardens is part of a larger Wisconsin tradition of reclaiming land affected by development. 

Here's the indestructible Bob.  Perhaps he's pondering the impact of his work given the quantity of weeds in the gardens and all the recent rain. He didn't ponder for long; returning back to the task at hand, shortly after I snapped the picture.

Pictured here are the results of our collective efforts; another large pile of of plant material.  I walked through the Gardens this morning, noticing that the city crew had already picked up the  pile. Thank you, Dan, for arranging the pickup and thank you to the crew who followed through.

Ann and I will be visiting friends in Minneapolis during the next several days. We indeed do other things and have a life besides gardening. However, I do joke that perhaps Ann and  I should build one of those charming tiny houses, so popular today. One would fit on the city property next to the Gardens. This could be our summer home. This fantasy will never see reality.