June is turning out to be an incredibly busy month as the weeds have gotten away from me and so much seems to have landed on my plate all at once. Three gardeners and a handful of volunteers are trying to keep up with CUH grounds on a half time schedule; it’s never enough and we’ve almost gotten used to the fact that not everything will get the attention it needs right away. It seems sad, almost pathetic, that a world class botanical institution can’t operate the way it should, but we’re not alone. With the recession affecting just about everybody, we’re trying to absorb the hit, but it’s not encouraging when we have to expect another staff reduction this year and next. It’s a tense and unpredictable time right now.

The budget cuts have certainly sapped our energies during a time where we should be out and marveling at the landscape that surrounds us. Everything is in full swing and everywhere you turn, you find something that catches your eye and/or nose. Check out our June plant profile.

Being short on time, I’ll let a few photographs speak for themselves. I hope they inspire you to come visit and maybe think about volunteering a little bit of your time to help us get caught up. There’s always something to do and always something new to learn!

See you in the gardens,

Riz

Speaking of “Blooms”…

Adrian Bloom, from Blooms of Bressingham, will be in town and UWBG will be sponsoring a lecture and book signing at Molbak’s that’s A MUST for hardcore perennial gardeners. I’m looking forward to meeting him in person and, hopefully, he’ll approve of our efforts. More more information about his talk, click here.