Spread It, Vertical It, Trim It, Fill It and Please DON'T Step Through It

 What a rollercoaster its been over the last few weeks with our work here at Glen Echo. This week we're reaching the peak and heading down the biggest drop. All of our grounds responsibilities are coming together to start all at once but our staff along with some pretty good weather I must say are knocking it out of the park with a couple twisty loops in between.

SPREAD IT

The pandemic has created some shipping issues with parts in repairing some of our needed pieces of equipment. Our spreader is down and with the onset of warmer weather our zoysia is hungry and ready to move a bit so we borrowed a spreader from the best Super I know, my brother and spread a couple tons on our fairways over the past couple of days. Little more spreading to do as well with a little nitrogen to go into the roughs to push a little energy into them for the summer stress period. Oh what a challenge it will be playing from it over the next few weeks! Hit em straight.

https://youtu.be/pXnd4mWMpLg

VERTICAL IT

Did a little vertical mowing on our greens the last couple of days. Its normally completed a little earlier in the season but timing has not been where I wanted.  You say vertical, what do you mean? Well, allow me a moment to explain. Greens mowers have a piece of metal that stretches across the ground and stands the turf up and the blades then come through and cut it off. We are talking about a setting of about 1/8" maximum which is about 30 sheets of typing paper. Pretty thin. Below are pictures of a normal mowing reel and a vertical mowing reel.

Regular mower with a straight bar across the bottom that stands the blades up and anything above the top of the bar gets cut by the spinning blade.

The vertical mower cuts down into the surface of the green. 37 blades across 20" spaced at about 5/8" apart. Its purpose is to cut any bent grass in its line that have bent over and grown laterally which is its nature.

Our vertical mowing only goes about 3/8" deep helps to manage the bent grass in the manner that I anticipate. We went front to back on Tuesday and today we went the opposite direction and made what appears to be a checker board pattern across the greens to insure we could cut many of the longest blades. Tuesday we did a light sand topdressing behind the vertical mower than brushed and mowed. Today we only brushed behind the vertical cut and mowed. The disruption of the surface lasts a few days but I would anticipate by this weekend the greens should be at their normal roll out.

https://studio.youtube.com/video/eIUkyFNgzjw/edit

  The arrow on the left is pointing to the shorter lime green poa annua.We have reduced its competitiveness with a growth regulator called Paclobutrazol in an effort to encourage the bent grass to out grow it. The arrow on the right/middle is pointing to bent grass plants which if you look at the length of their overall leaves are 3 to 4 times longer than the poa and much wider blades as well. We don't vertical very often because it can reduce the competitive advantage bent grass has over poa but a cut like this can stimulate growth of the bent and force it to push out more leaves from the crown(growth center of the plant). Ultimately it improves ball roll out for future rounds of golf. Now you can go to a depth of an inch or more but that's usually done much earlier in the season to allow for proper healing. Scheduling had not allowed us to get this process completed in the last few weeks but the timing of the cool down over the next few days works perfectly for this cultural practice. 

 

TRIMMING IT

The staff have been hitting the property with trimmers attempting to get all trees, fence lines and other structures trimmed up over the last couple of weeks. They are weekly trimming and hover mowing our bunker banks which is usually a 6-7 hour job for 3-4 people. Once the heat of summer arrives, there is a bit less growth which saves some time. 

FILL IT

Our grounds detail work as we've mentioned in the past are our tennis courts and pool. Continued clean up including painting the asphalt  area and getting the shade structure painted and cleaned. Cleaning  stored away furniture and existing furniture that overwintered at the pool. Becky's been hard at work getting the urns filled and the giant hanging baskets placed at the pool. Touch up painting of the pergola and attaching the sunshade to its roof all in a days work for our staff. 

 We removed some hanging baskets from the Pro Shop front area and have added some new baskets to the Field Bar. Becky planted those last week with Caladium, Sun Patiens, Asprargus Fern and Coleus. Six in total. Should be a good look this season.

 

Please DON'T STEP ON IT

Speaking of Becky and the work she does comes the last but not least of our blog. We have a couple of ornamental plantings that are in some high traffic areas, especially around the pro shop. They were put in place over the years to give a great back drop to our closing hole and to give cart and walking traffic a defined area to walk and or drive around. Last weekend, I happened to be up around the pro shop and saw with my very own eyes people walking directly through the bed area. 

Our walk on and walk off area at the practice green was an embarrassment for me and we have made great strides in improving this area. We improved the soil structure and increased the irrigation to small directed heads for this walk off area. We also placed stakes and roping that can be moved to spread the wear and tear. Every foot print through the ornamental bed compacts the area and does not allow water to penetrate properly and damages plants. We appreciate you walking a few extra feet to protect the work our staff has spent many hours completing.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your time and hopefully you get out and see  us over the next few days.

Greenhouse Plant Sale Tomorrow Saturday May 7th

Greenhouse Plant Sale will be tomorrow, Saturday May 7th from 9-11 at the maintenance building below the first tee box. Becky will be here to help with your selections for this year. All plants can be charged to your account in the usual manner. Some but not all of the plants in the picture will be available based on Becky's needs for the course this season. She is just beginning to plant on property.

Rejuvinated Ornamental Bed Next to Clubhouse Almost Ready For Plants

First, quick announcement. Annual plant sale will be on Saturday May 7th from  9-11 at the maintenance building. We won't have every plant available for sale that is in the greenhouse now but we will have a nice cross section of plants available. Your plants can be charged in the usual manner as you do your other purchases at the club.

Its taken us a couple of weeks to get the bubble bed near ready for planting for Becky but we are close. I like to have slightly raised beds for the following reasons; It provides for better drainage and helps to separate the bed from the surrounding turf area. Our process included the following

•  Dig up the old plants and spray out some of the creeping plants
•  Till the existing bed
•  Dig up the sprinkler heads so they can be raised
•  Haul in new topsoil to raise the level of the bed
•  Place a layer of black gold compost over the top
•  Till it all up again, heads raised, plants removed
•  All that's left is to smooth it out and install the plants

The old bed planted at what is now ground level

Plants ripped out, dug out

Soil hauled in and you can see hole in foreground from sprinkler head area. Probably hauled in about 10 yards of soil, around one dump truck load. Individual piles at a time which had to be hand spread.

How that make it in there. LadyBug in the early days at Glen Echo when she would get fired up, grab a stick, fling it in the air and run around like a crazy girl

Black gold on top of the bed and raised grad of the bed

Finish tilling in the compost and mixing soil together. Need to clean up the edges, smooth out the soil so that surface water will drain from the building out onto the turf area.

Weather Stats for March, Water Line Repair/Cart Path Repair, Ornamental Bed Rejuvenation and More

The very nice weather stats for March.

MONTHLY RECORDS

9TH WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD

TIED 2ND LEAST NUMBER OF OCCURRENCES OF MINIMUM TEMPERATURE LESS
THAN OR EQUAL TO 32 DEGREES

DAILY RECORDS

3/8...RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 63 PREVIOUSLY 62 IN 1974

3/15...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 82 PREVIOUSLY 81 IN 2012

Temperature
                                    Observed      Normal Value    Departure from Normal  Last Year

High                                 62.5                   55.9                           6.6                            57.2
Low                                  43.6                   36.6                           7.0                            35.6
Average                            53.0                  46.3                            6.7                           46.4

Precipitation

Rainfall                             2.29"                3.32"                        -1.03"                       3.0"

Snowfall                              .3"                  2.3"                          -2.0"                          .6"



The short range grass tee is now open. Long range tee will be another week or so. Short range tee is built on sand which allows it to warm quicker and begin growing and repairing itself a little faster. Long range also sits in a hole and its definitely colder down here but it is looking good.

The staff repaired the water line for the water fountain on #14 yesterday. The leak was directly in the middle of the cart path. They cut the asphalt out and were able to locate the leak about 15" underground and made the repairs pretty quickly.

Tom and Jason down to the dirt.

Leaking metal line on the right side of the picture.

Skip touching up the new asphalt patch.

Russ packing and smoothing the newly laid asphalt.

At the top of hill of #7 about 50 yards from the green  significant bump that developed over the last year or so in the cart path. The boys cut out the asphalt and patched the area to make it smooth again. Also at the main road and 7 cart path, we have had the little path blocked off that goes up the right side of the hole. We are eliminating this cart road because of the wear and tear it creates at the beginning and up the right side of the fairway for at least 50 yards. Excessive cart traffic weakens the zoysia. We used the asphalt saw to cut a small walk path for our walking golfers to continue to use. We will be picking up the asphalt next week and will fill the area with soil and fescue sod next week. We will be placing Ornamental wood stakes with rope along the main road to block cart traffic from entering this area. We are requesting that carts use the left path and then cross the fairway. 

Russ tamping the new repair on hole 7.

Finished

The arrows point to the new path that will be for walkers only. Rope and stakes will be used to direct carts to the left path on #7 near the red tee. Excessive wear at the beginning of the fairway from cart traffic is the reason for the changes.

Becky has designed a new planting scheme for the Bubble Ornamental Bed. The existing bed was a bit overgrown and tired and was in need of some attention. I pulled the plant material out today, we will be tilling the area, adding soil, changing the shape of the bed, adjusting irrigation as needed, till in compost for the new bed and plant it all hopefully within the next week. Some of the perennials she planned are still growing in the greenhouse and will be delayed in their installation until they are mature enough to plant.

Plants removed and now empty.

You will notice some additional sod work was completed by the staff early this week. Areas repaired include the drive off near 8 green just short of the bunker. The left fairway bunker on #5 needed some replacement. There was an area to the ornamental planting as you come down the hill toward the first tee. Trees have been removed in this area but rough mowers and roughed up this spot pretty significantly over the last few years. This area had soil added and new sod. A few other spots were completed as well like the walk off area near 17. We used 480 yards of fescue sod in the last 2 weeks. 

Fairways and all tees were mowed early in the week. Yes it will be cold Friday night but I don't expect the temperatures will be cold enough to stop the green growth in our warm season grass.

Greens continue to heal but these cold temperatures have not done us any favors. I did roll a few balls on the putting green today and our ball roll is improving noticeably since we have been able to mow a couple of times this week. We mowed and rolled today and will roll the greens again in the morning if the frost stays away and greens aren't damp. Warmer temperatures next week with early week rain should continue to move them in the right direction.

Leaking Water Line, Sod Laying, Mulch Spreading, Zoysia Grass Greenup, and Stump Sodding Oh My!

A number of items to cover as we go into this weekend. The weather has been really kind to us with average temperatures 6-7 degrees above normal for March. That means our warm season grass has awakened early this year. Normally we mow fairways around the 20th of April give or a take a few days. Might be a little early this year but will evaluate a little further early next week. No promises but we are looking at it closely.

The staff noticed the other day a water stream above the 14th tee water fountain. Skip has investigated and believes the leak is coming from under the cart path. Sure, lets make it real difficult. We plan to cut the cart path next week and dig up the leak. The line feeds the water fountain on 14 so it is shutoff for now. Sorry for the inconvenience.

The view looking down from the cart path on 14 tee. Red dots are the water line. We believe the water line is leaking from under the path. Water line comes from Lucas & Hunt. It feeds the Field Bar, goes cross country to the pro shop and to our building. This was the original water line that fed the old clubhouse at the tennis courts.

Free is always good when it comes to our department. We try to think of ways of doing things that do not require additional expenditure. One of these ways is using oak chips from the tree trimming and of course when an oak is dropped we chip those limbs as well. Its not the fanciest mulch but it works well enough in our shrub style beds like along Wallingford Drive along the short range and especially #9 Woodland Garden. We would probably need another thousand dollar load of regular mulch if we used it on these areas. Along with mulching comes continued removal of sweetgum balls. Alphonso worked all day today on about 8 different trees picking up and hauling away gumballs.

Nice sized pile for us to use. You would be surprised how quickly it goes.  Latrell and Randy spreading product along Wallingford.

The staff spent most of the day Wednesday and part of the morning on Thursday sodding the ground stump areas on the course. We still have a few spots that we will seed in the next few days. 

This worked involved hauling dirt which was discussed the week before, packing it and then cutting out the edges and laying the sod. I will circle these areas in the next couple of days to allow you for a free drop from this new sod as well as warning you when driving your carts so that you will not drive over the top of them. It will take a few weeks for them to become solid and to become fully rooted.

Becky came up with the idea to make some additional planters out on the course from the hollowed trees that were removed this winter like she has been using at the Field Bar the last few years. Should be a colorful addition to a few tees on the course this season.

                                                        10 tee with 3 new planters

Last but not least. Greens are healing well from aeration. They were brushed and rolled today after Wednesday evenings rain. We don't do much to them except brush and roll when they are dry. 

11 days since our first and 4 days since the second. If they grow enough over the next few days, we will put a mow to them next mid-week. Biggest issue effecting growth is the fact that we are in the middle of growth regulator time because of seed head development as well as trying to keep the poa annua in a stunted position with another regulator.Yes the greens are a little extra sandy but as they begin to grow through the sand this should give us some excellent smoothness to our surfaces. I would expect the greens to be in great condition for opening day coming up next Saturday for the Men and the following Tuesday for our Ladies.

How Does Your Garden Grow? Very Nicely I Must Say Here At Glen Echo

How does your garden grow is a presentation taking place this Saturday by our very own horticulturist Becky Edwards. Becky does outstanding work on our grounds and will give here insight into her work at Glen Echo. She will provide you with professional advice on how to transition what she does at Glen Echo to your landscape and or patio at home. I know my bride will want me to pay close attention since I need to finish off the front landscape of our home.

Sounds like its going to be a wet week with not much work being able to be accomplished outside. Come to the club and have some lunch before and a glass of wine or cocktail during the event or lunch at the end whichever you prefer.             

Please sign up on the club website so we can plan for proper seating for this event. 

Greenhouse Plant Sale

Little slow on the trigger this season but our greenhouse plant sale will be on Saturday, May 9th from 9-11 a.m. at the maintenance building. We will have a few more perennials available this season and some other plants for you to add to your patio or landscape. For our newer members, most folks walk away with15-20 plants or more to fill some pots or a planting bed. Most products will be in 4" pots.  Plants are only available during the sale. We are in the process of moving plants out of the greenhouse to harden off as we prepare to plant. Plants will be sitting out and are not set out for purchase or removal without authorization.  We will charge your account in the usual manner as your other purchases at the club. Proceeds from this event help to support the horticulture program at our club which is continueing to expand with the hard work of our horticulturist Becky Edwards.

Why do we take the time to grow our own products some might ask? There are a number of reasons;

• We save money and cash is king for us at this time. It does take labor to pot the materials but we are already here working. Yes there is some water and heating costs but we purchase material at extremely low prices based even on wholesale pricing if we bought them already grown from a local nursery.
• We are able to purchases varietys of plants that local growers do not grow. Unique and different plants are not available at most local growers. They produce for the masses and you are stuck with what they grow.
• In the end, I like to grow plants. Well, Becky grows the plants now but our group is willing to take on any task that we can to help with improving your experience at the club.When you bring guests to the club, a majority of the plantings that you will see were grown from a very small size. I think many of you take pride in these efforts made on your behalf.

We are adding more work to Becky's plate this season with 7 new flower boxes on the Verandah with almost 40' of planting space on this great outdoor space at our club. We also decided to remove the strip of grass between the champions reserved parking and Mr. Ott's Clock. As mentioned in an earlier blog, the holly bushes along the parking lot were severly compromised in the winter of 2014.
We also expaned the plantings off of the main patio and the planting at 13 tee was new from late last summer. We've also added some plant material along the 6 green cart path which she will be monitoring.

Most of the plants in the pictures came from plugs but we have brought some partially grown material in to use for our pots and planters.

Middle view.

Some additional material. Becky reduced her overall purchases this season with the addition of some perennials which will be added to some of our spaces reducing the need of repeated annual installs.

That time of year, Deep-tine aeration planned for this Monday, October 26th.

In an effort to not disrupt ball roll out in the late summer/early fall, I delay greens aeration until the end of October.  Well, that day has arrived.  We will begin our greens aeration late Sunday afternoon 5 p.m. and throughout the day on Monday.  This process will involve the use of a heavy topdressing of our greens with sand, our Verti-drain deep tine aerator will then poke 9" deep 1/2" holes in our greens, a green profile builder with micronutrient package will be applied, blowing and brushing the sand in the holes and a final roll.  We will probably delay mowing greens for a few days to allow the sand to settle and the greens to growth through the sand layer.  I would expect to begin dry mowing late next week.  Within 10-14 days with the good weather predicted they should be back to normal.
We usually are not able to complete all of the greens in one day but will make every effort to complete as many as possible.  If we receive rain on Tuesday, we will leave the remaining greens until it is dry enough to complete.  Hopefully, this would only be maybe 16-18.  I will keep you updated on the blog and twitter on our progress so check out the twitter feed on the side of the blog main page.

This will also be the last weekend for practice off of the zoysia short range tee.  The zoysia has quit growing and any damage/divots made now will not heal.  In an effort to protect it from winter injury and delayed green up next season, we will be placing all stands on the mats beginning next Tuesday.  Your cooperation in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

The staff have been busy with leaf clean up this week from our Ash, Maple, Cottonwood and other early leaf dropping trees.  Two blowers, two rough mowers, 3-4 backpacks have been out regularly cleaning up playing areas.  Some days by the end of the day it appears that we have not done anything but that is our life in dealing with excess trees.   The real work will begin in a couple weeks when the Oaks begin to drop.

This is the last week for two of our seasonal employees Deron and Sam who have done a great job their first year out on the course.  Randy will be here the first week of November and will be laid off for the season as well.  Nick and Becky will be leaving at the end of November.  Great work as well.

Becky is busy with installing new plants in our beds for next spring with Pansies, Tulips and installation of new material in the two beds off of the patio area of the clubhouse.

Cool season tees, 2,3,10,11,14 were solid tine aerated as were the collars and cool season approaches of our greens.  Holes provide new areas for root growth, oxygen exchanged and compaction relief. Also provides water to penetrate and water to evaporate as nececcary for that particular area.

Ornamental Planting expansion behind clubhouse

The rear of the clubhouse is always a focus for our wedding parties and group gatherings here at
Glen Echo.  We have a couple of nice ornamental beds that are away from the building but they are to small to have four seasons of interest.  We are in the process of expanding the beds over the next few weeks.

Becky will be designing it with plants that will flower during the three growing seasons and will also have some architectural interest during the winter.  Becky ripped out the existing plants yesterday and has formed a new border.  I sprayed with a backpack selective and non-selective weed killer to reduce the competition of the bermuda grass.  We will strip out this material next week and will add soil, compost, expand the irrigation and it plants will be installed.  She will be adding more plants next spring and of course will have some splash of annuals for color next summer as well.

Light not the greatest but bed looked really good this season.

Plants removed and new outline with spray marking the area.

Very nice planting next to scoreboard but a little small.  Expanded border will allow for some structure to be placed in it  for off season interest.

Members entrance bed

As you walk into the members entrance, there is a bed to the left that was planted with ivy and vinca vine. Before construction of this area in 2012, there was an invasive weed that created issues for us.  When the beds were reworked, the weed of course was still alive.  It came up with a vengeance this season.  Too many to hand pull because once you pulled out one plant, vegetative parts were still in the ground which would then sprout.

We decided to spray over the top to chemically kill the weed.  It will probably ding the vines slightly but they should recover.

Becky allowed the weed to grow over the ivy and then lightly sprayed the weeds.

Mulching woodland garden area

Last week, the staff spread the chipped mulch in the 9 woodland garden area.  We had placed it there a couple of weeks before, expecting some potentially heavy rain days but did not receive the expected rains, at least when the staff was on the clock.  This product was chipped from all oak trees that were either pruned or removed this past year.  It is a free product and saves us a significant amount of money each season.  It has good color and will hold it color long into the season since it is all oak.

View from the road with the Dawn Redwood 'Raven' in front.

A little closer view toward 9 green.

Greenhouse Tour/Plant Sale May 10th

A little tour of the greenhouse.  Plant sale is scheduled for May 10th from 9-11 a.m. at the maintenance building which is below the first tee.  Enough room to drive your cars down and park in our lot.  Not sure of all the varieties that will be available but Becky should have a nice group of plants for purchase. Your account may be billed in the normal manner.

An end to the Summer Ornamental Season

I love the weather of fall because our golf course is usually in great shape.  It also is an opportunity to see the final displays of color from our ornamental plantings which were outstanding this season.  A little slow at the start from the cold wet weather but everything looked great throughout the property by mid-season.  From what I heard, the ornamental peach tree at the field bar was a big talking point from a number of members.

Becky started the process of removing the ornamental plantings from this summer's displays over the last couple of weeks.  The frost of last week took care of the remaining beds that were displaying great color.   She has been planting fall material in the pots at the entrances, patio and pro shop. She's also busy planting in various high profile beds for some fall display as well as early to mid-spring color.  Becky has also brought in a 1000 new bulbs for planting in various areas as well.

New plantings along the flag pole bed.  Ornamental grasses, pansies, and Mums.

Tulips, daffodils and a few other surprises for next spring.

#9 Woodland Garden

The area on #9 dam which is a part of the woodland garden has been over run this year with a large crop of winter annuals including henbit and chickweed.  We have sprayed most of this area with roundup, broad leaf weed killer and preemergent.  We will then mulch it with our oak chipped mulch as soon as the weather dries enough for us to haul the material to the sight without creating significant ruts.  To prevent this outbreak next season, we will have to pre-emerge this area in the early fall to prevent the annuals from emerging.

Our little corner of Augusta National

Late blooming this season is what I call our little corner of Augusta National, next to the 7th tee.  The Azaleas are in bloom as is the Flowering Dogwood and the Japanese Maple's color is a vibrant deep red.  I believe this is the only spot on the property with azaleas, one of my favorite plants.

  Could be that the first house that our family owned when I was about 3 was one my grandfather built on Azalea Lane in Cape.  He built the one across the street which gave me the opportunity to see him daily and have coffee breaks.  Loved those times.

  Notice the larger light purple azalea.  This plant was dug up from the old mound in front of the clubhouse last winter in the area of the Pierson Plaza.  Quite remarkable that the plant survived the transplant and last season's extreme weather.  I know Mr Pierson would marvel at its blooming during his walks each spring.  A little heavenly intervention I'm sure took place to help this plant.

Mulch has arrived

This season, we are using a dyed brown mulch from St. Louis Composting on all of our ornamental beds on the property.  Becky Edwards, our horticulturist began the pain staking shoveling yesterday and a couple of other staff members assisted her today in front of the clubhouse.  We will be spreading about 80 yards of mulch hopefully only once this season.  The mulch is important to help retain moisture and keep the root systems insulated from extremes in temperatures.

Becky hates her picture being taken but oh well!  One scoop at a time is a lot of spreading.

The finished bed in the background.  The intensity of the green lawn and brown mulch make the plantings stand out and our beautiful clubhouse.

Ornamental plants 2013, potting day

About 2,800 of our plants for this upcoming season arrived yesterday in 5 large boxes.  20 degrees this morning so a great time to stay inside and place all of our plants in their growing pots.  Becky attended the Green Centre Conference in early January at Americas Center and found a source for bulk potting mix while in attendance.  Last season, we spent about $ 550 on smaller bags of potting mix.  By locating the large tote bags of potting mix from a local supplier, our cost will be about $ 250.  Our $ 100 conference fee for Becky was money well spent with this cost savings that we will begin to see on a yearly basis.

We have a production line going on in the shop right now.  Our potting plan includes a pot loading table that places the soil in the pots.  The second table places the plants into the pot and covers the roots.  We will move the plants out into the greenhouse later today when the temperatures moderate.  In about 6 weeks or so, the plants will be ready to go out on the golf course.

Becky removed the plants from their boxes and checked out their condition.  They were kept in the break room overnight which kept them in a warm spot.

The large tote bags of potting mix.  We will be using at least 3 of these which is about 1 cubic yard of material per bag.

Pot filling in the foreground and placing plants in the pots in the background.  Nervous day for Becky getting her babies planted properly and placed into the warmth of the greenhouse.

Finished plants waiting to go into the greenhouse.

Horticulture 2012

I've asked Becky Edwards, our club horticulturist to do a guest blog this week on the plantings that were completed this season on the grounds.  For those of you that are home gardeners, you know how challenging this year was trying to keep your plants alive from the severe heat and drought.  Becky has done an exceptional job with our landscape plantings this year from the ordering and growing of the plants that took place at the end of winter and early spring to the new plantings in front of the clubhouse as a part of the Pierson Memorial project.  This does not include the planting of all the material as well as the extra hand-watering that takes place, as well as managing the weed population, etc........................


Hooray for rain (it only took a hurricane)!  We're all very thankful (plants, people & wildlife) for the respite, regardless of the source.  I've taken a few photos of some of the plants/plant combinations that seemed to have thrived in our less than idyllic climate this summer. Also included are plants that I frequently get asked about by members, staff & guests. I've taken some of your great suggestions for plantings & always welcome your plant success/crisis stories/questions!

Variegated Tapioca tree underplanted w/pink Dragon Wing begonias

Dwarf Fountain Palm w/double impatiens

Purple Fountain grass 'Princess Caroline' w/Pink Pentas

Colocasia esculenta (giant elephant ear) Could be enough roughage in just 1 of those ears for your weekly  dietary fiber allowance.

Upright Elephant Ears with Double Pink Impatiens

Improved pool entrance beds include Cannas, Elephant ears, Lamb's ears, Coreopsis, Oakleaf  Hydrangeas, Boltonia 'Jim Crockett'

Improved parking lot bed includes 'Adagio' ornamental grass, Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita', Coreopsis 'Creme Brulee' & Boltonia 'Jim Crockett'

Pool urn plantings: 'Pretty Much Picasso' Petunias, Calibrachoas, dwarf  banana trees and  Perilla magilla

Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons' paired happily w/ 'Karl Foerster' Ornamental grasses

A tropical look to the patio lawn area w/variegated red banana trees, cannas, lantana & 'Hot  Lips' salvia

Front of Clubhouse new permanent plantings getting a boost from some annuals like Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' & Angelonia in multi colors.

The new
Bonfire Patio Peach tree underplanted w/several pink shades of Lantana @ the  Field Bar

Lantana in all its glory - BRING ON THE HEAT!

Lantana paired w/variegated ginger

A new bed for 2012 on Hole #13! The plants loved the leaf much amendments that the crew added before installation.
Plants include: 'Thailand Giant' Elephant Ear, Pentas, Hawaiian snow bush, Lantana, Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita'  Zinnias 'Tequila Lime' & 'Queen Red Lime' (excuse the powdery mildew), 'Marguerite' sweet potato vine, dwarf bananas, Angelonia & Perilla magilla.

Improved plantings @ the women's tee box on #9 include perennial Hibiscus 'Luna Rose', Castor Bean, Cannas,  Perovskia, Coreopsis, & 'Princess Caroline' Purple Fountain Grass

Hibiscus 'Luna Rose' seem happy acclimating to their new home on Hole #9