Here we are, caught up in the whirlwind of spring! It is hard to believe that May is over. It has been a cool spring and June is off to a cool start, as well. Many plants are a week or two behind schedule, including the iris which are just now coming into bloom. No doubt, one of these days summer will arrive. Until then, the pleasant temperatures make gardening work more comfortable.

We kick started spring a little early In The Country with two workshops in late April. April 18th was our Succulent Garden Workshop and what a fun morning we had!! It was gray and cool outdoors, but warm and spring-like in the greenhouse where we were surrounded by green! Everyone’s succulent garden turned out perfect in their own unique way. See the Succulent Garden Workshop gallery for pictures of everyone’s creations.

On April 25th we explored the bizarre world of bug-eating carnivorous plants. The chilly, wet day didn’t dampen everyone’s enthusiasm to learn about growing Pitcher Plants, Sundews, Venus Flytraps, and Butterworts. Both kids and adults were fascinated to see firsthand how these plants capture bugs. For pictures, see the Carnivorous Plant Bog Bowl Workshop gallery.

Mother’s Day weekend was our annual Spring in the Country Open House. The weekend was cool and breezy, but we were swamped with customers! By Saturday evening, we weren’t sure we would even make it out of bed the next morning, but a good night sleep revived us (somewhat…) for another busy day. It was enjoyable to see so many friends after the long, frigid winter. A great big thank you to everyone who made our Open House such a success! We are greatly appreciative for a couple special friends who helped out Saturday. I’m pretty sure Char and Deanna didn’t know what they were getting into, but we could not have done it without them…THANK YOU!

Every year it seems like the garden wakes up earlier than the last. This spring was no exception and we spotted the first hostas popping up in late April. Quite risky, considering our average last frost date is May 15th! Amazingly, we made it through with virtually no frost to speak of, but the night of May 16th was too close for comfort. That morning the forecasted low was 34*F and we were not planning to cover anything. By late afternoon, the forecast had been lowered to 28*…that was cause for concern! After an unplanned trip to town to find enough covering materials, we covered as much as we could. A few uncovered hostas in the lowest area of the shadehouse got lightly nipped, but the vast majority made it unscathed. Whew!

We are very pleased, but also a bit overwhelmed with the growing mail order portion of our business. We are still working on shipping orders placed over the winter and early spring, but are nearly caught up. To those who have ordered from us, we appreciate your patience and hope you find the plants were worth the wait! If you are still waiting to receive your order, I assure you we have not forgotten you. Your plants should arrive in the next two to three weeks…at most.

Now that we are well into the growing season, it is pretty safe to say there were some unexpected winter casualties. The winter was not kind to many of the potted hostas we attempted to over winter. We had good luck the previous winter with the same method. It is discouraging to lose so many plants and we are sorry to those hosta lovers who were looking forward to something we lost. Also shocking was the death of the Twisty Baby Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Lace Lady’) in the display garden. This small, contorted tree caught the eye of many visitors in the 6-8 years it was here. A garden is constantly changing and evolving and I guess this is part of the game. I will be the first to admit it is fun to try new plants…now I have a good excuse to try a few more!

The month of May is always a whirlwind, but this year June is going to be even crazier. Sunday, June 7 I am speaking at the Dubuque Arboretum’s annual Hosta Festival. The day will be filled with a plant sale, auction, my presentation on new hostas, and lots of time to admire the amazing hosta collection at the Arboretum. I’ve never been to the Hosta Fest, so I’m excited about the opportunity!

June 11-14 we will be in Champaign, Illinois at the Midwest Regional Hosta Convention. Please note that we will be closed during these dates.

The following Saturday, June 20, is our Hosta & Dessert Social. We are especially excited to debut an exclusive new introduction - Hosta ‘Baja White’. This Japanese plant was brought into the United States by Mark Zilis several years ago. You’ll want to be sure to stop out during the Social to get your ‘Baja White’…numbers are limited!

Just a couple days later we are off to Lansing, Michigan for the National Hosta Convention. Again, we will be closed during this time - June 23-29.

By the time July rolls around, we’re going to need a vacation!