Fall/Winter 2014 Newsletter

Dear Garden Friends,

This time of year is always a little bittersweet. It is never enjoyable seeing the lush hostas turn shades of gold and brown, as they get tired and drift off to sleep. The work of getting the garden and nursery ready for winter is definitely not as fun as getting ready for spring. We also dread the cold and snow that is sure to arrive sooner than later.

Yet, in order to get back to the exciting, fresh, and beautiful spring season, we must make the most of winter. After all, a little downtime will be nice, after running full speed ahead for the past six months!

There are many great memories as we look back on the past season, but the highlight has to be having the American Hosta Society National Convention in Cedar Rapids in June. Imagine...the biggest hosta event in the world, nearly in our backyard!

In the days before and after the convention, we were honored to have many luminaries in the hosta world visit. We are fortunate to not only be able to learn from them, but to also call them friends. An experience we won't soon forget!

In September we welcomed a bus full of enthusiastic gardeners from the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society, based out of Madison, Wisconsin. It was late in the season and the hostas were beginning to look tired, but the group seemed to enjoy themselves and found plenty to buy! We hope some of them will visit again, earlier in the season. Visit our In The Country Facebook page and scroll through the photos to see more pictures of the fun we had over the summer.

If you follow the hosta world closely, you no doubt heard the unsettling news of two hosta wholesale growers closing their doors this season. Shady Oaks Nursery, located in Waseca, Minnesota, closed in June. Q&Z Nursery, located in Rochelle, Illinois, closed suddenly this fall. These two nurseries have primarily been responsible for bringing the dozens and dozens of new hostas to the market every year for the past 20+ years. The hosta industry in the United States now has a huge void in the supply chain.

The result will not be apparent in the retail trade until 2016. Both nurseries dumped a huge number of plants on the market at ridiculously low prices during their going-out-of-business sales. There will be plenty of hostas available in 2015, but I predict you will notice far fewer new hostas beginning in 2016.

Hosta 'Country Melody' - hybridized by Don Dean and available exclusively from In The Country.

Do not fear, fellow hostaholics! We are saddened to see these iconic nurseries close their doors, but we are committed to bringing you innovative, exciting new hostas for many years to come. Not only will we continue to work with our network of growers, but we have slowly been developing our own hybridizing program. We are also working with several of our hybridizer friends to introduce some of their creations. We are very excited about what the future holds.

Our 2015 schedule is already filling up, so if your club or group would like to visit or if you would like Josh to speak at an event, please don't hesitate to contact us soon.

Before we enter our winter slumber, please join us November 14-16 for our Christmas in the Country Open House. It will be a weekend filled with the warmth of friends, family, and the festive season ahead. If you have only visited during the gardening season, you are in for a treat as we transform the shop into a cozy winter wonderland. Start your holiday season with us!

For those of you already thinking ahead to spring, we will be updating our website in November with our 2015 catalog of hostas and companion plants. Watch for it and let your spring wish list begin!

Thank you so much for your support and friendship! We look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,
Josh & Sue

Photo by www.kaylynhoskins.com