Spring Newsletter 2009

It's Spring In The Country!!

Find all the details on our Spring in the Country Open House!

Country Calendar
May 9 & 10
	Spring in the Country Open House Round up your gardening friends and visit In The Country for special Mother's Day weekend discounts and a chance to win a shopping spree!
June 10-14
	Midwest Regional Hosta Convention Champaign, IL We will be CLOSED June 10-14
June 20
	Hosta & Dessert Social Mingle with fellow hosta lovers while enjoying dessert in the hosta garden! Bring a plant if you'd like to participate in the Hosta Swap (1 pm sharp!). Test your hosta knowledge to win hosta prizes! Biggest hosta leaf contest and silent auction. See website or call for details.
June 23-29
	National Hosta Convention Lansing, MI We will be CLOSED June 23-29

Spring feels especially sweet this year after another bitterly cold, snowy winter! The garden is a peaceful escape in a world that seems to be over flowing with problems. We have a busy season ahead filled with many new surprises and we can’t wait to see you, or gardening friends, again!

Annuals

Ptilotus Joey Ptilotus ‘Joey’ (let’s just call him ‘Joey’!) is a hot new annual from Australia. The mound of thick, green foliage blooms all summer with spikes of pink flowers that look like a cross between cockscomb and an ornamental grass. Amazingly beautiful, easy to grow in hot, dry sun, and unlike anything you’ve ever seen! You will also find an exciting selection of succulents this year. Succulents are super easy to grow and lots of fun to use in containers and bowl gardens. Check out some of our fun succulent plantings for creative ideas!

Vegetables

Veggie gardens are all over the news this spring, as a popular way to save on your grocery bill. Even the President is planting a veggie garden at the White House! In addition to veggie transplants, try one of our Salad Bowls. Not only are the different types of lettuce and other greens very pretty, but the bowls can be harvested several times for fresh, home-grown salads!

Hostas

Hosta Empress Wu ‘Empress Wu’ is a giant with huge green leaves over 24” long that can form a towering mound up to 4 1/2 feet tall. Likely the largest hosta in existence!

Everyone has been anxiously waiting to get their hands on the adorable variegated sports of ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ and they are finally here! If you love ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ (and who doesn’t?!), you will adore ‘Cat and Mouse’, ‘Frosted Mouse Ears’, and ‘Holy Mouse Ears’.

Other exciting, new hostas include ‘Mango Tango’ - a colorful chartreuse and yellow plant that is comparable to a reverse ‘Stitch in Time’, ‘Trifecta’ – a flashy little plant that has tri-colored leaves of white, chartreuse, and deep green, and ‘Dixie Chickadee’, whose white-centered leaves are speckled with green.

Hosta 'Mango Tango'

Hosta 'Trifecta'

The Hostapedia

At last! This is the highly anticipated follow up to Mark Zilis' original book, The Hosta Handbook. Much has happened in the world of hostas since Zilis' initial publication and The Hostapedia will no doubt become the must-have resource for hosta fanatics world wide.

Over 7400 hosta descriptions listed A-Z
1120 pages & over 1800 color photos
Complete index of hosta names
Most definitive work on hostas in print

Hosta of the Year – 'Earth Angel'

'Earth Angel' was one of the first margined sports discovered of Hosta 'Blue Angel'. The heart-shaped blue leaves can easily surpass 14 inches long and the wide, often irregular creamy-yellow margin can be more than 2 inches wide. Hosta 'Earth Angel' forms a massive clump at least 5 feet across in just a few years. As with the entire 'Blue Angel' family, the leaves are sturdy enough to hold up all season long. Near white flowers hover just above the foliage in mid summer. See our article Hosta 'Earth Angel' - 2009 Hosta of the Year for more details on this hosta.

Perennials

Heuchera Electra Tree Peonies are unusual, shrub-like cousins to the popular garden peonies. Many gardeners are surprised to learn that Tree Peonies grow great in Iowa! In early spring, 'Sahohime' Tree Peony blooms with enormous, ruffled white flowers. Heucheras (Coral Bells) continue to be all the rage and we have several new ones this year. Heuchera ‘Hercules’ has green leaves splattered with white, ‘Berry Smoothie’ has yummy, rosy-purple leaves, and Heuchera ‘Electra’ has vivid yellow foliage with blood-red veins. Among other new perennials, Brunnera 'Spring Yellow' makes a bright addition to the shade garden. Its cheery, yellow foliage really shows off the clouds of baby-blue flowers.

Water Gardening

Taro Diamond Head Taros are a favorite water garden plant. The big, colorful “elephant ear” leaves add a bold, tropical feel to the pond. We are excited to have three of the new Royal Hawaiian taros this spring. ‘Diamond Head’ has glossy, black leaves, ‘Hilo Bay’ has deep green, puckered leaves, and ‘Pineapple Princess’ has leaves that start out yellow-green and become flushed with purple as they age. These Taros love the water, but grow great in the garden, as well! Carnivorous plants are those strange, bug eating plants that we have all heard of, but know little about. We have an assortment of Pitcher Plants, Venus Fly Traps, and Sundews and they are all bog dwellers. We’ll be happy to tell you all about them and guess what...they are easy to grow and look so cool!

Important Dates for Pond Owners

May 2

Water Hyacinths & Water Lettuce available

June 6

Tropical Water Lilies available

Gardener’s Touch Hand Cream

Last summer we were presented with a unique opportunity to develop an exclusive new hand cream for gardeners. Gardener’s Touch Hand Cream is professionally formulated for the frequent skin issues gardeners struggle with every day. Gone are the days of uncomfortable and painful dry, chapped, cracked and irritated skin! Gardener’s Touch is available in 8 ounce tubes and 16 ounce jars. On your next visit, be sure to ask for a sample. You will notice an immediate difference!