Last gasps of Winter 2007

Hello - there is but a very short time to write this winter - soon it will be SPRING!! So - for now, it is -12 and 21 kph winds. The sky is severe clear and there are no clouds to be seen. AND - hooray - we spotted a few areas where snow is gone, and black dirt is visible. The sidewalk beside the house still has nearly 3 feet of snow - definition of a sidewalk - a place where snow collects! We just returned yesterday from Piqua Ohio where we attended our very first HOSTA COLLEGE - what a great bunch of people! And those who know me well will hardly believe (but it is true!) that there was an auction and I bought nothing. UNBELIEVABLE but true. Have I turned a corner? With the Daylily Can Am coming up, that will be the ultimate test - can I do it? Do I want to?
Changes : we are adding more cultivars to the daylily availability - from SONGSPARROW gardens in Wisconsin. And that means they should be good and hardy and tough.
We are planning to do whatever it takes to empty out our "C" field of liliums. So if you are interested in some, let me know. At the moment they are under snow, but if you want some added to your order, we can do that. It's hard to believe we are planning to start shipping in just 20 days. It has to warm up a whole lot before that. The Gold Strike Brunnera are still under several feet of snow. Usually we can see lots of smoke from the Maple Syrup shacks this time of year, but so far, none. ACH but tomorrow is spring so it should happen soon, right? The plants in the greenhouse are certainly perking up, and it seems they certainly "know" it is time.
Hosta College was awesome - what a great bunch of people. BIGGEST thing we learned was more about Hosta VIrus X, and how to prevent the spread, and how massive the problem is now. Very cool things - like - the various hostas show symptoms at different rates. Tiaras will show symptoms in only 17 days after infection, whereas others can take up to 3 years. There IS NO CURE. Slugs do not transport the virus, and that virus can live on your weed whacker or root knife for three weeks! And it was again emphasized just how little it takes to spread this virus from one infected plant to another.
The best thing about Hosta College was all the really neat people we got to meet and visit with. Oh my- if I began to list them, someone would be forgotten. What a lovely bunch of people though.
So at this point, still in winter, I will sign off for today, and chat with you again in the next season. May your spring be a wonderful one. Hugs and blessings.