2012 Vending Agenda....

Each year in March the Great Lakes Region Hosta Society hosts a gathering of approximately five hundred enthusiastic gardeners from across the United States, Canada, and Europe called the "Hosta College". The Gathering happens at the Upper Valley Joint Vocational School in Piqua Ohio.

Friday night finds participants touring through the vending room, enjoying a rare and specialty plant auction, and socializing. Saturday is full of classes taught by volunteers on a wide variety of gardening subjects. You can find more information here.

April 14, 2012 you will find me vending and speaking to a great group of avid gardeners from Knoxville, Iowa and beyond. This event is organized by the Knoxville Federated Garden Club and is filled to capacity every year. The day will be filled with good food, good speakers, and plenty of vendors offering the different and unusual. You can find more information about the Garden Gala here.

 The 2012 Southern Region Master Gardener Conference is hosted as a partnership between the Mississippi Master Gardener Association and the Mississippi State University Extension Service. This Conference will be held in Natchez, Mississippi on May 1-4, 2012.  Join along with Master Gardeners from several states, vendors, horticultural experts, and garden writers to enjoy this experience. This will be our first opportunity to vend in this region and we are excited. Conference information is available here.

We will again be vending at the Arkansas State Master Gardener Conference. This year's conference will be held in Monticello, Arkansas on the campus of the University of Arkansas/Monticello.  We were invited to speak and vend at the 2011 conference held in Harrison, Arkansas. Peggy and I had such a wonderful time comparing notes with some of the best gardeners in the State of Arkansas so we are very pleased to have the opportunity to revisit their organization. Details about the conference are being finalized and I will provide a link to more information as it becomes available. Vending will be open to the public. Mark these dates May 17th-19th, 2012.

Hostapalooza!!!

On May 26th I will be vending and speaking at an event being organized by the Wichita Hosta Society at the Sedgwick County Extension Building.   7001 w 21st N   Wichita, Kansas. It will be an all day event and will feature both speakers and vendors.  Download pdf. flyer here

The 40th anniversary of Gypsy Caravan, the annual Memorial Day shopping fair, is presented by the St. Louis Symphony Volunteer Association! One of the Midwest’s largest antique, craft, and flea markets, the Gypsy Caravan will take over the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Peggy and I along with vendors from more than 20 states will set up shop at the North County campus. The Gypsy Caravan is a fundraiser for the St. Louis Symphony and we are proud to support their efforts. Come see us on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012. You can find more information about the event here

I speak and vend at many events throughout the country every year. I will be adding to this list as invitations and event information finalizes. I sell Japanese maples, dwarf & miniature conifers, miniature plant material, along with my papercrete containers and fairy garden/miniature landscaping supplies. 

Warm January Day.....

January 15th and it is over fifty degrees outside. With those conditions I needed to play with something green and alive so I grabbed four Aloes off the bench and potted them in a papercrete trough. I think most gardeners get the itch this time of year. Most are tired of being inside just reading about gardening and having plans that will be fun to get started on as soon as the weather becomes agreeable. We all treasure those days when the weather moderates and we can get out and at least accomplish something in the garden even if it is only potting a plant or two.

My wife took the opportunity to take all her house plants outside and watered them with the hose. I'm sure the plants shivered as the cool water hit but appreciated having half a winter's dust rinsed from their leaves. With the nighttime temperature forecast to be forty plus they had to spend the night outside to drip dry. They certainly looked perky this morning as she carried them back into this low humidity environment.

December Production.......

Here at the nursery the winter months are filled with getting everything cleaned up and ready for Spring. It is during the winter that I have time to produce enough surplus papercrete pieces to keep me supplied while vending at events across the U.S. December is cluttered with so many other things to do like Christmas ;>) to really get into production mode. The good news is that the cold days of January and February are usually reserved for inside work.

I will be working on making some new molds and experimenting with new shapes and textures. Many of the folks that have taken my classes share their ideas and experiments with me and I am always amazed at their ideas and ingenuity.  I have taken others ideas and put my twist on them or have adapted their idea to my process with great success.

One of my students created these simple papercrete sculptures she calls "Bottom of the Bucket Snowmen". Simple yet elegant and easy enough for anyone from 8 to 80 and beyond to create. This lady lives in the Northwestern Illinois area and is available to teach papercrete classes in that area. Contact me here to get more information about her papercrete classes.