Updates!

Several updates at this point, not just inventory! 

We finally got everything planted for spring. This is pretty late for us, but it was unavoidable due to delays in the supply chain. Our pots and potting mix arrived 3 weeks late; this isn't anywhere near as bad as other businesses have dealt with, so I won't complain much. But it does mean that some things won't be ready until the end of May. Luckily I did have some mix and pots leftover from last year, so I wasn't at a complete standstill. 

Compounding that delay was cold weather, which we're still experiencing. I know we're not alone in this experience, much of the country has had cold weather; we had temperatures in the teens last week! Our heater has been acting up, or more accurately failing to act; so we did hold off on planting some plants that would be very susceptible to freezing. On top of that we had a structural failure in last weekend's 50mph wind, and the greenhouse became a 24 degree wind tunnel! Luckily most of the plants are ok or will recover. 

The good news is that it looks like most things overwintered pretty well. The few things that didn't winter well have a history of not wintering well and aren't surprising. Things are starting to wake up and we're starting to update that inventory, which you'll see below. With some sun, the plants should be looking pretty good in two weeks or so. Hopefully we have some sun! 

Our first event of the year is MAY 1st! We'll be at Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corners for their Art in the Gardens fair. We'll have some cool plants, come chat with us! Buy some plants! Buy some art! See the Magnolias and other early spring plants blooming! 

The last of the new plants for 2022 have arrived and are now planted and we have some of last year's inventory to include in this update. Now available in the store:

Aquilegia EarlyBird Purple and Yellow

Aquilegia EarlyBird Red and White

Aquilegia Kirigami Mix

Baptisia 'Honey Roasted'

Carex appalachica

Carex pennsylvanica 'Straw Hat'

Geranium wlassovianum

Helleborus New York Night

Helleborus Romantic Getaway

Helleborus Tropical Sunset

Helleborus niger 'Snowbells'

Helleborus Dashing Groomsmen

Helleborus First Dance

Helleborus True Love

Heuchera 'Frosted Violet'

Heuchera 'Stainless Steel'

Heuchera villosa 'Bronze Wave'

Hylotelephium 'Kay's Little Joy'

Hylotelephium sieboldii

Phlox stolonifera 'Sherwood Purple'

Polemonium 'Heaven Scent'

Primula pauciflora (Dodecatheon pulchellum)

Thalictrum 'Black Stockings'

Inventory Update #4

 It's been another big week for incoming plants! Most of the new plants for this year are now here; we're still waiting on Hellebores and a few odds and ends. In the next couple of weeks (if weather cooperates and gives us enough sun!) we should be able to start updating inventory on plants that have been overwintered here at the nursery. The following plants are now available in the store:

Aesculus glabra 'JN Select' EARLY GLOW™

Aesculus turbinata 'Marble Chip' 

Ajuga 'Cordial Canary'

Ajuga 'Petite Parakeet'

Betula tianshanica 'Emerdark' EMERALD FLARE® 

Cladrastis kentuckea 'Perkins Pink'

Ginkgo biloba 'Mariken' 

Hamamelis 'Amethyst'

Hamamelis 'Arnold Promise'

Hamamelis 'Beholden' 

Hamamelis 'Danny'

Hamamelis 'Winter Champagne'

Hamamelis vernalis 'Goleczam' Golden Eclipse

Hamamelis virginiana 'Little Prospect'

Hydrangea arborescens 'Riven Lace' 

Magnolia 'Sunsation'

Polemonium reptans 'Touch of Class' 

Sambucus racemosa 'Smnsrd4' LEMONY LACE®

Sempervivum 'Choco-Latte'

Sempervivum 'Director Jacobs' BERRY BOMB™

Sempervivum 'Jeanne d'Arc' CINNAMON STARBURST™

Sempervivum 'Pacific Devil's Food' CHOCOLATE KISS™

Sempervivum 'Urmina' COSMIC CANDY™

Sempervivum calcareum 'Mrs. Giuseppi' MINT MARVEL™

Sempervivum 'Gold Mine'

Sempervivum 'Lotus Blossom'

Sempervivum 'Steel Appeal'

Tiarella 'Gowing' ANGEL WINGS 

Inventory Update #3

This week's inventory update is smaller. I just had hernia surgery yesterday, and I'm pretty sore today! Hopefully I can get back to planting next week, but I'll be limited to 10lbs for at least a month. 

New plants added:

Darmera Peltata

Geranium cinereum 'Ballerina'

Iris cristata 'Powder Blue Giant'

Mukdenia rossii 'Karasuba'

Phlox divaricata 'Blue Moon'

Polystichum polyblepharum

Scutellaria ovata

Next week should have a bit more of an update, including some woody plants and succulents! 

Inventory Update #2

 Our second inventory update is live, and this is much bigger than the first update. Some plants in the hoop house from last year look good, but we won't make them available until they're actively growing. Orders placed now will ship in May or June. 

Added to inventory and available to order now:

Aconitum fischeri

Aruncus aethusifolius

Aruncus 'Fairy Hair'

Astilbe 'August Light'

Astilbe 'Delft Lace'

Astilbe 'Maggie Daley'

Athyrium 'Crested Surf'

Brunnera 'Jack of Diamonds'

Calamagrostis brachytricha

Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance'

Epimedium 'Pretty In Pink'

Epimedium 'Songbirds'

Epimedium wushanense 'Sandy Claws'

Epimedium x omeiense 'Akame' aka 'Rigoletto'

Geranium pratense 'Boom Chocolatta'

Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold'

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'

Heuchera 'Cherry Truffles'

Heuchera 'Evening Gown'

Heuchera 'Grape Timeless'

Heuchera 'Mahogany Monster'

Heuchera 'Silver Gumdrop'

Heuchera 'Timeless Glow'

Heuchera 'Timeless Night'

Heuchera 'Wildberry'

Hosta 'Ginko Craig'

Hosta 'Krossa Regal'

Hosta 'Maui Buttercups'

Iris pseudata 'Shiryukyo'

Polygonatum odoratum 'Ruby Slippers'

Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum'

Pulmonaria 'Pretty In Pink'

Pulmonaria 'Twinkle Toes'

Tiarella 'Cutting Edge'

Tricyrtis formosana 'Autumn Glow'

Now OPEN!

 Our first shipments of plants arrived last week and our first round of website updates is done! This means you can start to order some plants; though we're only enabling ordering for plants as they arrive or come out of dormancy. Industry-wide shortages are going to be a thing for awhile and availability status can change last minute and we'd rather do as little refunding as possible. So as we update the store, we'll post updates here as well. The biggest round of updates should happen late next week. 

Here's the list of plants that are available for purchase now: 

Anemone 'Apanfarrh' FANTASY™ RED RIDING HOOD PP28799

Carex 'Silver Sceptre'

Dicentra spectablis 'Hordival' VALENTINE™

Helleborus WINTER JEWELS® Apricot Blush

Helleborus WINTER JEWELS® Black Diamond

Helleborus WINTER JEWELS® Peppermint Ice

Helleborus WINTER JEWELS® Ruby Wine

Hosta 'Happy Dayz'

Hosta 'Party Streamers'

Hosta 'Seducer'

Hosta 'Tears in Heaven'

Hosta 'Terms of Endearment'

Hosta 'Time in a Bottle'

Ligularia dentata 'Osiris Cafe Noir'

Phlox divaricata 'Blue Ribbons'

Tiarella 'Brandywine'

Tricyrtis 'Golden Festival'

2022 Update

I tentatively have the website up to date with new additions for 2022. I'm still waiting on a couple of order confirmations and may add a few more items yet in the coming weeks. And of course we will probably add some items closer to spring. You can view all current new items here and I have a list of items down below. We still have ordering disabled for the time being though. We've had to do a lot of refunding and order adjustment the last two years because of winter mortality and industry shortages. This makes a lot of extra behind the scenes work for us both, and NOBODY likes getting order cancellations. So to limit that we'll be taking orders a little bit later than normal and activating certain items as we know they've come through winter alive or as they arrive here. This means we'll lose out on some early sales to our competition, but at least we'll have higher customer satisfaction. In the mean time, we do offer gift certificates and apparel!

Which brings me to my next point. A HUGE thank you to all of our customers who have continued to place orders over the years. Especially the last 2 years in the face of ridiculous adversity due to health crises. For almost two months this year my outlook for the future was pretty grim. But things are looking ok. I'm going through chemo, and it seems to be working. This treatment is much better than what I went through in 2020. I have some side effects every month which will impact my workflow next season, but it's not too severe and I don't expect shipping to be negatively impacted. 

We are also looking forward to some in-person events for 2022. The American Hosta Society convention is scheduled for June. And the Midwest Regional Hosta Society convention is scheduled for July in Lisle, IL. We're looking forward to participating in both of these events. We had a successful open house here at the nursery this past spring and will plan to host one again. Have an event that you want us to sell plants at? Visit the contact us link and drop us a message!

We'll update again once we activate online ordering for the season. Until then, happy holidays! 
Nick

New and Returning Items for 2022
These plants are either new to the assortment for the season, or have been absent for more than a year. 

Aconitum fischeri

Ajuga 'Petite Parakeet'

Anemone Anemone 'Macane004' DREAMING SWAN PP27384

Anemone 'Apanfarrh' FANTASY™ RED RIDING HOOD PP28799

Aralia 'Sun King'

Aruncus aethusifolius

Aruncus 'Fairy Hair'

Astilbe 'Amber Moon'

Astilbe 'Delft Lace'

Athyrium 'Godzilla'

Brunnera 'Jack of Diamonds'

Calamagrostis bracytricha

Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance'

Carex 'Silver Sceptre'

Cypripedium Frosch's Mother Earth (Fall shipping)

Cypripedium Ula Silkens (Fall shipping

Dicentra 'Gold Heart'

Dicentra 'Luxuriant'

Epimedium 'Pretty In Pink'

Epimedium 'Rigoletto'

Epimedium 'Sandy Claws'

Epimedium 'Songbirds'

Geranium Boom 'Chocolatta'

Hakonechloa macra 'All gold'

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'

Helelborus 'Peppermint Ice'

Helleborus 'Apricot Blush'

Helleborus 'Black  Diamond'

Helleborus 'Black Tie Affair'

Helleborus 'Dashing Groomsmen'

Helleborus 'First Dance'

Helleborus 'Ruby Wine'

Helleborus 'Snowbells'

Helleborus 'Tropical Sunset'

Helleborus 'True Love'

Heuchera 'Apple Twist'

Heuchera 'Cherry Truffles'

Heuchera 'Evening Gown'

Heuchera 'Grape Timeless'

Heuchera 'Mahogany Monster'

Heuchera 'Silver Gumdrop'

Heuchera 'Timeless Glow'

Heuchera 'Timeless Night'

Heuchera 'Wildberry'

Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd'

Hosta 'Angel Falls'

Hosta 'Autumn Frost'

Hosta 'Big Bubba'

Hosta 'Captain Kirk'

Hosta 'Cookie Crumbs'

Hosta 'Cool as a Cucumber'

Hosta 'Cracker Crumbs'

Hosta 'Dancing With Dragons'

Hosta 'Deep Blue Sea'

Hosta 'Fairy Dust'

Hosta 'First Blush'

Hosta 'First Dance'

Hosta 'Gabriel's Wing'

Hosta 'Ginko Craig'

Hosta 'Hide and Seek'

Hosta 'High Society'

Hosta 'Holar Red Spear'

Hosta 'Holar Wild Side'

Hosta 'Kempen Waving Shadows'

Hosta 'Krossa Regal'

Hosta 'Lemon Kiss'

Hosta 'Liberty'

Hosta 'Louie Louie'

Hosta 'Maui Buttercups'

Hosta 'Mini Skirt'

Hosta 'Mirror Lake'

Hosta 'One Last Dance'

Hosta 'Party Streamers'

Hosta 'Peppermint Twist'

Hosta 'Purple Haze'

Hosta 'Red Cadet'

Hosta 'Rowan My Boat'

Hosta 'Ruffle Truffle'

Hosta 'Sapphire Pillows'

Hosta 'Seducer'

Hosta 'Smash Hit'

Hosta 'Sorbet'

Hosta 'Sublime Lime'

Hosta 'Tears in Heaven'

Hosta 'Terms of Endearment'

Hosta 'Time in a Bottle'

Hosta 'Tiny Gems'

Hosta 'Twinkle Little Star'

Hosta 'Valley's Kumo'

Hosta 'Wiggles & Squiggles'

Hosta 'Wu La La'

Hosta 'Yippee'

Iris cristata 'Powder Blue Giant'

Iris pseudata 'Shiryukyo'

Iris versicolor 'Purple Flame'

Mukdenia rossii 'Karasuba'

Phlox divaricata 'Blue Moon'

Phlox divaricata 'Blue Ribbons'

Polemonium reptans 'Touch of Class' PP19768

Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum'

Polystichum polyblepharum

Pulmonaria 'Pretty in Pink'

Pulmonaria 'Twinkle Toes'

Scutellaria ovata

Sempervivum 'Gold Mine' PPAF

Sempervivum 'Gold Rush' PPAF

Sempervivum 'Lotus Blossom' PPAF

Sempervivum 'Steel Appeal' PPAF

Tiarella 'Gowing' ANGEL WINGS

Tiarella cordifolia 'Brandywine'

Tiarella 'Cutting Edge'

Tricyrtis 'Autumn Glow'

End of the Season

With the arrival of rain for the next 24 hours or so which will then be followed by below freezing weather Thursday night, it's finally time to end our shipping season. Thanks to all who have placed orders this year and came out to visit at our open house. The last of the orchid orders are on their way to their new homes. We did find a few that didn't get printed or shipped last week and got them out this week, so if you're expecting orchids and haven't heard from us and they haven't arrived, please let us know! 

We still have a lot to do here; plants to get in the ground, gardens to clean up, and a poly house to get ready for winter! Finally having the poly house back up and in operation will alleviate some of the problems we've experienced with late cold weather. It's not as good as a heated greenhouse, but it helps extend the season on both ends just a little bit. It also provides shade in summer. The move to a new location, followed by serious health problems have really slowed down getting this project done, but we'll have it up before winter truly arrives here. 

Once we're caught up with all the tasks we didn't get done yet, the website update will begin. Given the record number of crop failures and shortages we experienced this year from our suppliers, coupled with a couple of rough winters leading to crop failures on our end; we may hold off on opening ordering until a bit later in the season. Likely we'll slowly trickle new plants into availability as they arrive here at the nursery, and old plants we're growing on site as they emerge from dormancy. This will mean that ordering will start to open in March and with a more limited selection and new products getting added until shipping opens in May. Supply failures can still happen, but  hopefully there will be less customer impact. We hate doing the backend work of refunds, and hate even more telling someone that really cool plant they're excited to receive isn't actually shipping.

I'll post an end of year update/wrap-up/review kind of thing and actually publish a newsletter in December. But until then, happy fall!