Warm weather makes the hostas go pop, plus plant sale date!

Our recent warm weather has really made the hostas pop!  The picture below were taken over a two day period of time.  It's amazing how fast they grow.

Also, we have set a date for the plant sale.  Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 21st in Appleton!  More details will be posted closer to the date of the sale.

Erin and I are also working on a new episode of Cheesehead Gardening too!

Signs of spring are all around!

We thought it would never get here, but, finally, there are signs of spring all around.

Start Marking Your Calendars Now! Garden Events for this spring and summer

Wow, can you believe that it's almost March?  I feel like winter is never going to end.  I can't remember a winter that has ever been this cold.  Let's hope for an early spring.
 
There are lots of things to look forward to this spring and summer.  Here is a just a short list. 

• Warmer weather
• Paine Art Center Festival of Spring - May 17.  Oshkosh, WI.  More information here:http://www.thepaine.org/events/festival-of-spring/index.html
• May 17, 2014: Outagamie County Master Gardener Association Annual Plant Sale.  UW-Extension Grounds, 3365 W. Brewster St., Appleton.  8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• Green Bay Botanical Garden Fair - May 30- June 1.  More information. http://www.gbbg.org/things-to-do/garden-events/id/184/title/Garden-Fair
• Midwest Regional Hosta Convention - Green Bay, June 26-28.  More information here: http://greenandgoldhosta.org/2014-convention.html
• AHS (Daylilies) Region 2 Summer Meeting - Beauty by the Bay - July 25-27.  More information here: http://badbuds.org/Region%202%20Summer%20Meeting.html

What a difference a few days can make in the garden

Hosta 'Fire Island'

Hosta 'Sagae'

Hosta 'War Paint'

Hosta 'Liberty'

Hosta 'Montana Moonshine'

Best early color hostas

The hostas are emerging!  The hostas are finally emerging!  Here are my favorite hostas in my garden for spring early color.

Sagae

Fire Island

St Elmo's Fire

Montana Moonshine

Montana Aureomarginata, First Frost, and Rainbow's End

Liberty

Dancing Queen

June Fever

Wat Paint

Eskimo Pie

What's blooming this week

Bergenia

Species Tulip

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Daffodil 'Pink Charm'

Daffodil

Double Daffodil

Bergenia

Start of blooms in the spring garden

More signs of spring

Despite the fact that as I write this it is currently snowing once again, there are many signs that spring is here.

Bleeding Hearts starting to emerge.

Vinca blooming

Tulips coming up

Lilies coming up

Columbine

Daylilies

Hyacinth

Daffodils

Monkshood

Ice Storms and Spring

This week the Cheesehead Garden was hit with an ice storm.  We lost power for for about 11 hours but luckily there was no damage.  I did manage to get some cool shots of my crocuses encased in ice.  

Then this weekend when we surveying the damage to the trees in our yard, I happen to notice my first hosta nubs of the season!  Might be time to think about setting up the greenhouse.

Ice on crocuses

Ice on last year's brown eyed susans.

Alliums coming up.

First hosta nubs of the season.