Convention Photos-Garden Tour

[R. Rock]

Hello there,
I have the Gardens and Nursery open for the "Open Garden" tour for the National Convention. Richard Rock-see link below. When you are at the link you scroll down and click on the R's
You can print and take with you.
The gardens cover nearly six acres. The nursery is nicely organized w/ close to 2,000 hosta, Heuchera, and Astible ready to go. Convention attendees are entitled to a 20% discount. I am sure you will find some "new" plants of interest. Healthy plants, stunning gardens, and nice people.
http://www.starsofthenorth.net/open-gar ... dens.shtml

These are some recent shots.

[R. Rock]

More Photos...

[R. Rock]

Photos...

[R. Rock]

Photos...

[Chris_W]

Wow, that is awesome! But to me, just a bit too perfect - when I see a garden that perfect I almost want to just throw in the trowel. Show me some weeds dammit

Hope you have a great turnout and some great sales to make up for all that hard work

Chris

[renaldo75]

WOW!! is right.... Just beautiful.

[newtohosta-no more]

Sooooo gorgeous! There must be a corner in Heaven that looks like that.

[Linda P]

Beautiful, Rick. Looks like you've been working really hard.
I hope to make it out to see your gardens at some point.
at Chris.....yeah, I've been working like a fool to try
to keep up here, and there are places I haven't even weeded yet!

Linda P

[Trudy]

Fantastic gardens. Not only are the hostas prestine, but the whole landscape is put together so well!
Thanks for giving us the tour. Those of us who arent attending really appreciate seeing the photos.
Love the hostas and the big rocks.



I agree, a slice of heaven is going to be just like your gardens

Folks will not want to miss seeing your gardens!

[jgh]

Anybody coming to the Twin Cities via I 94 up through Wisconsin will go (almost) right by Rick's place - convenient to hit on the way into or out of the cities. Even though he is a Wisconsinite, we allow him into Minnesota once in a while...

Rick is in Baldwin, Wisconsin. I have dear friends from Baldwin, so I've attended funerals for parents there and it is the home of my favorite funeral home. It is the Dull Funeral Home. Begs the question, doesn't it? What would a not-dull funeral home be like?

On the flip side, if you are coming in from the west or Northwest, it is easy to hit our place on the way to or from the convention hotel. We are 15 minutes away, just off 494 in the western suburb of Plymouth.

I love the open garden tours... you usually get a much better chance to chat with the gardener than can happen when tour buses show up...

[pauhaus]

Hi Rick,

Wow is right! Beautiful gardens, thanks so much for sharing, wish I could be there for the convention but this helps. Hope you have a lot of visitors!

[thy]

Love the first pic.. is it a sort of lungworth ? and pic 14... 3 green with different yellw edges... Name please

Yes.. i beed to hire someone like you for a garden make over / up
Pia

[jgh]

Hey, Pia... Richard is probably busy with convention stuff... I can't answer about the hosta in #14, but the groundcover in the first pic is lamium... probably a lamium maculatum... there are varieties like Pink Nancy and Pink Pewter... one called Anne Greenway has the same look, but also has some yellow in addition to the white...

I think the common name is Spotted Dead Nettle - but that's not a great selling point for the nursery owner! It's a rapid spreader groundcover...

[putnamgardens]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing. Andy got interviewed. I can't recall if it was the Tues. Growers tour or Wed. optional gardens to Rochester. I hope this link is hot or I'll have to repost. Enjoy. Later, Love, Lisa

http://www.kttc.com/Global/category.asp ... menu1348_7

[R. Rock]

Hi,
Hey, It sure is nice to hear all the positive energy!!! Thanks so much it means alot; much respect.

Lisa,
Glad to see Andy in the "spotlight"!
At the convention there was a tall, skinny guy, not afraid of anything, hollering down the hallways advertising the "raffle"and maybe "beer"?. All in a "positive" manor. Now, I know who that is.

Pia,
# 14 is 'Alex Summers'. One of my best all around performers in sun or shade here. A "long" season hosta. The groundcover is Lamium. The one shown is 'Purple Dragon', the fastest growing. In my garden, White Nancy, Orchid Frost, Pink Pewter are "Well Behaved".
Lamium does not spread by underground stolinfers-roots. It would be near impossible to be concerned about it taking anything over. I have been using mass quantities of it for years w/o regrets. It is the first thing here for color in the spring; often semi-evergreen. Makes for a good "weedblocker", groundcover, etc. I do add extra slug bait to lamium.

[kaylyred]

Richard, thanks so much for sharing your garden! It was great meeting you and seeing what all your hard work has created. Your plants were also wonderful. I'll be sure to take great care of 'Wolverine.'

It was also nice to meet Renaldo and Linda P while my husband and I were visiting. Hosta people are some of the best people I know.

[renaldo75]

It was good to meet Rick and his family in person. Beautiful gardens!! I was there when Linda P and Linda C were there, and then discovered we'd been walking past Kalyred and her husband for a while. Also had a chance to talk to another guy and his wife from another forum. I met him at Winter Scientific but didn't know a 'real' name until a couple of days ago.
One of those 'oh THAT'S who that is moments for me. I'd heard the name for yrs, just didn't know it was the same guy. That's the great thing about name tags at conventions.

[Linda P]

I wish we'd had more time at Ricks beautiful gardens...
The pictures do not begin to do the place justice.
Rick, you were a great host, and I only wish we could have walked around each garden bed with you to talk about the plants in them.
Thanks to Reldon, I realized that I had been talking to kaylred as well. Then we found out we have one of those 6 degrees
sort of things.
And the other couple there, I'd also talked to them at several events over the years and did not connect the dots
to a 'lurker' on another forum I follow.
So many people to meet, so little time..........

Linda P

[kaylyred]

Finally got 'Wolverine,' which I purchased from Rick, planted this week. RIck had said to me, "Wait until you see the root structure of this plant..." and man, he was NOT kidding! I think this hosta practically gathered up its massive roots and walked out of the pot on its own.

At any rate, it looks great in the garden and it's doing lovely. I had a great time at the convention, even though I only went to the public events and a couple of open gardens. And the hostas I picked up (only 5, but 5 that I love!) are all looking splendid. 'Wolverine' is my favorite of them all.

[thy]

Lamium.. thanks... I have forgot all about it... could not grow well ín my heavy clay... but here, with the sandy soil.. I think it will be perfect and telling me it is very early in the spring make it even more valuable to my " Weed away " project