2017 is soon approaching!

A few of The Dutch Hosta Society committee members gathered together in Otterlo today to discuss a few agenda points and to plan the upcoming calender of events! 2017 is shaping up to be another great Hosta year! We'll see each other on March 4th for the Hosta Master Class and AGM! Three months later join in the Summer garden tour on Saturday, June 17th! Then soon to follow is the annual September garden tour! Saturday September 2nd! Mark these dates on your calender!

Summer in September!

 It sure did feel like a Summers day! Het Gazebo Work party was back in Diepenheim today to do a bit of weeding between the hostas!  With sunshine and blue skies, the coffee break was enjoyed outdoors, again! Home made apple pie! What a treat! Thanks Hans! The trailer soon was being filled with weeds, weeds and more weeds! A hearty lunch gave us energy to get us through the afternoon. Before long is was time to pack up and enjoy the Hosta happy hour! Outside! September here in The Netherlands has really been unseasonably warm! Our next planned visits here are on October 19th to do one more round of weeding and on November 16th, we'll be wheeling around loads of bark mulch to fix up the paths!  See you then!  

September Garden Tour!

 The Dutch Hosta Society's 2016 September garden tour started in Oudeschip, a village located in the most northerly tip of Groningen, The Netherlands! Near Eemshaven! We were guests at Plant Nursery "On the Dike"(click)  Friendly faces, coffee and a local specialty, Groningen cake, made all feel welcome to the start of a fun filled Hosta day! Some of those who came had a very early start to the day! 300 km away! We explored, shared a few stories and checked out the plants that were on sale of course!  Around 12:00 we headed over to the next garden...

...passing Eemshaven on the way!

The new modern windmills producing electricity!

An old traditional windmill is in view!

 We soon arrived at Family Muntinga's  "Hobby Garden" in Uithuzermeeden!  Their fresh home made soup along with our own packed lunches made eating al fresco, one great big table, in September a real treat! The weather was warm and sunny for our afternoon visit here!  Hostas big and small, a veg garden and colorful borders...inspiration shared by one member to the others! Thanks for opening your garden to us! Then it was time to head 60km south to Stadskanaal! 

 Stone Farm(click), with its hosta-walk, folly, beehives and eccentric creative collections is situated on a 2 hectare plot of land that they bought 47 years ago! There wasn't really anything there, who would want to live there people thought way back then! Bringing in boulders from the surrounding area and filling it with trees and plants, it grew into "Stone Farm"! The afternoon ended with the traditional "Hosta happy Hour", including home made apple juice! The members of The Dutch Hosta Society that participated as well as the three gardens that we visited this year made the day what it was! Fantastic!