SPRING!

Ok so I know its not "offically" spring (3 more days!)but after the B-E-A-U-tiful weather today, how can one not be excited about it? I was able to get down to the gardens and clear away some of the debris that was leftover from this fall and finish getting seeds started. The snow came so fast this year I wasn't quite able to get it all. While out and about cleaning I noticed a lot of green, a lot of bad but also some good! Some of the herbs are already starting to grow again and its a nice splash of good green. Some of you know about the bad green we have here, the Star of Bethleham. You can read more about that horrible stuff here. But, on to the good! The wonderful skunk cabbage is in bloom andthe coltsfoot flowers are up along the lakeshore. In the wildflower bed we have some hepatica peeking through and some waterleaf showing up. In another bed, # 23, there is a beautiful purple flower poking through the underbrush. I can not remember the name of it for the life of me so if you know it, let me know! For now, enjoy some of the pictures of the site from today.

Skunk cabbage (thank goodness for zoom!)

Coltsfoot along the lake

The Waterleaf (with lots of the BAD green around it....)

Hepatica

That purple flower....crocus! (Thanks Martha!)

The Magnolia tree starting to bud out

Gearing up

We are starting to get things together for the upcoming Home & Garden shows in the area. Packaging seeds, making flyers and putting the finishing touches on the event guide to be ready for the shows. Come out and see what we have to offer at each of these events:

Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show:
March 3rd & 4th: 11a-9p
March 5th: 10a-9p
March 6th: 11a-5p
Memorial Coliseum
www.home-gardenshow.com

Kendallville Home & Garden Show:
March 12th: 10a-5p
March 13th: 10a-3p
Kendallville Event Center

As for me, I'm anxiously awaiting all this snow to finally melt away so I can get my hands dirty in the gardens again. It's going to be an exciting journey to watch it all start fresh in the gardens. I'm going to try not to mess it up too bad after all the hard work Martha put into it.

Winter beauty

Funniest looking bird I've ever seen

Ice Anglers Express

I know these guys!!


Nothing coming out of these holes....

The Cabin from the lake

A view from Gene's porch of Sylvan Lake

Ice Angler's Express

Gene's Gardens fast asleep for the winter

These are a few shots of the site over the past week or so. I even went down and checked on a few fisherman on the lake and to my suprise, familiar faces, my dad, brother and great uncle! Granted, they weren't having any luck but they enjoy coming out here to fish, as they did in years past with my Grandpa. It's nice to see they still come out. Enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature as I'm sure Gene did on her winters up here.

Winter has arrived!!

Winter has arrived here at GSP and I must say its quite beautiful. We are still very busy even though we have closed for the season. We have our Ice Fishing Derby coming up on January 22nd and the ice fisherman are really enjoying the newly remodeled Ice Anglers Express. We are going to be at both the Kendallville (March 12th & 13th) and Fort Wayne (March 3rd-6th) Home and Garden shows this year and we are excited about both of those events! I have been busy getting seeds ready to package for sale and let me tell you, some of them are so tiny I'm amazed at how they grow into these big beautiful flowers in the spring. I will get some pictures up of the beautiful snow and peacefulness as soon as I can. Happy Holidays!

We are also on Facebook now! If you haven't already, "Like" us to keep up on upcoming events at the site!!
http://www.facebook.com/GeneStrattonPorter

Arbor Restoration!

As some of  you may know, the arbor here is undergoing a makeover! A few months ago a hard working crew harvested some Black Locust timbers, debarked them and put them in our barn for drying. Now the time has come to put those timbers to good use! Thanks to Dennis & Dave, they got the wisteria peeled back (and some much needed pruning done as well!) and exposed the rotting timbers. Those were removed and now we are awaiting the arrival of the construction crew that is going to come in and reconstruct the arbor. We are hoping to have this done by the end of the month. I've been taking a few pictures as it changes through each step. Check them out! More to come as it continues to change.

Fall is in the air!!

Fall seems to be rapidly approaching but there are still new and wonderful things to be seen here in the gardens! The canna lily and cardinal flower are in bloom, the pink turtlehead lily has popped open and the seed harvest has begun! We have already collected some foxglove, columbine and poppy seeds but just yesterday I was able to get some butterfly bush seeds. The hydrangeas are drying in the garden shed in preparation for the Dream of Beauty event. I am so excited to see what this fall brings and to watch as the amazing colors of autumn wash over the site. Stay tuned for pictures of this! Also, I just wanted to remind everyone that we have a Volunteer Day approaching. It's this Saturday September 11th from 9am to noon. Coffee and snacks will be readily available for all. I look forward to seeing everyone :-)

A few neat plants!!

We recently had Lee Casebere out to the site for the Third Thursday Plant lecture on Orchids. When our naturalist, Haley was showing him our only orchid, he casually pointed out another that had popped out without us knowing! We have 3 Spotted Coral Root orchids that have shown up near our yellow lady slipper. Also, while out for my morning "let's see what's blooming!" walk, I discovered that our Indian Pipe has come up as well! We were quite excited to see both these plants popping up for surprise visits. Gene would be proud :-)

garden from after the storm June 2010

All Images courtesy www.aceofimages.com - Alaina Carnahan

July 10th evening garden tour and wine tasting

Over 30 guests enjoyed an evening in the Tame Gardens with staff and volunteers on-hand answering questions on particular flora and regarding anything and everything Gene Stratton-Porter related. Light period music performed live set a calm mood as dusk settled over GSP. Visitors also enjoyed assorted cheeses and chocolate covered strawberries accompanied by a wine tasting. While some participants just happened by, all departed the site by the ambiance of softly glowing luminaries topping off a relaxed evening on Sylvan Lake.

All images courtesy http://www.aceofimages.com/

Please join us for our next event July 15th, 6-8 pm- Native Orchid Plant Lecture ($3 fee) with guest lecturer Lee Casebere:

http://http//www.indianamuseum.org/sites/genespec.html