Another Successful Garden Expo

The Garden Expo was this past weekend and kudos to Wisconsin Public Television for running another great event. The logistics have to be incredible. Our booth can be seen above (note the colorful obelisks). We had very steady traffic and interest as the crowds ebbed and flowed. Saturday was extremely busy and it will be interesting to see what the final attendance numbers are for this event. Our booth, while simple and lacking in live plants, received many compliments. In the past, we've dabbled with more elaborate booth space with live plants, forced bulbs, etc. but feel that we are there to promote the gardens and there are some inherent issues with utilizing live plants for the display. Our canvas photos, curtesy of John Paul (Milton, WI), really gave a great representation of the garden for those that have not yet visited. We gave out thousands of our calendar of events for the year and both Mike and my talks were well attended. The weather has been nice recently and sunlight has started to melt away some of the ice and snow. Of course February can be a tough month for winter weather (it is snowing as I type...)

Today was another well-attended day with many volunteers coming in to work. Marianne worked on seeds while Janice worked on her 20,000+ vegetable labels for our spring sale. Marv and Terry unpacked and put away all of our Garden Expo items while Little Jerry was out pruning. Urban worked outside with Jerry for a bit but also helped Rose with pvc pillar painting. Dr. Gredler and Maury painted obelisks while Dick W. and Del continued with reindeer. Dave, Jim, Bob and Vern worked on carpentry projects and we also saw Dick H, Chuck, Bev, Deb and others came in as well. Our Home Garden Tour committee met and I had a nice lunch with Doreen Howard, a prominent garden writer that lives in the area.

My plant of interest today is an annual grass that I have been promoting in my talks recently. This elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum 'Prince') seen above will become enormous over the course of our summer, reaching heights well over 6-7' tall. This species is native to Africa and because of its quick growth rate, is being examined for biofuel potential. This variety, or the smaller version of 'Princess' (4-5' tall), offers a maroon appearance and textural contribution. Plant in full sun for the best coloration and consider the potential in containers as well. The image above is only in mid-summer and 'Prince' will get taller until cooler weather hits in late September. Despite it being "just an annual", consider the merits and potential of a 6'+ tall, maroon grass in the landscape! As a side note, I've been looking in to an organization called Slow Food USA (www.slowfoodusa.org/) that really looks neat. From their website: "Slow Food USA seeks to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system. We reconnect Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce our food. We seek to inspire a tranformation in food policy, production practices and market forces so that they ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat." Sounds pretty good to me. There are many chapters around the country. USA Today said "Slow Food aims to be everything fast food is not...."