Writing this, I glance out the window and watch the snow starting to pile up. We have had a mild winter so far, but today we are getting a reminder that it is still only February.
However, on Friday, Maggie and I took a break from rehabbing to spend an afternoon at the Madison Garden and Landscape Expo.
There are lot of garden shows, but this one is by far my favorite. In addition to the usual vendor exhibition, there are three days of seminars and demonstrations. I attended a seminar put on by Dan Small, host of Outdoor Wisconsin. He and his wife started a 10-acre homestead around 2011 and he talked about the real-world hardships they have experienced. Maggie attended a session about growing fruit in Wisconsin, and we both attended a seminar on growing asparagus and rhubarb. Over the years we have attended sessions ranging from growing onions to backyard chickens to aquaponics.
This is a great event for anyone looking to do more than see vendors, but the vendors are also great. Field and Forest, a purveyor of mushroom growing supplies, was at the show. I was able to buy my shiitake mushroom growing supplies at a discount and without paying postage. There were booths run by PBS, UW-Extension, and a host of non-profit groups ranging from the Ice Age Trail Alliance to Olbrich Botanical Garden. The Wisconsin Daylily Society and the Wisconsin Peony Society were there selling seeds and rootstock. There were plenty of artists and seed companies. Shake Rag Alley, from Mineral Point, is always there to promote their classes.
While there is always plenty to do at the property, it was nice to see some actual plants in the dead of winter. There was a grouping of potted flowers by the ticket booth. Maggie picked up a small pot of hyacinths to smell the flowers and capture that scent of Spring.
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