This year’s annual shopping trek took us to Hosta Stop Gardens in Plover, WI, followed by Uniquely Hostas in Milton, WI, and, as an added unplanned bonus, Hollsboro Hosta & Greenhouse in Hillsboro, WI. A special thank you to all these wonderful vendors who offered a wide variety of potted hostas and other companion plants, gave our group discounts, held drawings for prizes, and dug up those special hostas we wanted!
At Hosta Stop, we were greeted off the bus by a rather unique turkey and other fowl wandering the grounds. We took our group photo there (above) as we gobbled up the hostas they had for sale. Below are photos of their potted plants and display gardens.
Uniquely Hostas, (photos below) had a large selection of potted plants despite losing about 2,000 to winter kill. This past winter was extremely harsh for many vendors (Hosta Stop lost about 1,000) and many of our members reported large losses. After finding lots more of those special hostas on our shopping lists and some beautiful clearance annuals, the bottom of the bus was nearly full.
Finding a little extra time on our hands and still having a little room in the bottom of the bus, a last minute bonus stop at Hillsboro Hosta and Greenhouse was added. As John commented, “shop til you drop.” We found more hostas on our lists and even made room for one of their large pinwheel ornaments.
Back at the parking lot it actually didn’t take very long to unload. Another successful shopping trip and fun day for all!
