The Hutchinson Horticulture Club is a local community group that was organized in 1984.  Its purpose is to gather people who are interested in horticulture together so they may learn more about plants for their own benefit and to benefit the community through service projects.

The Horticulture Club meets  every third Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm at Dillon Nature Center.  In the summer months, meetings are held at the homes and yards of different club members.   Monthly meetings include guest speakers on various horticulture topics, regular club business and a great opportunity to visit with other enthusiastic gardeners.  Meetings are free and open to anyone, you do not need to be a member to attend.  You may also become a Horticulture Club member with yearly dues of $5, which allows you to receive discounts at some of the local garden centers - a deal that can't be beat!

Potatoes are a good project for a bad planting day.  The cut chunks of seed potato are heavy enough to stay put when all else is being blown horizontal or into the next county, and chilly temps don’t seem to faze them, as they snooze beneath the soil line and wait for warmer days and a spring shower to wake them up.  There are those who say spuds should be planted on Saint Patrick’s Day, but I find mine do best a little later.  The few times I have planted on March 17 they seemed to sprout and grow just enough to be laid low by a hard freeze that requires additional recovery time.  A few years ago the St. Pat’s planting diehards in my area had to go out and clear 18 inches of spring snow in order to find their gardens.  I usually plant potatoes when I have the time, donning my weary old winter jacket, tying my hair down against the wind with a scarf, and guiding my grandmother’s ancient push plow, to make a deep furrow across the buttery soft earth.     

Spring is just around the corner and gardeners are getting antsy to start planting.  One of the best things you can do to get your garden off to a good start is to have your soil tested.  This is a good time to soil test. Soil samples can be taken anytime the soil temperatures are above 50 °F.  A soil test is always recommended before planting a new lawn, garden bed or tree.  It is also recommended if you have an area where plants continually struggle to grow.  It won’t always give you the answer, but if the problem is nutrient related, it is a good starting point.  However, be sure to consider the growing location.  Plants often don’t thrive because they are planted in the wrong spot or planted incorrectly.

When the planting season arrives this year, give yourself a belated valentine by adding dicentra spectabilis to your perennial bed.

Dicentra is from the Greek, meaning two-spurred. Spectabilis is saying in Latin that it is spectacular, which is definitely true. The common name for this little beauty is ‘bleeding heart’, so named because of the heart-shaped flowers that hang in rows from gracefully arching central stalks.