August 2025 Newsletter
Eastern Michigan Hosta Society
August 2025 Newsletter
Note from the President- Thank you Cathy Hodgson and Barb Hunter for opening your gardens for the EMHS Members and Friends on July 10th. The work you have put into your gardens is appreciated by every person that attended.
August 14th will be a tour at Sandy Vukonich’s gardens in Oxford. 3:00 PM-8:00 PM. Again, there is no potluck for the tour. Sandy has a pond filled with fish and extensive gardens on the property. You will need time to look at everything.
I am sorry I have to miss the tour at Sandy’s as well as the Annual Plant Exchange. My surgery is scheduled for the 18th & 19th of August so I cannot subject myself to any viruses or infections pre surgery, nor will I be able to go out by the September meeting. I am writing all of the Newsletters for this summer in June so they will automatically be posted to the website 2 weeks before the scheduled events. I will keep at least one Board member informed of my status so they can report it to the club.
September 11th is the Annual Plant Exchange at Suncrest in Lapeer. This will be the same as in the past with a Potluck, the Annual Meeting, and the Plant Exchange. It is time to pot plants for the exchange to give them time to adjust to the pot and look good for the exchange. Please refrain from bringing plants that are invasive. If you have enough of a certain plant to pot up a bunch of pots for the exchange, it may be something too aggressive to share. Cathy is making signs for the Exchange to make it easier to make a choice of what you want. Sign examples will be Hosta, Houseplants, Perennials, etc. There will be the $5.00 table as well for the choicest plants. A full explanation of the process will be in the September Newsletter.
Two other events I want to pass along are the Michigan Hosta Society Workshop on August 24th, 2024 and the GLC-NARGS bus trip to Bob’s Garden Fair in Englewood, OH on August 30th. The MHS Workshop is building a hypertufa pot and for $25 non-member registration fee you get to make the pot, eat lunch, get a free Hosta, and hear a speaker. For the GLC-NARGS Bus Trip the club is subsidizing the cost of the bus so that any registrant pays only $10 to take the bus trip. More information is contained below.
Have a great summer and take time to enjoy your gardens!
Sincerely,
Glen Pace
EMHS President
Next Meeting- August 14th Garden Tour at the home of;
Sandy Vukonich
2961 Secluded Pines Dr. Oxford, MI 48371
Tour time is 3:00 PM- 8:00 PM.
There is no Potluck. Please eat before you tour and bring your water with you. Also plan for enough time to see all of the highlights of Sandy’s gardens.
The EMHS 2025 Calendar of Events
2025 Meeting Dates- Places- Speakers
Aug 14 -Tour at Sandy Vukonich’s, in Oxford. 3:00 PM-8:00 PM
Sept 11- EMHS Plant Exchange, at Suncrest. 4:00 PM- 8:00 PM
Nov 13- Board Meeting
Dec 11- Annual Christmas Party @ Mayfield Twp. Hall. 4:00 PM
Michigan Hosta Society Workshop-
Sunday August 24, 2025 11:00 am
located at
Hidden Lake Gardens
6214 Monroe Rd., Tipton, MI 49287
We will demonstrate how to make a hypertufa pot and each person attending will make their
own to take home! Wear your work clothes as this can be a messy hobby. The workshop will
be in the barn rather than the Administration building.
Also, hostas that did not sell at the annual sale in June will be available to purchase for $10
per pot! The list of available hosta will be online so you can order and pay for them when you
register. The plants will be available for pick up during the event.
Registration includes
• Traverse City Pie Company box lunch
• Hosta ‘Dragon’s Dream’ gift from Bob Solberg of Greenhill Nursery
• Presentation from speaker (TBD - likely from Gee Farms)
• Hands-on class making a hypertufa pot
You must register in advance of the date.
Registration begins August 1st at noon on the MHS website: www.mihostasociety.org
Members registration $15; Non-Member registration $25.
Bob’s Garden Fair Bus Trip-
INVITATION FROM THE GREAT LAKES CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN ROCK GARDEN SOCIETY
(GLC-NARGS)
You are invited on a bus trip to visit Bob's Garden Fair in Englewood, Ohio on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.
Each year, the Saturday of Labor Day weekend is when this big event takes place.
This is a fun event with a number of excellent vendors and an opportunity to see Bob Iiames'
spectacular garden. Our Chapter had a bus trip down there some years back, and we're reprising it. We'll also visit one other garden after lunch.
Feel free to invite friends. We're not restricting this trip to only members.
The general timing will be:
7:30 Leave from the Ann Arbor Sam's Club parking lot near US 23 and US 12 (Michigan Ave.) The address is 5450 Carpenter Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. Note: The bus company asks people to be there at 7:00 for a 7:30 departure.
10:30 AM arrive at Bob's Garden Fair, Englewood, Ohio.
12:30 PM Get to the bus for lunch at 12:45 at Company 7 BBQ, roughly 2 blocks from Bob's.
After lunch, we'll visit one additional garden -- details being worked out
5:30 PM (approximately) back at the Sam's Club parking lot
To reserve your spot, please send a check made out to GLC-NARGS by Aug. 18 for $10:00 per person to:
Linda Gates
7880 Ernst Road
Manchester MI 48158
Thank you,
Tony Reznicek,PhD
Newsletter Editor – GLC NARGS
Libby Greanya
Secretary - GLC NARGS
Note from Libby. The GLC NARGS is essentially subsidizing the $2,700.00 bus. Each seat costs the Chapter $48.00 so this is a GREAT DEAL for you!
The bus will also be filled with interesting garden people! Bob is a great guy and it should be on your bucket list to go to Bob’s Garden Fair at least once!
Hopefully we will not have a large charter bus taking a handful of people, but the contract is signed so regardless, this trip is ON!
Repeat: Feel free to invite friends.
To reserve your spot, please send a check made out to GLC-NARGS by Aug. 18 for $10:00 to:
Linda Gates
7880 Ernst Road
Manchester MI 48158
Club Members selling Hosta or Related Products-
Please call or email to set an appointment before visiting
Brown, Deb- Aeroponic Tower Garden. 505-379-9100,
www.debbrown.towergarden.com
Daniels, Marlene- Bottle wind chimes. 810-358-7765,
gardenfairy50@aol.com
Hanner, Mark/Becky- Pottery. 810-631-4292,
mhanner@aol.com
Hunter, Barb- Hosta, Daylilies, Pond supplies. 810-664-7531,
baha@chartermi.net
Websites of Interest:
American Hosta Society-
http://www.americanhostasociety.org/
American Hosta Society Convention Website- http://www.americanhostasociety.org/Activities/Conventions.htm
AHS Hosta Library Website-
http://www.hostalibrary.org/
Michigan Hosta Society Website-
http://www.hostahappenings.com/
Eastern Michigan Hosta Society-
http://EMHosta.com
Hosta College Website-
HostaCollege.org
Name Badges- If you need one of the new EMHS name badges, please put your printed name on the sign-up sheet at any meeting or you can email Glen with your request. Glen will try to have your name badge at the next meeting.
EMHS Board of Officers:
President Glen Pace
PaceGardens@charter.net 810-247-4582
Vice-President Becky Hanner
BGHanner@aol.com 810-631-4292
Secretary/Treasurer Marlene Daniels
gardenfairy50@aol.com 810-358-7765
Past President Mark Hanner
mhanner@aol.com 810-631-4292
Fund-Raising Cathy Hodgson
cehodgso@hotmail.com 810-664-8985
