Bill and Elizabeth’s Excellent Adventures 2024 Edition

Eagleson Meadows is a true family business, with Bill and Elizabeth dedicating their “off-time” to developing their garden and exploring new ones. Their travels and participation in local and regional events inspire fresh ideas and knowledge that benefit our clients’ landscapes.

“Our 2024 adventures kicked off at Hosta College in March, an educational event in Ohio featuring various vendors. It was a fantastic start to the year, where we reconnected with old friends, made new ones, and explored new plants and learned new things. Bill is set to teach at next year’s gathering, which means even more exciting varieties will be available at the plant sale.

Next, we participated in the Great Lakes Regional Hosta Tour, showcasing our garden to fellow Hosta enthusiasts. Visitors drove in from states like New York, Wisconsin, and Iowa to explore Hosta gardens in Greater Indianapolis. We even welcomed a busload from Dayton, Ohio! Everyone enjoyed touring the gardens, and many took home some of our unique Hostas and other perennials. We also hosted several garden-oriented vendors for our guests. It was great fun to share our passion for this plant species with people who have the bug too.

This year’s Conifer National Convention took place in Cincinnati, perfectly timed for us to stop by on our way to our annual family summer gathering in North Carolina. We attended the Friday and Saturday events, picked up plenty of plants, and then headed to the beach on Sunday with greenery in tow! Reconnecting with our conifer friends was delightful, and we discovered many fascinating plants. A live auction featured unique specimens that were unfortunately out of our budget. One standout was a new graft from the Czech Republic—while there may be more available there, this was the only one in the U.S. The thrill of introducing new varieties is that we can only guess how they’ll look in 20 years; it’s an adventure adding them to our gardens! We also found some of our regular favorites. Everything we bought traveled with us to North Carolina, so part of our vacation involved tending to our new plants. We know that plant nerds are everywhere and were delighted when the pool guy at our rented house pointed out that we should wash the leaves since they were not used to the salt air. It was great advice.

Family Beach Week in North Carolina was especially memorable this year. The youngest member, Sadie Eagleson, celebrated her 6-week birthday while we were there. It was heartwarming to see several Eagleson little ones present—a lovely reminder of how the next generation is growing. We held Family Beach Olympics, but Bill found himself more of a participant than a competitor—though he still throws a mean frisbee! Thank goodness for the younger family members!

This fall, we took a bus trip with the Indianapolis Hosta Society to Champaign, Illinois. Over two days, we toured several gardens, including one at the University of Illinois featuring a lovely Hosta display and an Asian-themed Zen garden. One garden we visited was over 40 years old; it was fascinating to see how they managed trimming over all those years. Our garden is nearing 10 years now, so it provided a glimpse into what ours could become in the future. Each garden tour was wonderful, and we added several new plants to our collection.

Every year these tours and events provide us with knowledge and inspiration. Each offers a unique perspective or approach. Even though we intentionally place plants in our garden, they don’t always follow the expert’s guidelines! Learning how others have handled unruly species or observing how specific plants behave in different habitats is invaluable. New plants often lack historical information to guide us on their growth patterns; seeing them thrive in various environments helps us understand their potential for our clients.”

We’re already planning for 2025, including our own Eagleson Meadows events. Mark your calendars for: