Meetings and planning

This has been a week full of meetings.  From planning for the upcoming state MG conference in Monticello (registration will go live February 1), to planning for IMGC in 2013, to Arkansas Flower & Garden Show Feb 24-26, 2012, and more on the Peoples Garden Grant, I feel like I have met myself coming and going.  Monticello was cooler and gloomier than Little Rock on Wednesday, but now we are cold statewide. I actually saw a few snow flurries yesterday morning on the way into the office.  The mild weather we have had up until yesterday, has many plants thinking spring is around the corner.  I saw winter jasmine in almost full bloom on Wednesday, and all three varieties of my hellebores are either blooming or about to burst.  Statewide people keep asking about their hydrangeas and what to do to protect them.  With as much winter as we have left, I am not sure it is feasable.  It has been a great season for pansies so far and the flowering kale and cabbage are spectacular.

I also got some calls this week concerning eleagnus and winter honeysuckle dying.  This is the first I have heard of it.  Have any of you had any problems, or seen any damage. I have asked for samples/ and pictures, so we can see what is going on.  Next Tuesday and Wednesday is the Arkansas Green Industry Association meeting in Hot Springs.  There are seminars both days and a trade show. If you know folks who might be interested in the nursery or greenhouse business, this is the meeting for them.