How does one write a welcome newsletter when half the driving force has left for higher ground- so to say? Kathy's presence will always be in our (her) garden as long as we can maintain it and all you wonderful folks keep returning every summer. That is, of course, and always has been, our driving force to keep it open- just for you. Thank you, each and every one of you.

2022 was a fair garden year. Heat and draught seemed to team up but thanks to our Mennonite lady weeders, the garden looked beautiful. Garden visitors have been welcome here for 29 years. The first few years were sparse for sure but not much later I told Kathy I would not dig up any more turf. It's amazing how fast daylily gardens grow. But now we needed to downsize the garden a bit and with the aid of a couple eager beaver friends we took up and out over 200 plants. These mostly came from the beds alongside the ever-encroaching Norway spruce trees Kathy and I planted in 1973. We still have around 2000 daylilies in the display garden with a few thousand seedlings in seedling beds.

In May and June our team of garden workers poured their hearts out hauling wagon loads of weeds and mulch to make the garden the beauty spot of the Finger Lakes. We could not survive without them, and you too. Sales wise, 2022 was a good year even with open house garden temperature in the mid-90's. Didn't slow anyone down a single bit. We went through a lot of Wegman's spring water.

Every year we obtain new to the garden daylilies from auctions and other sources. It is important to keep adding "newer" plants to the garden to hold visitor interest in returning every year. Returning and new visitors made each day special. I only wish Kathy was here as official greeter. I believe she still is.

It was very hot open house day with temperature climbing into the 90's. That didn't slow down our diggers or visitors. It was fun. Daylily people are special. And I for one, am happy to have so many special friends. It was quoted long ago, that it isn't about flowers, daylilies are about making and keeping friends. Grace Gardens experiences prove this over and over again. Yes, it is hard work to keep the garden going but the friendship rewards are legendary.

Open house this year will be a little earlier, July 15, earlier than I like but scheduling helpers takes precedence. Still, with a warmer spring, it might be a good idea. Typically, our peak bloom falls right around July 18. We like to go on the late side of that date as most of our own daylily creations are on the later side, by design. Kathy and I both focused on hybridizing later daylilies to extend the bloom season.

Our web site got attacked by malware who knows how and was down for a considerable time as we couldn't seem to get the right tech rep to help. After spending hours over a couple days, I found one who had the site up and running in just 10 minutes. I understand these attacks have programs that scan the internet looking for susceptible sites to mess with. GoDaddy had to remove all my files from their server and try to re-upload them. 175 photos got left out. However, most of them are back now. The thing is, I need to remove the 200 or so daylilies that we pulled last summer. I am working on that now.

So, as 2023 rolls around, we still plan to be here in Grace Gardens. It is my hope and prayers that you and yours will fair well in 2023, that health and prosperity will hold you high. We will never forget you and know you will do the same.

See you in the garden.

Tom