At the April meeting, Josh Spece, webmaster/author for the American Hosta Society and co-owner of In the Country Garden & Gifts nursery in Independence, Iowa, will share a wheelchair gardener’s view on “Accessible Gardening” and “It’s Not Easy Being Green.”

Josh was born with a form of Muscular Dystrophy and uses a wheelchair which presents obvious challenges to gardening, but with creativity, determination, and support from family and friends, physical limitations do not get in the way.

Josh and his mother, Sue, started In the Country Garden & Gifts in 1998.  Josh has an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Horticulture and a love of unusual plants. Sue has a creative eye and 30 years of experience making crafts.  They work together to make In the Country a one-of-a-kind specialty nursery and gift shop.  Adjacent to the nursery is an extensive display garden featuring 100’s of hostas, uncommon perennials, dwarf conifers, succulents, and rock gardens. Serious gardeners and hosta collectors from across the country visit every year and hosta club bus tours routinely schedule stops.  Over the 20+ years of being in the hosta business, Josh has been fortunate to develop close ties with many leading hosta aficionados across the country and around the world. In the Country not only offers many tried and true classics, but takes pride in offering the newest and most innovative hostas being developed.

Josh is a regular contributor of articles and photos to the American Hosta Society’s The Hosta Journal and serves as web editor-in-chief on the Board of Directors for the American Hosta Society. Josh also designed In the Country’s website, which includes an online store for mail order customers.

For more on Josh and In the Country see: www.inthecountrygardenandgifts.com

Josh’s presentation is at 7:00 p.m.  Refreshments are at 6:30 p.m.  Visitors welcome.

Josh will also be bringing plants which will be available for purchase at the meeting.