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Here we are again, another week of shelter in place.

I am sending you all well wishes and hoping that you have found ways to enjoy this springtime season despite the fears and restrictions placed upon us. I am seeing many signs of spring in the Hormel Historic Home Peace Garden and I have seen many of you outside prepping your landscapes for planting. At least the weather has allowed us that bit of normalcy in this unusual time.

We have been working on the Peace Garden to make it a place where you are welcome to explore, even though our interior is closed. We have added history panels containing just a bit of the story that our organization preserves. We’ve also started a rock garden and we are requesting your help with that project. If you, or your family members, have been channeling your creative side recently we invite you to paint some rocks and then place them in the garden around the pig statue. This collection will remind us of a historic period when many have found themselves with more time for quiet individual projects that reflect their feelings and emotions.

We would also like to be adding visual interest to the garden with colorful pots full of flowers. However, we have had to freeze spending during this time of closure due to no event or tour revenue. But I don’t like the idea of a garden without those special flowers that bring joy. So, if you find yourself with an extra four-pack or a single flower that you have no more space to plant, we would love to find a space for it in our garden. I guess you could call this an ‘annual’ appeal. Add to our garden and all visitors will be blessed.

The Hormel Historic Home has been supported by the community in so many ways in the past. On Sept. 13, 1931, the Austin Daily Herald reported on how the YWCA was supported by the donation of flowers.

“’This looks like a flower show,’ and ‘I have never seen such beautiful blossoms’ are exclamations that have been heard the last two days at the Y.W.C.A.

All due to the fact that dahlias from the garden of Dr. J.G.W. Havens were used for decorations at a luncheon of the Colonial Club at which Mrs. Alice Foster was on the committee. These flowers were left in place for several organizations meeting at the Y.W.C.A. last night and today.

Dahlias of unusual size and of varied and brilliant colors, shell-pink, yellows, reds, and old rose, with petals irregular and long, remind one of chrysanthemums rather than of the regularly arranged, button-like formation of the dahlia of ordinary growth.

A pink dahlia named ‘The Gertrude’ and raised from a seedling by Dr. Havens, attracts the most favorable comment…”

Thank you for considering bringing your rocks and your flowers to the HHH Peace Garden throughout this historic season.

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