By 
Red Zinger
Only a couple dozen of the hundreds of iris are blooming this weekend at the annual Toad Hollow Iris Tour. The calendar is ahead of the blooming – the big burst of flowers will likely appear during the week – and flower lovers are invited back to Toad Hollow next weekend.
Toad Hollow is several miles east of Emporia and is the magnificent creation of Nina and Gaylord West.
Even though the iris are not in their full blooming glory, the garden is still spring-lovely. I dropped by this afternoon and took photos.
That small red tree on the left is a Japanese Maple (I think).
Garden Guru Nina West points out an early-blooming peony to a group of women.
Gaylord West shares a bit of gardening knowledge with a guest.
This iris is called Season Ticket.
In the photo this one looks midnight bluish. Out there, it looked nearly black.
Weathered angel.
Peter Pan
Rocks and shells on a board.
The Toad Hollow cat, Tiger. A sweet and friendly kitty.
A kitty prone to naps.
Even if the iris aren’t in full bloom, we have Gaylord to provide entertainment.
Events at Toad Hollow:
Sat/Sun, May 10 – 11; 10 am – 5 pm – Iris Tour
Sat/Sun, May 17- 18; 10 am – 5 pm – Iris Tour with more iris in bloom
Sat. June 7; 10 am – 4 pm, Sun. June 8; 11 am – 4 pm. Art in the Garden. A city of white tents in a country garden is the setting for Emporia’s third annual Art in the Garden show. Come for the beautiful visuals, wonderful music, fragrant flowers, friendly atmosphere, good food and great original art gifts. A variety of original artworks are for sale, including art glass, copper works, drawings, fiber, hypertufa, hand-carved stone, iron sculpture, jewelry, paintings, photography, pottery, sculpture dolls, stained glass, woodcarvings and more. Toad Hollow, 1534 Rd. 170, 342-6959.
Sat/Sun, June 28 – 29; 10 am – 4 pm – Daylily Tour. Toad Hollow’s summer garden is for the daylily lover. Experience over 500 daylilies close-up and personal. The array of colors is amazing. From almost white to almost black, you will see every shade of yellow, salmon, orange, rust, pink and red, not to mention polychromed and eyed blossoms. Form and habit are also diverse. You will see minis, spider form, seersuckering, ruffles, veining and ribbing. Observe high bud count for a longer blooming cycle. Seeing daylilies in the field gives you a better idea of plant vigor, sturdiness and true color in our climate. Roses, love-in-a-mist, rose campion, larkspur, hollyhocks, bronze fennel, purple cone flowers and lilies are among other seasonal plants in bloom during the daylily season.
Toad Hollow features one of the most complete collections of Brother Charles Reckamp daylilies in the Midwest. A Catholic monk in Illinois, Brother Charles died in 1996, but a number of his hybrid seedlings continue to be introduced. This garden also includes hybrids developed by Kansans including the late Ivan Beyer of Gridley.
Photos from 2007 Art in the Garden. More. More.
Directions: Toad Hollow is just off Exit 135 on I-35, about three miles east of Emporia. MAP
Take the 135 exit and head south to a T-intersection (about 1/4 mile). Turn left (east) and travel 1/4 mile. Toad Hollow is on the north side of the road. The address is 1534 Rd 170, Emporia. 620-343-8655.
These events are free and open to the public. Donations are often accepted for YMCA Camp Wood (near Elmdale) or for art scholarships.
Iris and daylilies and many other plants are for sale. Customers can make a list of desired iris and daylilies. Plants will be dug at a later date and customers will be called when they are available to be picked up.
My sister-in-law and three friends visited from Atchison County. I joined them after the stop at Toad Hollow to have lunch at Amanda’s, then on to the zoo, to the Richard Howe stone house and Welsh farmstead, on to the William Allen White House State Historic Site and then a stop at Phi Delta Theta.
When they left for the return home at 3 PM I returned to Toad Hollow. Nina had a peppering of people through out the afternoon including people from Topeka, a former Emporian now in Dallas and a retiree returning to Emporia from Michigan. Several plan to return next weekend.
That’s a nice cat. Did you notice, it has a notched ear? We had a cat with notched ears. Proves they’re tough!
I LOVE Toad Hollow! I bought iris from Nina and they bloomed beautifully last year (the first year), but this year they should be fabulous!–not blooming yet but so much more green leaves and buds.
I’m bringing my family over tomorrow afternoon unless it is pouring rain. I don’t know if my parents will come; I talked to my mother today and she said she wasn’t feeling “up to snuff” (well, I know what it means, but what is snuff?)
I like the Red Zinger. I was just reading about Irises in my Martha Stewart magazine this past weekend. It said the only color that hasn’t been developed yet is a pure red. Iris plants contain lycopene but it shows as a reddish orange and not a true red as it does in most other plants. I found that very interesting.
I didn’t realize there were so many colors of irises. I always grew up with purple and white around.
So pretty! Might go there one day 😉 I have a cat that looks almost exactly like tiger! I’m unable to figure out the breed, so if anyone can help, please do! Thanks, and I hope to see Toad Hollow one day ^^