How do you determine if something is an antique, a relic or just plain cool old stuff? I'm sure someone out there has an official definition. I just want to share some 'cool old stuff' with you!

Sue found this old cart in one of our barns here at Countryside and gave it new life by adding it to one of her displays. It has peaked much interest and here is the history... Way back when the Hameders, the original owners of Countryside, were growing chrysanthemum and carnation cut flowers in the greenhouse for use in their florist business, the benches were very close together and ran the full length of the greenhouses. Bill Hameder made these "Tea Carts" narrow enough to fit between the benches. You can see the

concrete 'ribbons' between the brick. These were the aisle ways, between the permanent concrete benches, where they would transport soil from bench to bench  throughout the winter growing months. Once  those flowers were harvested, they began rooting, growing and transplanting  geraniums and, again, moving soil up and down the rows and eventually moving the plants out to the sale lot using these "Tea Carts". Since then, not too many things have changed. Richard and Jim are still the second owners and have done a fine job of maintaining the original glass greenhouse. Countryside has since added many other more efficient greenhouses, taken out the concrete benches, widened the aisles and bricked the dirt floors. Countryside still grows thousands of geraniums as well as many other seasonal plants. Right now the 11,000 mums we have grown for fall all starting to show color!  Our customers still love to get their hands dirty and enjoy a beautiful garden.  Our carts - well, they have changed. This one however, is a treasure to us!

Do you have a garden treasure? Another I would like to share is a plant that has been in my family for more than 170 years. My husband's Aunt Dot gave us this beautiful lily when we got married. At that time, it had been shared throughout her family for more than 150 years. We will be celebrating our 19th anniversary next week and I can't help but think of how many ancestors smiled every time they saw it bloom.

Next week Countryside will be blessed with many treasures, both new and old. We will be hosting our 17th Annual Quilt Show!

 You have to come see our Quilt Show! It is like no other in the area. Our dear customers lend us their beautiful hand-crafted works of art to display throughout our greenhouses. Their generosity fills our show with upwards (and sometimes over) 100 quilts. All of them incredibly, gorgeous...many with history and some waiting to be raffled off to mark the beginning of their own story.

	Marcy L Cronin

How you differentiate between a relic, an antique, a treasure is not clear to me but come by Saturday and Sunday, September 17 & 18 and enjoy a little of all the above!

17th Annual Quilt Show

Saturday & Sunday, September 17 & 18