WE ARE ALIVE!!!! Thanks to everyone who called or emailed saying "hey, are you guys still around?" We are. We're frantically planting, mulching, weeding, harvesting, and distilling. May passed in an absolute flurry of bus tours, really big and time-consuming wholesale orders, and just general busy-ness. June was all about rain. Rain, rain, and then more rain, resulting in (as many of you know) huge devastating floods in many parts of Iowa. We are very fortunate - the worst of the flooding and rain occurred to the east of us. We did not suffer any crop or property damage. We were, however, completely unable to get into our gardens to plant or do any sort of work at all. When the rains finally stopped, we erupted into a flurry of outdoor work. We have done our best to keep up with our orders, and thank you all for your patience with us. If we don't get things planted, dried, and distilled - we are unable to offer our full range of products. So forgive us as we, as the saying goes "make hay while the sun shines". Sometimes you just gotta work outdoors when you can.

In the midst of the rain, bus tours, orders and otherwise wacky goings-on at Prairieland Herbs, Maggie's home computer died. yes, that is the one that contains all the PLH website info as well as all photos for blogging, etc. We promptly ordered a new laptop but, it took it's sweet time getting here. Good ol' Mercury retrograde - of course the computer was shipped the day after Mercury went direct. :) So we weren't able to blog, update the website, or send enewsletters until now. We'll be working on getting back to our regularly scheduled chattiness starting - NOW!
One of Donna's gorgeous Buck roses, surrounded by a beautiful blooming creeping thyme.

This is our main annual bed. Well, it was, anyway, because we are slowly planting it to more perennials. This picture was taken on June 18th. we had to MOW the weeds before we could till it!!! (those of you who think your gardens are weedy: take heart. I can pretty much guarantee ours is worse!). Anyway, as of today, these beds are mulched and planted. Pictures coming soon. :)
Tell me - aren't these the cutest little baby peaches you have EVER seen? We planted an orchard several years ago, and it is FINALLY producing fruit. I am so excited. We have 2 of these whiteflesh peach trees, several apple trees, a pear tree, loads and loads and LOADS of wild plums (the go mad, and spread isanely - you have to keep whacking them back with mowers and power tools, lest they completely take over everything), chokecherries, the biggest fattest juiciest mulberries I have EVER seen, grapes, and the elderberry bushes are just starting to bloom.