Each Little World: A roadtrip to Kopke's Greenhouse

A roadtrip to Kopke's Greenhouse

Madison, and the surrounding county, have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to local independent nurseries. They come in all sizes, styles and specialties — with the result that one tends to pick a few favorites and never get around to exploring the others. Thus, last week at this time, we took a road trip to Kopke's Greenhouse in Oregon. (That's me in the baseball cap, pushing a cart in the right rear of the photo.)

While Kopke's has a beautiful assortment of sun and shade perennials, they are known for hanging baskets and bedding plants. Since I don't really partake of either of those aspects of gardening, I've been content to pick up a plant here and there from their stand at Madison's West Side Farmers Market.

But I have to admit I was blown away by their assortment of annuals (the pansies alone were noteworthy). I decided to pick up a couple of things for my Traffic Island garden which could use some summer color, but nothing that gets too big and might block traffic.

I ooohed and aaahed over these lilies but I already have lilies in that bed and needed something smaller; something that would be happy in a rather compromised setting: Pelargoniums! I love these traditional summer geraniums but typically only grow true or so-called perennial geraniums (Geranium macrorrhizum). In fact, the garden slope facing the traffic island bed is filled with perennial geraniums.

I bought four different Pelargoniums with interesting splotched leaves and flowers in corals and that shade of red that Frank Lloyd Wright liked so well. I came home and immediately planted them, along with two different Coleus. But before that, I gave myself up to wandering around Kopke's and just enjoying the vibrancy.

Kopke's has 26 greenhouses with 3 open for retail customers. But there were flowers and plants everywhere you looked.

There were lots of ready-made containers on display as well as assorted styles and sizes of empty containers on sale for those who prefer to DIY. All the display models had plant tags so you could easily recreate it or be creative and put together your own plant combo.

One of the retail greenhouses had vines — including a stunning white morning glory — climbing up the columns that marched all down the middle of the space.

A display geared to local gardeners. In Wisconsin, we can never have too much red and white!

Our friend Dennis Tande (below left) spends his spring as a seasonal worker at Kopke's before he goes home to tend his own garden. Here he is with Anna Kopke, who co-owns the business with her husband, Gordy. Local folks might like to know that Gordy was one of the farmers who took part in the Tractor Parade at the State Capitol the day the Fab 14 came home. That little bit of trivia makes me like these folks and their nursery even more. This first visit won't be my last!