2025 Summer Conference and Seed Trials
August 4-6, Holland, Michigan

Holland, Michigan was our destination for the 2025 Summer Meeting—a forward thinking town on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan with a snowmelt system that ensures that streets and sidewalks are snow and slush free all winter. There was only warm, sunny weather during our gathering, however, and we made the most of it. Our conference hotel, Haworth Inn and Conference Center, bordered the charming downtown. We visited a number of garden destinations where we looked at beautiful plants, fertilizer comparisons, state-of-the-art greenhouse ranges, seed packaging systems, and much more.

Our traditional evening welcome reception at the Haworth, sponsored by Wild West Seed and True Leaf Market, gave new members a chance to introduce themselves and longtime colleagues time to reconnect and share experiences. This networking opportunity is a key value of the annual summer meeting. Seed company representatives, breeders, and packagers from throughout the United States as well as the UK, France, and Germany were in attendance.

We returned to the hotel gathering space the next morning for a hearty breakfast, sponsored by American Meadows, where we prepared for the busy day ahead. Our chartered bus, sponsored by Condor Seed would transport us to Walters Gardens in nearby Zeeland, followed by a visit to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

Andrew Jager introduced us to the bare root production and perennial growing operations at Walters Gardens. The business has been in operation since 1946 and the site we visited has 15 acres of greenhouse space and about 200 employees. They evaluate tens of thousands of perennials in order to choose 50 to 80 new plant introductions. Walters grows perennials throughout the season, and they begin digging bare root plants in late fall for spring shipping. We marveled at the robust IPM system, which included beneficial mites and yellow sticky strips to catch problems early so that they can take targeted action and minimize pesticide use. Walters Gardens serves as a primary supplier of Proven Winners Perennials.

Walters garden displays, maintained by a team of 4 to 5 workers, were impressive. After taking time to walk through the extensive display of perennials, we were treated to a lunch sponsored by Graines Voltz. John Walters, a second generation member of the family, offered background information on how Walters Gardens came to be. Prior to the business’s official opening in 1946, the property was the site of a retail operation. The first Walters family member to sell perennial plants was a widow who took care of her daughter.

Next stop: the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, where we were treated to a tram tour, courtesy of Seeds By Design. The 158 acre park opened to the public in 1995, a major cultural attraction focused on horticulture and art. The pictures tell the story!

We arrived back at the hotel with just enough time to prepare for our next event: the Holland Princess Dinner Cruise. This relaxing excursion on a Victorian-style paddleboat, sponsored by Walters Seed Company, took us from Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan and back, with live music playing all the while.

The following morning, after a buffet breakfast sponsored by Eden Brothers, we boarded the chartered bus again and headed to the Walters Seed Company Warehouse. Founded in 1958, Walters Seed Company specializes in imprinting custom seed packets for gifts and promotional premiums. Sandy Walters, An HGSA member, introduced us to her dedicated staff members and to the company’s impressive array of machinery.

Zylman’s Dahlia Farm was our next stop. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Holland, Michigan, Dr. Landis and his wife Judie grow flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, and more on their four acre property. To say that they have a passion for dahlias is an understatement!

From there we moved on to Mast Young Plants, a plant supplier to small greenhouse operations, and, more importantly for our members, a site for our trial gardens. Located in Grand Rapids for 50 years, the company prioritizes education, and hosts a “Homeowner’s Night,” where speakers introduce beginners to gardening. Their “Living Catalog” is an education in itself, featuring many side-by-side cultivar comparisons. They also do fertilizer comparisons, in which flowers are subjected to differing fertilizer amounts and schedules. We enjoyed lunch surrounded by our trial plants, which Mast Young staff members generously grew from seeds supplied by HGSA members in late winter. The results were thoroughly scrutinized. 

Our final stop was at the Perkins Community Garden, another trial garden site. Community gardeners were available to show us the plants grown from our trial seeds. Erin Hill, a weed scientist from Michigan State University, introduced the concept of a “weed garden,” and gave us a quick primer on how to identify grassy weeds. Her entertaining talk was sponsored by Graines Voltz.

Our closing cocktail reception, courtesy of JBM Packaging, and dinner buffet, sponsored by Applewood Seed, took place back at the hotel—a delicious ending to two days filled with interesting activities and engrossing conversations.