Joshua
Spece (rhymes with lease), his mother Sue, and his sister and brother
have a
dream: to build a handicap accessible house in Independence, Iowa. All
the
Spece children are wheelchair dependent. Sue is their tireless,
dedicated
caretaker.
Called
“Building a Dream in the Country,” it’s a remarkable, uplifting
story of
the Speces’ special needs and the quest for financial support after a
major
funding disappointment. You can view this extraordinary, heartwarming
story by
clicking HERE.
Included is an optional YouTube presentation.
Josh
is a member of The American Hosta Society’s Executive Council, serving
outstandingly as Web Editor-in-Chief. Most AHS members likely know
Josh as
author of the insightful “Standout Hostas” columns in The
Online Hosta Journal. In addition, those who follow the
online
hosta auctions know of Josh’s generous donations.
Josh
and Sue are proprietors of In the Country Garden and Gifts, with the
tagline
“This is Hosta Country,” one of the leading, most respected retail
hosta
nurseries. It also features other shade plants, sun perennials, books,
and
“odds and ends.” There is an online catalog.
The
2013 First Look Online Auction, held during the middle two weeks in
February,
from Sunday 2/10 through Saturday 2/23,
contributed to the “Building a Dream in the
Country” fund. Two
“Special Item” hostas were donated. Both had the same proviso. They are
not
to be
propagated, shared, or resold without the permission of the donor.
Hosta ‘Giantland
Believe in a
Dream’, donated by Jeff Miller of Land of the Giants Hosta Farm in
Milton,
Wisconsin, was offered on the last Wednesday morning. The starting bid
was
$100.00, and by early Thursday afternoon reached $500.00, the winning
bid.
“H. ‘Giantland Believe
in a Dream’,” Bill Meyer, founder
of First Look wrote in the description, “is a large (not surprisingly)
gold
with an upright form. Leaves measure about 13 inches round. This plant
held up
remarkably well in the terribly hot and dry summer of 2012. Visitors to
Land of the Giants nursery were so enamored of it that it was chosen to be the
gift
plant for the 2014 AHS National Convention in Iowa. Because the
convention
planners weren’t sure they could get enough produced, they went with
another
plant, leaving this one free to be in the First Look auction.”
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H.
'Giantland Believe in a Dream'
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Bill further stated,
“Currently, ‘Giantland Believe in a Dream’ is being
tissue-culture propagated and will be available soon. All sales from
it,
through Josh’s nursery or through Jeff’s Land of the Giants, will go
100%
toward helping with the Building a Dream project.” |
![](images/BADITC02.jpg) |
The other "Special
Item" hosta, donated for the Spece’s dream house, was
‘Country Dreaming’. It was offered in the early afternoon on the last
Thursday.
The starting bid was $250 and in only three hours it went to $500,
which was
the final bid.
This is what Bill
wrote, “When Don Dean (noted hosta hybridizer from
Ramsey, Minnesota, and The Online Hosta
Journal editor) saw the opportunity to join Jeff Miller and
the First Look
auction to raise funds for the Spece family, he phoned First Look
Headquarters
and got onboard quickly. As it turns out, Don already had his plan in
the works
for the Speces when he spotted this opportunity to announce it.”
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H.
'Country
Dreaming'
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“Josh and Sue
Spece,” Don explained, “selected this one from my seedlings
when I offered one of the plants for the cause. It will be tissue
cultured and
all profits from the sale will go to the "Building a Dream in the
Country"
fund. It hasn’t been sent to the lab yet but will be when it comes up
this
spring. I’m afraid it won’t be available until after their house is
built, but
we all know that getting the roof and walls completed are only a part
of what
makes a new house a home. The TC plants will be sold through In the
Country
Gardens and Gifts, hopefully starting in 2015. Only the original OS
[originator
stock] plant in my garden exists at this time.”
Don registered ‘Country
Dreaming’ this year. It has deep, rich, blue leaves approximately 11
inches by
8.5 inches, forming a medium clump 22 inches high and 40 inches in
diameter.
Parentage is ‘Purple Verticulated Elf’ × (‘Northern Heritage’ × OP). H. ‘Purple Verticulated Elf’ is a
Ralph “Herb” Benedict introduction, registered in 2003. H. ‘Northern
Heritage’, a
medium green streaked-leaved hybrid, was registered by Don in 1999.
H. ‘Giantland
Believe in a Dream’ and ‘Country Dreaming’ each received the highest
bids at
the First Look event - $500. What made these hostas a Special Event was
that
First Look announced it would donate the winning bids for both hostas
to the
Spece fund. Furthermore, First Look would donate additional funding to
the
Spece Dream House fund.
For ‘Giantland
Believe in a Dream’, First Look pledged to donate double
the winning bid up to $500.00. Since it sold for $500.00, First Look
donated
$1000.00. For ‘Country Dreaming’, First Look pledged to match the
winning bid
up to a $500.00 donation. It went for $500.00; accordingly First Look
donated
$500.00.
In total, the Spece
"Building
a Dream in the
Country" fund received
$2,500 from the 2013
First Look Online Auction.
“Nice
to do
something good for someone in the community who needs help,”
Bill remarked. |
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