Pheasants at Hensler’s!
Friday at the Nursery: Spotted our playful Ring-necked pheasant this morning. He’s just one year old, but displays all the characteristic beautiful colors of his species, including the namesake white ring around the neck.
Our Reindeer Family
Meet our sweet deer family.
Morels
Found a few edible mushrooms on the nursery today! We decided to drench them in egg and flour and fry them up with a bit of olive oil and salt. Mushroom season is short, just 2-3 weeks.
Seedling Sorting
Here’s a “behind the scenes” look at some of the work we’ve been up to this spring at Hensler’s. Prior to transplanting these seedlings into the ground, we sort out the best quality and size of our Norway seedlings, by hand.
Peacocks
Our peacocks are enjoying the sun and warmer weather today.
No Santa and Mrs. Claus this weekend
Santa and Mrs. Claus will not be at the farm this weekend (Dec. 21 – 22, 2013) as they are heading back to the North Pole. We will be open this weekend and still have fresh greenery items and Christmas trees to help out with your last minute needs before Christmas.
Christmas Tree for the Governor
On December 2nd we had the honor of delivering one of our 8 ½ foot Fraser Firs to Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
2013 Christmas Fest Parade
Thank you to the fire departments of Knox/Center Township, Oregon Township/Koontz Lake and all who attended to help welcome Santa and Mrs. Claus!
We’re Opening Early!
Christmas comes early this weekend at Hensler’s!
We heard from so many of you about wanting to get your Christmas trees and holiday greenery early this year that we decided to open a week early.
While we’ll be completely up and running starting the day after Thanksgiving, many of the Christmas Fest activities you enjoy are at the ready for this pre-season opener.
This weekend: November 23 – 24, 2013
- Open from 9AM – 4PM CST
- Cut your own Christmas tree
- Ride the tractor pulled tram to the tree fields
- Fresh-cut tree lot is stocked with fir, Scotch pine and White pine
- Save up to 50% on specially selected Fontanini nativity items all weekend
- Christmas Barn along with the decorating barn will be open
Special Open House: November 25, 2013
Because of the stormy weather last weekend we have scheduled a re-do of our special Open House event on this Sunday. Between 12 – 4PM we’ll offer refreshments, merriment and special discounts on select items.
Week of Thanksgiving: November 25 – 27
- We’ll be open 9AM – 4PM CST on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
- Closed on Thanksgiving day
Christmas Fest begins: November 29, 2013
- Christmas Fest officially kicks off on the day after Thanksgiving
- We’re open 9AM – 6PM daily until Christmas Eve
- Santa and Mrs. Claus will be at Hensler’s the day after Thanksgiving, and then every Saturday and Sunday of Christmas Fest
- Our Christmas Fest parade is on November 30 starting at 9AM
- Fresh pre-cut trees are available on the tree lot
Saying Goodbye to Fall Fest
Hensler Nursery’s Fall Fest has had a 5 year run of fun-filled activities before it was closed down this year. According to John Hensler, “We will miss our partnership with the Indiana Giant Pumpkin Growers Association. We made many friends.” Also missed will be the Car Show activity, the Wheel Horse/Lawn Tractor Weekend, The Giant Pumpkin Drop, and of course, all the wonderful people and groups who came for fall activities.
Ron Henigsmith, Special Events Coordinator, stated “With the fall activities gone, there will be more time to prepare for Christmas Fest.” During the 5 years of Fall Fest activities, Christmas Fest continued to grow, increasing by 26 percent.
Scaling back on fall activities will allow HNI to concentrate on the heart of its business. Fall work load remains full at the nursery. Fall is an ideal time to plant deciduous seed and some pine seeds; necessary preparations for continued nursery product. The wholesale Christmas tree fields need final preparation for the November harvest. And, bringing a fresh presentation to Northern Indiana s Christmas Fest remains a priority.
The staff at Hensler Nursery thanks all who came for the pumpkin rides and all the Fall Fest activities! We look forward to seeing you again this Christmas.
If you’d like to take a look at all the fun we had over the years during Fall Fest, check out our archives.