By Teri Berg

It’s an understatement to say that Emil Rinderspacher has been busy. The 77-year-old retiree and long-time master gardener has been up to everything, everywhere, all at once.

At the end of June, Emil hosted tours of his gardens for Project GREEN’s sixth annual Open Gardens Weekend. The week before, he welcomed attendees of the American Conifer Society’s 43rd annual conference, held this year in Rock Island, to his place. Visitors on their way to and from the national meeting were invited to tour several nearby open gardens, which included Emil’s property, located off Highway 1 between Iowa City and Solon, and his brother Ed’s, who lives north of West Branch. 

Asked two years ago to host open gardens for this year’s “coneheads” summit, the brothers worked on their respective gardens last summer and this season to get ready. “Since we were doing the Conifer tour, we decided to also do the Project GREEN tour, since the gardens are tour-ready,” Emil said.

Still, after the final Conifer visitor left, he said, “I was toast.”

The Osceola native has been a Johnson County Master Gardener for 31 years and the long-time coordinator for the group’s Plant Sale and Flea Market. Emil received his 2,000-hour volunteer pin this past April. This spring, Emil devoted between 350-400 hours to prepping for and organizing the plant sale, which has broken sales and profits records in recent years.

Emil and his gardens were featured on Iowa Public Radio in a June 17 preview of Open Gardens Weekend.

This year was his first time attending the yearly Conifer meet-up, which counted 250 attendees. And while he has opened his gardens for Project GREEN tours several times in the past, and has had his place on state and regional tours, this summer is the first time Emil has participated in Open Gardens Weekend. This year’s OGW, on June 28-29, featured more than 20 residential gardens across Johnson County. Tourists to Emil’s gardens numbered “several hundred,” he said after the last visitor departed around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. “Lots of people visited,” he said. “Lots of Master Gardeners, which was gratifying.”

Beth Cody, OGW chair, said she saw many visitors at every garden she went to over the weekend – despite the 90-degree temps. While turnout estimates will be released at a later date, the garden hosts Cody spoke with said they were surprised by the number of visitors who came to their garden, “more than 100 at several of the gardens,” she said. “I think the attendance was especially good this year.”

As Emil says, “There are few better ways of learning about gardening than seeing gardens firsthand.”

Emil said this year was the first time his brother, Ed Rinderspacher, was part of OGW too.

“My brother and I are best friends, and we share the love of plants.” 

Three years Emil’s junior, Ed is an ISA-certified arborist and landscaper who has created unique garden “rooms” on his century-old farmstead. Ed also serves as project manager for Project GREEN.

“My brother has been a ‘conehead’ for quite some time,” Emil said. “He got me into conifers. My interest has really picked up in the last 15 years, and I’ve incorporated them into my perennial beds and other parts of my landscape.”

A lover of perennials since he started gardening, Emil said he began learning about trees and planting them out of necessity 30 years ago. “Our lot was 1.5 acres – a former farm field, with no trees and shrubs,” he said. “I’ve planted more than 250 different kinds of trees and shrubs since then.”

Emil’s place also features thousands of bulbs, along with wide-ranging beds incorporating intricate mixes of perennials, annuals, tropical plants, roses, grasses, and more. 

Emil says he likes to make sure his gardens bloom from early spring through fall. 

That means he still has a lot of garden work to do.

_{(Photos/Emil Rinderspacher) Left to right: The front yard features a weeping Norway Spruce that’s now 23 years old. Emil’s shade gardens are located under the first tree he planted on his lot, a Swamp White Oak. Side-yard beginning of Emil’s “oak walk”: Chinkapin, Shingle, Red, Scarlet, Burr and Swamp White Oaks are guides to the back yard.}