Coming July 10: Bob's and Roger's Excellent "Nursery Beer" Adventure.

Last year, Mr. and Mrs. Curmudgeon made the short drive to Utica, Indiana (that's a bit past Jeffersonville, for the uninitiated) for our first experience at Hidden Hill Nursery, Bob and Janet Hill's labor of love, situated on the grounds of the farm they've inhabited for the past 30-plus years. The photos here should give you an idea of the creativity and serendipity on display.

Many readers will remember Bob from his years as columnist for the Courier-Journal, and his decade-long gig on HomeGrown on 89.3 WFPL. They may not know that he got his start at university on a basketball scholarship -- he's taller than the Curmudgeon himself.

During that first visit, Bob and I began conspiring to stage a low-key "gardens + beer, food and music" outing at Hidden Hill. A rough outline has emerged:

Nature & Craft Beer with NABC at Hidden Hill in Utica

Saturday, July 10
3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Free admission

The nursery already contains themed areas of landscaping, plants and sculpture. There will be five or six NABC sample (2-oz) stations around the nursery grounds. Visitors can roam among them using a map, which will include written nursery/beer “pairings” written by Bob and Roger.

There's a ready-made central seating area between the house and nursery center, which we'll transform into a "beer garden," with a cash NABC beer bar and Chef Josh Lehman's special Hidden Hill picnic menu. There'll be music with a bluegrass or roots tinge, and people can wander around the nursery, enjoy the free samples and pairings, and then sit for a bit under the trees and listen, eat and drink.

Mark your calendars for Juy 10, and stay tuned for further information.