By popular demand the English Hedgerow newsletter is being revived after a year of hibernation. The last year has been so busy that the newsletter was neglected. Now that we understand how important it is to all of you, we will do our best to keep the newsletter a monthly occurrence.

Spring is here and with it brings beautiful flowers, unpredictable weather, and lots of events.

With proms, Secretary’s week, graduations, and Mother’s Day right around the corner the English Hedgerow is the perfect place to prepare you.

UofI Mom’s Day Specials: April 17^th – 18^th

Surprise your Mom by bringing her to English Hedgerow where she’ll enjoy browsing through purses, jewelry, candles & lotions, along with lush plants and buckets and buckets of pretty spring flowers. Enjoy 40% off Vera Bradley purses, 10% off Gilden Tree Organic foot and hand lotions, 10% off fragrant Nouvelle candles and a free House blend coffee with every purchase (while supplies last)

Administrative Professionals Week: April 20^th ^-24^th

Administrative Professional’s week (aka: Secretary’s week) is just around the corner.

v Treat your staff to lunch at the Bistro. Call or email ahead and have bouquets ready on your table with your personalized thank you notes attached, or

v Send an herbal basket, fresh flowers, or a gift basket to a home or office address.

v A Hedgerow Gift Certificate for lunch or flowershop gifts delivered with an arrangement always expresses your appreciation.

For more information go to www.EnglishHedgerow.com

Earth Day April 22^nd

Houseplants are often overlooked and undervalued in their ability to reduce indoor air pollutants and toxins.

To encourage you to fill your living space with plants this earth day we’re offering 10% off all plant purchases, TODAY ONLY!!

Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day: April 23rd

Thursday April 23rd is “Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day”. Hundreds of thousands of girls and boys across America will participate in this national event.

Share your work experiences, and share your lunchtime pleasures with your daughters and sons, too. We will offer a free Cookie with the purchase of salad or sandwich at the Bistro.

Ebertfest 2009: April 22^nd -26^th

Ebertfest 2009 is almost here and English Hedgerow is once again providing gourmet meals for the festival's "Green Room".

The Green Room is where all of the festival guests (directors, actors, the Eberts) dine for lunch and dinner.

English Hedgerow is proud to be a Diamond Sponsor of
Ebertfest 2009 and we hope to see you there!

English Hedgerow Supports WILL AM-FM-TV

Sponsor and Member Provider

WILL is not only a source of high-quality, commercial-free programming; it is an important community resource offering life-saving tornado safety seminars, free classical music concerts, workshops for parents and child care providers, and agricultural outlook sessions for farmers.

The English Hedgerow is proud to announce that it has become a corporate sponsor of WILL’s BBC News offerings. We have also joined the MemberCard program which gives WILL members and supporters a 2-for-1 Entrée discount. Simply present your MemberCard when paying your check at the Hedgerow Bistro and we will be happy to give WILL supporters Two Lunch-time Entrees for the price of one.

Hedgerow Bistro Lunch Service

The Hedgerow Bistro has been through a few changes. The most significant change is the style of service.

We now offer a faster, flexible, and more convenient lunch service. It is designed so people can eat and run, or stay for hours talking with a good friend over tea and a giant cream puff.

We have also added a pastry chef, Sarah, to our staff. Sarah is recently graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute with an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts - Focusing in Catering and Pastries. This means the giant cream puffs, hand turned ice cream, and crème brulee are back (amongst other goodies)! Another favorite returning as it gets warmer is the hand-squeezed lemonade.

New Dinner Schedule!

We are also excited to report that we will be having a dinner schedule again!

Back by popular demand! English Hedgerow will be open once a month to the public for our gourmet wine dinners. We have partnered with The Corkscrew Wine Emporium to bring you the best food and wine pairings available. Each Dinner will be multiple courses, usually between 4 and 8 courses, and will be designed around a specific theme. These dinners book up fast, so be sure to make your reservation today! April’s Morel Mushroom takes place this Saturday the 18th at 7 pm and is already booked solid. We are taking names on a waiting list to fill any reservation cancellations.

This is the menu for Morel Mushroom Dinner for those curious of how it works:

Morel : : Foie Gras : : Wild Chive
Wine: 2008 Ayler Kupp Brut Riesling

Claytonia : : Goat Cheese : : Morel
Morel Custard : : Asparagus : : Wild Ramps
Wine: 2008 Meinklang Gruner Veltliner

Rabbit Loin : : Spinach : : Fava Bean : : Morel Foam
Wine: 2006 Groffier Bourgogne Passetoutgrain

Venison Chop : : Lentils : : Morel Jus
Wine: 2005 Clos Mont Olivet Montueil-la Levade Cotes-du-Rhone

Black Forest "Cake"
Wine: 2004 Brown Late Harvest Zinfandel

The Farmer’s Market Dinner is scheduled for May 15th at 7pm. This dinner will be 4 delicious courses of fresh, local food prepared by the very talented Chef Oliver. This dinner will be $35 per person with an optional wine pairing offered at $10 per person. As suggested above, make your reservations now to avoid missing all the fun!! Give us a call at (217)365-0055.

News from the Flowershop

Helen Philpott, Owner and Floral Director

April is a month of quick transition from the cold days winter to warm sunny summer ones. Spring flowers are equally as transient, weather dependant and fleeting. Spring bulb flowers and tree blossoms are spilling out of our cooler and into our arrangements. Our favorites ranunculus, cherry, almond, and baronia are available for a very short time, so we’ll be enjoying these as often as we can.

Baronia

Ranunculus

PROM FLOWERS

Remember how exciting it was to receive fresh flowers from your Prom date? Let’s show the next generation of Prom-goers the right way to do things! Now is the time to order one of our unique boutonnieres, corsages or posies custom designed to complement your outfit and budget.

In Store News and Specials

· All Vera Bradley Items are 40% off

· NEW Silver Seasons jewelry

· NEW Sid Dickens Memory Blocks

· FREE cup of soup with any sandwich or salad purchase April 20^th- May 20^th… just mention the newsletter!

Welcome

UofI Mom’s Day Specials: April 17th – 18th

Administrative Professionals Week: April 20th - 24th

Earth Day April 22nd