Tuesday, July 26, 2016

July 26th 2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

  
07/2016 © Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.



Hi Gardeners
 
We did not get much rain this weekend – sprinkles that’s all.  The last time we had a good rain was almost 2 weeks ago and things are starting to brown up fast.  Corn is rolling up in the fields, and that means it’s dry and hot.  I am hoping we get some rain in the next few days.  We have slight chances every day for a while.

I bought an inexpensive hose timer.  You attach a hose that’s hooked to a sprinkler for example and set the dial to water for various time periods.  No electricity or batteries required.  It was $10.99 and well worth it.  I do hate hooking the hose up to sprinklers though.  I wait as long as I can but if you want to keep things blooming and green it’s sometimes necessary.

Things are maturing very fast now from the heat I guess.  Blooming in the garden are sunflowers, oriental lilies, rose of Sharon, Joe Pye weed, morning glories, canna, coneflowers, rudbeckia, veronica and many other things.  I have been picking green peppers and cukes, and we will probably have sweet corn before next week.  I have large tomatoes ripening but the vines are starting to get early blight.  We will be picking blackberries this week.  I’m getting a few raspberries, but like last year Japanese beetles are damaging them.

My garden is very weedy right now.  I spend so much time watering I am falling behind in weeding.  I have gourds, tomatoes and cleome coming up from seed everywhere, even in flower pots.  Don’t leave your decorative gourds in the compost pile if you use the compost for potting plants.

I keep my bird feeders filled through summer and they attract many kinds of birds.  I put out grape jelly, hummingbird sugar water, suet and sunflower seed.  Lately, about the same time each day I see a chipmunk visiting the bird feeder outside my home office window.  He climbs right up the metal pole holding the feeder.  I should be trying to catch the bugger, but if he stays out of the house I may let him live.  He does chase birds away though.

Chipmunk at feeder- taken through window screen.
The Eastern Michigan State fair is this week, through Saturday at the Imlay City Fairgrounds, Lapeer County.  It’s one of the biggest county fairs in the state.  There’s a big Master Gardener building at this fair.  This fair has free parking and a one price for everything admission, (which varies by day), including rides. Thursday is free for veterans.  Why not take a trip to the fairgrounds this week?


Menstrual blood in the garden?

You may have heard of saving your urine for the garden but the latest fad sweeping the “natural” garden set and much talked about in social media is the use of menstrual blood to fertilize the garden.

The author of one article I read used a menstrual “cup” to collect her blood and then mixed it with water and sprinkled it on lettuce.  Another person said she soaked cloths used for menstruation in water and used that water on plants.  Some of you are gagging right now.  I don’t blame you. 

There is so much wrong with this that I don’t know where to start.  And it’s not about menstrual shaming either. But let’s start here.  Why do doctors and nurses wear gloves when they handle any body fluids?  Because body fluids can carry disease.   And doctors or nurses aren’t even eating those body fluids. 

If you are the only person eating from a garden sprinkled with your body fluids then you probably won’t have any problems.  But children, older adults and immune compromised people should never eat anything contaminated with body fluids/feces from other humans, and that includes menstrual blood, urine and feces (poop).  And to use such fluids on things like lettuce, things that are not cooked before consumption, is just asking for trouble.


Yes body fluids are usually sterile when in the body.  But the minute they hit a canal exposed to the outer world like your vagina, urethra or rectum they are contaminated.  Things that can be found in body fluids and feces that could cause trouble are hepatitis (several kinds), HIV, cytomegalovirus, salmonella, Giardia, Campylobacter infection, Cryptosporidium, shigella, E. coli, and a few more exotic things.

Some disease organisms and parasites are killed with a few minutes of exposure outside of the body, but many are quite persistent.  That’s why we periodically have food borne illness outbreaks that come from fruits and vegetables. 

You may think you are perfectly healthy and your body fluids and feces are harmless.  But many people are unaware of illnesses and parasites they may be carrying.  And all people carry such things as E. coli, many strains are harmless but people carrying a harmful strain may not have any symptoms. When someone with a compromised immune system becomes infected after consuming contaminated products, the results can be serious illness or death.

Your body fluids and feces may also contain medications you take and things like heavy metals you are exposed to.  Adding these to the garden where they are exposed to other things, and can breakdown and combine with other products is also unwise.  And to me that certainly doesn’t sound like organic gardening, where chemicals are not wanted.

It’s always recommended to keep pet feces and urine out of gardens because some diseases and parasites can be transmitted from them to you. And even livestock manure should be composted first or put on the garden in the fall, after harvest is complete.

We know that gardeners can’t keep every bird or stray animal out of the garden.  But we should do everything we can to minimize exposure to disease and parasites and that means keeping human body fluids and feces out of the food garden at the least.  If you want to sprinkle menstrual blood on your roses fine, but remember someone handling those roses and then eating without washing their hands could have a problem.

People argue that using menstrual blood is no different than using blood meal.  But blood meal you purchase at a store is usually dried at high heat to minimize pathogens.  So are commercial fertilizers made from sewage.

Saying people used to do it, or that other countries do it isn’t a valid argument either.  People died from diseases caused by poor sanitation- which includes using body waste on food crops- in great numbers in the “good old days”.  People in poor countries still die from poor sanitation like this.

Recycling is a fine idea.  Add your menstrual blood/ urine/feces to a compost pile that heats up and let them sit for several months if you must recycle your own waste.  But be aware there may be laws against using human waste in home composting.

Commercial fruit and vegetable growers who want to sell to large stores must get “certified” as to safe food handling/growing practices.  They are require to have porta potties and hand washing facilities in fields for workers and if an inspector finds “evidence” or sees someone using the field as a toilet they won’t be certified.  I’d like to think that small growers and home gardeners take at least the same care as the large growers.

I wash all produce and fruit from my own garden or that I buy before eating it and I suggest you do too.  Washing properly removes most contamination. But even washed produce has been known to transmit diseases.  Organic produce is just as liable, if not more so, to transmit disease as conventionally grown produce.  Thinking about a person offering lettuce for sale at a farmers market that they fertilized with their menstrual blood makes me feel ill.

Personally I don’t want to eat from anyone’s garden that uses their own waste on food crops.   And you can be assured that if I offer you tomatoes from my garden they haven’t been sprinkled with menstrual blood.


Cannas- Bold and Beautiful

If you crave bold accents and lush tropical foliage in your northern garden then cannas are the plants for you.  These bold beauties have made a big come back and canna rhizomes of choice varieties regularly sell out in stores and catalogs.  Cannas are easy to grow, relatively inexpensive, and dramatic additions to tired old flowerbeds.  With a huge selection of flower and leaf colors, there is sure to be a canna that will add pizzazz to your garden.

Tall cannas are accent plants in garden borders, the center of island beds or back of other beds. There are cannas for large spaces and tiny cannas just right for containers.  While the flowers of some varieties of cannas are the show, in others it’s the huge, tropical appearing foliage.  The foliage is often more dramatic than the flowers.  Some new varieties have wonderful foliage and  beautiful flowers.
 
Canna flower
Tall cannas can also be used as a screen, or flowering hedge.   Smaller cannas can be used anywhere in beds to give late summer color, for foliage color and texture, and are excellent for containers.  Cannas can also be used as accent plants in water or bog gardens.

Canna culture

Cannas will grow almost anywhere, in Michigan they are a summer flowering plant whose rhizomes can be easily lifted and stored in the winter.  Occasionally in a sheltered spot cannas will even over winter in the ground.     And cannas are indeed tropical plants, flourishing in heat and humidity.

Canna leaves are usually large and broad, with a heavy rib down the center.  They can be various shades of green, burgundy and red often with splashes of white or yellow or stripes of color following the leaf veins.   Depending on variety, cannas grow from 16 inches to 10 foot in height.   The rhizomes increase horizontally underground, throwing up new shoots until the plant becomes a huge clump.

The flowers of cannas come near the end of summer, on long stalks at the top of the plant.  They are often described as orchid like- or gladiolus like.  They can be large and striking in modern varieties but may be smaller and less glamorous in some older cannas.  Canna flowers come in all colors and color combinations except blue, purple or true white.  Canna seed is a hard, round, black ball which gives cannas the common name of Indian Shot.

Cannas are usually purchased as bare rhizomes in the north, or as potted plants.  Look for rhizomes that are large and firm with two or more buds on them.  Start rhizomes indoors about 6 weeks before your last frost in pots of good, rich potting soil.  The pots should be in a warm, sunny area and kept well-watered.   The rhizomes may also be planted directly in the ground after the last frost when the ground is warm, but they may be slow to start growth and late to bloom.  

Cannas may survive zone 5 winters in a protected area, although they are so slow to start growing in the spring that they seldom have time to bloom before fall.  It is better to dig up the rhizomes and store them over winter. 

Cannas give a lot to the garden but they are greedy guests needing lots of sun, lots of moisture, lots of heat, lots of fertilizer and organic matter.  Rich, moist soil in full sunlight is ideal for cannas.  Cannas will even do well in pots sitting in water if there is some soil above the water line.  Fertilize cannas once a month with a fertilizer formulated for flowers and water frequently for spectacular results.

In zones 6 and lower, when a frost has killed the canna foliage, carefully dig up the rhizomes.  You will probably find a few more than you planted.  Shake off the dirt and allow the rhizomes to dry in the sun a few days.  Don’t allow them to get frosted or frozen while drying.  Then store the rhizomes in a cool, but frost-free place in sand, peat or vermiculite.   Before planting you can divide large rhizomes as long as each piece has at least one bud, preferably two, to a section.  You can trade or give away the excess if you have more than you care to plant.

Some varieties

There are so many wonderful cannas on the market now that you will be tempted to become a collector.  Small canna varieties include, ‘Dwarf Wyoming’- gold flowers and dark maroon veined foliage, ‘Pink Surprise’- hot pink flowers edged with yellow, green foliage, ‘Bankok’- bright yellow flowers and green foliage striped with white, and ‘Lucifer’-one of the smallest, scarlet red flowers touched with gold and green foliage. 

Large canna plants include; ‘Australia’- almost black foliage and hot red flowers, ‘Tropical Sunrise‘- a blend of peach, pink and yellow flowers with green foliage, ‘Cleopatra’- an always changing mosaic of red and yellow flowers and green leaves marked with purple in various patterns, ‘Constitution’ has narrower leaves than other cannas in an odd gray- purple shade and pastel pink flowers, “Ermine’ has very pale, almost white flowers. green leaves, ‘Tropicana’- leaves boldly striped in yellow and red on a purple background and screaming orange flowers, ‘Stuttgart’- lovely green foliage variegated with white, peach colored flowers, and the classic ‘King Humbert’- golden yellow flowers with red spots and green leaves. 

Some extreme cannas grown for their foliage are ‘Musafolia’- up to 10 foot high with huge broad leaves that are green edged with red, and ‘Intrique’- a canna with unusual narrow, gray green leaves that grows up to 7 foot tall.

Lemon Balm- Light and Lively

Lemon Balm is another herb that anyone can grow in the garden.  With its lovely lemony flavor it complements many dishes.  It has many medicinal uses and is currently being studied for use in suppressing tumors, and in HIV, Herpes, and Alzheimer’s treatment.  Lemon Balm is so easy to grow that many people consider it invasive.

Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis, is a member of the mint family. Several species are native to Europe.  It will happily grow anywhere in zone 3-9.   It is commercially grown in many areas.  

The plant has square stems like most mints; the leaves are dark green, broadly oval with toothed edges.  Lemon balm grows to about 2 foot tall when it is in a spot it likes.   In midsummer Lemon Balm begins blooming, with small spikes of pale yellow flowers arising from where the leaf joins the stem.  The flowers are tiny but are loved by bees which flock to the plants.

The Lemon Balm plant is not very attractive as garden plants go, but it does have that delightful aroma of lemon when the leaves are handled.  It spreads quickly through the garden by seed and by runners and you will soon have many plants to share with friends.
 
Lemon Balm
Growing and Harvesting Lemon Balm

Most gardeners will start with Lemon Balm plants; anyone who has the plant should be able to give you a seedling in the spring.  They are perennial, dying back to the ground each winter.  Large clumps of Lemon Balm can also be divided.

Lemon Balm prefers full sun although it will tolerate partial shade.  It will grow in almost any soil.   For the best plants a well draining, moderately rich soil in full sun, and watering when conditions are very dry is preferred.  After frost has killed the foliage cut off the stems to the ground.

The leaves of Lemon Balm can be harvested at any time.   Most of the active ingredients are found in the leaves, although flowers are also good as a dried herb.  The flowers are edible.   Simply remove the leaves needed from the plant or if you have an abundance of plants you can pull whole plants. Leaves and flowers can be used fresh or dried.

Using Lemon Balm

The active ingredients in Lemon Balm include terpenes, tannins and eugenol.  In traditional herbal medicine Lemon Balm was usually a complementary addition to other herbs.  The lemony flavor helped make other herbal medications easy to take.  Lemon Balm is mildly sedative and helps decrease anxiety and aid sleep.  It is used to aid in gas and colic relief.   Lemon Balm leaves were also crushed and warmed to use as a poultice on wounds.

A current popular use is a lotion or cream containing Lemon Balm that is used on cold sores and other Herpes sores.   Cooled Lemon Balm tea can also be used on sores.  It does not control pain but speeds healing.  Much research is being focused on the anti-viral properties of Lemon Balm in Herpes and HIV treatment.

Other research is focusing on Lemon Balms ability to aid memory and restore some cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients.  Some research suggests that Lemon Balm may destroy certain tumors.

 Lemon Balm is a mosquito repellant when rubbed on the skin.  Lemon Balm is also used in potpourri. 

Lemon Balm has many culinary uses, wherever lemon flavor is required in cooking it can be substituted for lemon.  The essential oils from the plant are used in a wide variety of things from perfume and cosmetics to furniture polish.

To make a tea with Lemon Balm use about a cup of fresh, crushed leaves to a pint of boiling water and steep.  Use about a teaspoon of dried herb to a cup of boiling water.  Strain and sweeten if desired.  Adult dosage of tea should be limited to about 4 cups per day, children about a cup. Lemon Balm is available in the market place as dried herb, extract, essential oil, capsules and lotions.  Follow dosage directions on the labels.

An old recipe for using Lemon Balm as a cooling drink includes a bottle of claret wine, a couple cups of crushed lemon balm leaves, a sliced orange, a half of a sliced, peeled  cucumber, and a half cup of sugar.   All ingredients are mixed together and allowed to steep for a day in a cool place, then the liquid is strained and poured over ice.

Cautions

Before using Lemon Balm preparations on the skin test a small area of skin for allergies.  Pregnant and nursing women should consult with a doctor before using Lemon Balm. 

Some medications may interact with Lemon Balm, in particular thyroid medications, and if you are on medications you should consult with your doctor before using Lemon Balm.

The Bindweeds

Bindweed is a common name and it can cover several species of plants.  Your bindweed may not be my bindweed.  What these plants have in common is an amazing tenacity in smothering our garden plants and resisting eradication.  Some bindweeds have pretty flowers and some people consider them to be wildflowers.

The morning glory family

True morning glories are in the Ipomoea family.  They include the morning glories we grow in our gardens as ornamentals and that have large flowers in a variety of colors.  As any gardener knows who has planted morning glories they have a tendency to re-seed and come back in abundance, sometimes to the point of nuisance.   After a few years of coming back from seed morning glories tend to revert back to the smaller, purple flowered, wild version. However pink and other colors may linger for many years. 

Morning Glory

Morning glories can become a weed, if you mean they are unwanted where they are.  They can smother plants every bit as easily as the other bindweeds.  All parts of the  morning glory are poisonous and the seeds can cause hallucinations. 

Morning glories are annual plants that reproduce by seed.  The leaves of common morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea are heart shaped.  The flowers of various colors are trumpet shaped and in wild types about 1 ½ inches across.  Cultivated types have larger flowers.  Morning glory flowers open in the morning and close by mid-afternoon except in the cool shorter days of early autumn when they may remain open most of the day. 

One other morning glory family member is sometimes found in the north east, Ivyleaf morning glory.  The flowers are similar to common morning glory but they are blue when they first open and change to a rose purple.  The leaves have 3 lobes, similar to ivy and are covered with fine hairs.

The tenacious vines of morning glory can climb 10 feet or more.  They will also sprawl along the ground.  They will cover other plants and stunt their growth and sometimes even kill them.

Control of morning glories is to try and prevent them from going to seed by plucking off spent flowers or cutting the plants down before they go to seed.  You must be vigilant in pulling seedlings as soon as they emerge and they will continue to sprout long into summer.  Once the plants twine about other plants they are difficult to remove without damaging the plant and you cannot use weed killers if there are plants you want present.
  
Hedge and field bindweed

These plants belong to the Calystegia or Convolvulus family.  The flowers are very similar to morning glory flowers but smaller and they are often called wild morning glories.  They are also called Devil’s vine for good reason.

Hedge bindweed, Calystegia sepium, has small ½ inch trumpet shaped white or pink flowers.  The leaves are arrow shaped, with a pointed front and the two lobes of the back are squared with points on each side.  Hedge bindweed has leaf bracts which cover the base of the flower and its sepals.
Hedge bindweed

Field bindweed, Convolvulus  arvensis has even smaller, usually white, flowers and smaller leaves.  The leaves have a rounded point in the front and the 2 lobes in back also come to a point.   Hedge bindweed is often seen climbing high into plants or on fences.  Field bindweed does climb plants but also makes mats along the ground.

Both field and hedge bindweed are perennials and they spread by both seeds and rhizomes.  Any tiny piece of the roots (rhizomes) left in the ground will start a new plant.  And the plants return each year if not totally removed.  While the tendency to smother and overpower other plants is less than that of morning glories the name bindweed describes what the plants do.  They keep flowers from opening and bind plants into a messy thicket, preventing good air flow. Removing the twining stems can damage the plants they are climbing on.

The buckwheat family

Wild buckwheat, Polygonum convolvulus, is also frequently called bindweed.  It is not related to cultivated buckwheat, a grain crop.  There are other plants called wild buckwheat to add to the confusion, but those are not generally found in Michigan.

Farmers and gardeners greatly dislike wild buckwheat as it climbs desirable plants, strangling and shading them and it interferes with mechanical harvesting of crops. It occurs throughout the entire United States.  Wild buckwheat grows in any kind of soil, prefers sun but will survive shade, and may be found anywhere from gardens to crops to roadsides.
 
Buckwheat bindweed
The flowers of this bindweed (wild buckwheat) distinguish it from other bindweeds.  They are small, flattened and greenish white knobs, inconspicuous clusters which arise out of leaf joints near the top of the plant.  They are not showy and you will rarely notice them.

The wild buckwheat flowers turn into small hard, 3 sided dark brown to black seeds.  Each is enclosed in a papery pale green cover until it falls from the plant.   The seeds can survive in the ground for many years until a favorable time for germination.

The leaves of wild buckwheat are arrowhead shaped, with a sharp tip and 2 points at the back which curve slightly toward each other.  The color is blue-green to green, and young leaves may be slightly reddish on the back.

Wild buckwheat is a sprawling vine.  In favorable conditions each plant can cover 6 feet or more of space.  It is an annual plant, appearing when the weather warms in May from seeds that over winter.  It prefers to climb on other plants, wrapping its slender stems around them tightly, but it will scramble good distances along the ground if there are no plants to climb.

Controlling bindweeds

Don’t you hate it when someone says you can’t get rid of it?  All of the bindweeds are hard to eradicate and most gardeners have to settle with just controlling them.  As the weather turns hot we are less likely to be out weeding and this is when bindweed populations grow quickly

You must be alert to the beginning growth of the plants in late spring and keep pulling or cutting them.  If the bindweeds get into the garden plants you may want to trace the vines down to ground level and cut them off there rather than trying to pull them off the plants.  After they have been cut and they dry for a few days they are easier to remove.  Pulling them off while green and growing can damage your plants.

It’s extremely hard to pull up all of the bindweed roots and treating with weed killers is difficult if they are among other, wanted, plants. Mulch rarely controls them.  Some people have dug up whole beds of perennials, washed the roots, sifted the soil looking for bindweed pieces and still had bindweed appear.  That’s because it also spreads by seed and it’s easy to miss minute root pieces.

Monitoring and cutting it off at ground level is your best bet for control.  The more you can prevent it from going to seed and the more you can pull out of the ground the less likely it is to increase its population.  But because it probably in the lawn or unused areas around the garden, total eradication of any of the bindweeds is unlikely.

Rain dancers needed, start immediately

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero



Events, classes and other offerings
Please let me know if there is any event or class that you would like to share with other gardeners.  These events are primarily in Michigan but if you are a reader from outside of Michigan and want to post an event I’ll be glad to do it.

Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share?  Post them here by emailing me. You can also ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com

An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook

Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook

Invitation
If you are a gardener in Michigan close to Lapeer we invite you to join the Lapeer Area Horticultural Society. The club meets once a month, 6:30 pm, on the third Monday at various places for a short educational talk, snacks and socializing with fellow gardeners. No educational or volunteer requirements for membership, all are welcome. Membership dues are $20 per year. Come and visit us, sit in on a meeting for free. Contact susanmklaffer@yahoo.com  Phone 810-664-8912

For Sale:  I have baby parakeets for sale, hatched this spring $10 each.  They are not hand fed.  Beautiful colors, lutino, (yellow) and shades of pale green, olive green, and sea green.  Some I can sex now, others are a guess.  You’ll need to bring your own cage.  Parakeets are active birds that are a lot of fun to watch.  Call at 989-761-7609.





Also for sale Muscovy ducklings, black laced, about a month old, fine to be without mom but you must buy at least 2.  Two for $20, each additional $8.  Can’t be sexed yet.  Call the number above.  Muscovy are flying ducks, large sized and make good meat ducks.  They do not quack- and are very quiet.



Summer is here! Our days are longer and there is more hours of light to enjoy being outdoors. We welcome you to join us: experience nature and be inspired! Back Track To Nature will offer programs on two of Lapeer Land Conservancy properties. As well as at Three Roods Farm and the Tibbits Nature Sanctuary both located in Columbiaville, MI.

We offer environmental education programs for scouts, seniors, homeschoolers, garden clubs, youth groups, retreats, special interest groups and we will tailor programming to fit your specific needs.


A Council of All Beings 10:30am - 4:30pm,Saturday, August 6, 2016      Three Roods Farm
A Great Hundred Acre Wood Adventure  ( Kids program)   2pm - 3pm Sunday, August 14,2016      Tibbits Nature Sanctuary
Aldo Leopold Bench Building Workshop    1:30pm - 4:30pm, Saturday, August 27, 2016     Tibbits Nature Sanctuary

Reservations are needed for all programs listed. Please call or  email Karen at 810-969-1023 and pagekp@gmail.com  Directions to the Tibbits Nature Sanctuary and Riseman Refuge will be given at the time of registration. Thank you!

MSU Garden Day Sat, August 6, 8am-4:15 pm, MSU Horticulture Gardens, 1066 Bogue St, East Lansing, MI
At this conference you will be able to select your favorite garden-themed workshops and enjoy two keynote presentations by David Culp. Pre- registration is $86 until 7/25 Go to http://www.hrt.msu.edu. To see the class selections and register.


Here’s a facebook page link for gardeners in the Lapeer area.  This link has a lot of events listed on it.

Here’s a link to all the nature programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/

Here’s a link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road, North Branch. 

Here’s a link to classes and events at Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor

Here’s a link to programs being offered at English Gardens, several locations in Michigan.

Here’s a link to classes at Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Twsp. MI, and now combined with Goldner Walsh in Pontiac MI.

Here’s a link to classes and events at Bordines, Rochester Hills, Grand Blanc, Clarkston and Brighton locations

Here’s a link to events at the Leslie Science and Nature Center, 1831 Traver Road Ann Arbor, Michigan  | Phone 734-997-1553 |
http://www.lesliesnc.org/

Here’s a link to events at Hidden Lake Gardens, 6214 Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI

Here’s a link to events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580


Newsletter information
If you would like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to me. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly notes. You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do reserve the right to publish what I want.
I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with local people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive these emails have them send email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com


Tuesday, July 19, 2016

July 19th, 2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

July 19th, 2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter 
 © Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.

Hi Gardeners

Species lily Leichtlinii
Today is quite pretty but beware we have a heat wave coming for later this week and weekend.  It’s going to be hot and very humid.  Maybe you have heard of the internet rumor that is saying corn “sweat” is making things hotter.  Here in rural Michigan there’s a lot of corn growing and this time of year it’s giving off a lot of water that it’s pulling from the ground.  It’s not really sweat, but evaporating water.  Technically it doesn’t make things hotter- moisture in the air just makes us feel hotter.

Speaking of water, I am back to my usual watering routine.  I am sure hoping we get some rain this week, there’s about a 50-50 chance.  I try not to water the vegetable beds and my larger perennial bed unless we go without rain for 10 days or so, but when it’s hot and windy I sometimes need to break down and water them.

In my garden this week the echincea and rudbeckia are blooming, also the glads have started blooming.  The wind the other night blew some of them over as well as a big stalk of lilies.  I like glads but I don’t like to have to stake them.  I plant a few each year that are heirloom varieties.  Also blooming are the water hyacinths and some nice nicotiana that came up from seed.  They may have hybridized with the woodland nicotiana that bloomed last year because the flowers on one plant are quite large.  

My border dahlias are starting to bloom, daylilies are still going strong but Asiatic lilies are starting to fade fast.   The tiger lilies have started blooming however and the Orientals will be in bloom soon.  I have a species lily Leichtlinii in bloom that’s quite graceful and pretty.

My Chinese hibiscus has started a new bloom cycle, it’s gorgeous right now.  The deck plants are all doing well.  Cosmos Double Click keeps giving me new color varieties. Nasturtiums, calendula, bee balm, bedding phlox and the tall garden phlox are blooming.  The Joe Pye Weed has started blooming but my plant is still tiny. 

My white Rose of Sharon has started blooming- I think it’s the first time it’s ever bloomed in July.  Things are just getting real ahead of schedule this year because of the heat.

We have ripe blueberries and I made a nice blueberry cobbler the other night although I had to buy some Michigan blueberries so I could freeze a little.  They are at the market now.  We’ll have lots of blackberries in a few days.  My early sweet corn has tassled nicely and we’ll have corn soon too.

Seedling nicotiana


Differences in pickling and eating cucumbers

I made some quick pickles this week that turned out crisp and tangy  but gardeners often ask why their pickles are soft instead of crunchy.  There can be a number of reasons why this happens but using the right type of cucumbers for pickling does help.  There are two main types of cucumbers, eating cukes and pickling cukes.  Both kinds can be pickled but pickling kinds will generally result in a better product.

Eating cucumbers are long and narrow with smooth thick skins, dark green in color, and white spines or no spines (prickly bumps on the skin). The flesh is softer than pickling cukes and some are seedless. Pickling cucumbers are shorter and fatter with thin skins, a more bumpy look and dark colored spines.  Their flesh tends to be firmer and the skin is lighter in color than table cukes.

It’s important to remember that both kinds of cucumbers can be eaten fresh or made into pickles.  Pickling types have less moisture in the flesh and thin skins which makes it a bit easier to get them crisp.  Gardeners who make lots of pickles will probably want to choose pickling types.  You can’t tell what type you have by looking at the plants, only by the label or by looking at the cucumber fruit.  Many pickling types will have “pickling” or “pickles” in their names.

Important things to remember if you want crisp pickles is to pick the cucumbers young, before they have much yellow or white streaking or undersides.  Then use them for pickles when they are fresh and still firm.  Don’t use older, softening or blemished cucumbers for pickles because they don’t look good enough to be table cukes, that’s often the incorrect thinking that makes soft pickles. Refrigerate cucumbers until used.
 
Also always use canning salt or salt without iodine in pickles. Don’t use waxed cucumbers; grocery store cucumbers are often waxed.  Even after washing the skin may not absorb the pickling solution well.  Follow a good pickling recipe.  There are pickle recipes on the page listed to the right of this article  titled Fruit/vegetable canning, recipes

Lovely lavender Laurentia or Blue Stars

It’s not as common as some other annuals but every year I search out some laurentia (Isotoma axillaris) for my porch.  I have been growing it for years and I really enjoy the light sweet scent it emits in the evening.  If you have never tried this plant you are missing a summer treat.  This plant is sometimes called blue star or blue star creeper but those common names are also used for a cousin of the plant that’s sometimes used as a groundcover but has a much shorter bloom period.  Laurentia comes from a former classification of the plant, it should probably be called Isotoma but I am used to the name Laurentia as are many gardeners.
 
Laurentia, Blue Stars
Laurentia/Isotoma is native to Australia.  It’s really a perennial that’s very frost tender, so it’s treated as an annual here.   It’s a low growing, mounded plant about 12 inches high with dainty, fine foliage that would be good for front of the border or what I love it for, containers.  It’s relatively new to the bedding plant scene, at least in the US.  ‘Beth’s Blue’ a Proven Winners selection is the cultivar I normally end up with but there are a few other selections out there including ‘Indigo Stars’, ‘Avant- Garde blue’, and ‘Avant-Garde pink’ that you may find.  Generally gardeners will want to start with plants, but seeds are available in some catalogs.

The 1 inch lavender blue flowers of Laurentia are star shaped and the plants are generally covered in bloom through the summer, although in really hot weather I notice that blooming slows sown.  The plant doesn’t need dead heading to keep blooming.  I have seen butterflies check out the flowers although bees don’t seem particularly interested in them.  The sweet scent of the flowers is stronger in the evening but it’s never over powering. Nurseries have produced deeper blue, pink and even white flowered selections but it’s still hard to find those.

The leaves of Laurentia are long and narrow, with odd shaped projections or teeth scattered irregularly along the edges. Laurentia is considered to be drought and heat tolerant.  It is not tolerant of cold and should be put outside after all danger of frost has passed.  I have tried over wintering the plant inside a few times but with no success.

Laurentia prefers full sun but mine blooms nicely on the deck where it gets full sun for some morning and late day hours but is shaded in the middle of the day. It likes a rich but well drained soil and prefers to dry out slightly between watering.  Container plants that get too dry however, will quit blooming.

Laurentia does need some fertilization for best bloom, like most container plants.  Mix slow release fertilizer for blooming plants in the potting soil or use a liquid fertilizer once a week.   I use the slow release fertilizer when planting and then start liquid fertilizer in late July, as I do with most of my containers.

The foliage of Laurentia has a milky sap that can cause skin irritation if broken stems are handled.  You probably won’t want to use it as a cut flower but this rarely poses a problem in containers or the garden.  That sap does make the plant off limits to most animals like deer and even insects don’t munch it.

Laurentia is pretty, fragrant, easy to grow and deserves a place in your garden.

Could cinnamon help improve learning?

It has been observed that subtle differences in brain chemistry and composition that occur in both people and animals determine how quickly and efficiently they learn and how good their memory is.  While some struggle to learn, others learn quickly.

This month’s issue of the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology has an article on research done on animals that suggests that cinnamon could help improve the ability to learn.  When mice that had exhibited a poor ability to learn were fed ground cinnamon their learning ability greatly improved. 

Researchers say the cinnamon converts to sodium benzoate in the body and when the sodium benzoate entered the mice's brains, it increased CREB, (a protein involved in memory and learning) and decreased GABRA5, (a protein that generates tonic inhibitory conductance in the brain) and stimulated the plasticity (ability to change) of hippocampal neurons.

The researchers have also found that ground cinnamon improved the function of brains in animals with Parkinson’s disease.  Human studies will be needed to determine the effectiveness of cinnamon on human memory and learning.  However cinnamon is a normal, safe food product and you could experiment with adding additional cinnamon to foods.   (Never take ground cinnamon alone.) Researchers  suggest that if you want to supplement the diet with cinnamon to use the more expensive Ceylon cinnamon rather than cinnamon cassia found in cheaper cinnamons.


Is pomegranate the secret to better aging?

Human trials are under way as researchers have found that in animals pomegranate does help cells, particularly muscle cells, repair damage from aging in animals. The pomegranate is converted by gut bacteria to urolithin A, a substance that helps cell mitochondria work better.  Some people and animals have more of the gut bacteria that convert pomegranate than others and benefit more from treatment.  But researchers have already developed an urolithin product that may help when insufficient gut bacteria are present.

Urolithin A has also been found to have some benefit in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.  Previous research on pomegranate shows it can help reduce atherosclerosis, including cholesterol oxidation, in blood vessels and reduce the chance of heart attacks.  In this case pomegranate teams up well with dates to reduce arterial plague.

A glass of pomegranate juice each day could provide the body with many benefits and should be safe for most people to consume.

Here’s the references for the above information.
Urolithin A induces mitophagy and prolongs lifespan in C. elegans and increases muscle function in rodents. Nature Medicine, July 2016 DOI: 10.1038/nm.4132
Anti-atherogenic properties of date vs. pomegranate polyphenols: the benefits of the combination. Food Funct., 2015; DOI: 10.1039/C4FO00998C



Beware of Jerry Baker remedies

I just got another one of those Jerry Baker advertising booklets in the mail, trying to get me to buy his newest book of fairy tales.  “You’ll never believe what duct tape can do in your garden,” the headline screams.  I sort of guessed right when I said – “probably repair something”  - at the very end of the booklet there was the sage advice that you could tape sponges on your knees to kneel in the garden.

Jerry Baker is one of my trigger points.  It’s hot, I’m cranky so here’s my little rant against America’s snake oil gardener.

Jerry Baker is now about 85 years old. I really doubt he’s still the actual author of those awful “home garden remedy” books that keep getting churned out.  And while I do know how Baker became the darling of the home remedy crowd, I have never understood why.

I was working at a Kmart in Rochester Michigan in the 70’s-80’s as a garden shop manager.  My garden shop was always one of the top 2 profitable garden departments in the Detroit area at the time and we were close to Kmart headquarters so we got a lot of visits from buyers and other bigwigs.  One day I was introduced to Jerry Baker, who the buyer said was going to be the new spokesperson for a line of Kmart garden products.

At first I was very pleased that I was going to get to chat with a plant expert as I gave him the “tour”.  I had about 20 years of garden experience at the time plus a degree in biology but it’s always nice to talk to experts.  I was quickly disappointed.  Baker didn’t know the difference between annuals and perennials, called the evergreens we had in stock Christmas trees, and just generally didn’t know anything about gardening or plants.  I got to speak with him several times and my opinion didn’t change.  He was only average looking, certainly no model, so I was baffled as to why they would choose him as a spokesperson and to this day I still am.

I asked Jerry once about his own garden and he told me he didn’t have one because he lived in an apartment and didn’t have time to garden but that he helped his grandmother garden as a kid.  I doubt in the many years since then that he has done much gardening except maybe at photo shoots, although in one interview in 1989 he claimed to tend a ½ acre garden.  I could be wrong but after reading a few of his ridiculous books it’s obvious his experience is lacking.

One of the things I and some other people had suggested at meetings for Kmart garden shop managers  was to have some pamphlets printed with garden information for the public we could give out at the stores.  Guess who wrote the pamphlets?  Mr. Baker of course or at least his name was on them.  And they were about things like spanking the trees with newspaper to make them grow.  I politely asked my boss one time why Baker was suggesting all these really “out there” home remedy ideas about gardening when we were trying to sell garden products.  That made him think and suddenly Baker was promoting Kmart lawn fertilizer and rose spray in the pamphlets.

One Baker pamphlet told people to mix beer and dish soap and climb on their roof to spray it for moss.  I suggested to headquarters that advice was just screaming personal injury lawsuit and they quickly pulled it.  He’s still pushing one of his dangerous little home remedies in the latest advertising I got in the mail.  In it he suggests mixing chewing tobacco juice with dish soap to spray plants.  Nicotine is a highly toxic poison, certainly not a safe remedy and both the environment and you would be safer with a commercial insecticide.  And to get chewing tobacco juice you have to chew that nasty, cancer causing stuff.  Certainly that remedy is one that no one should ever use and it’s obvious his publisher doesn’t have a technical expert editor scanning his material.

It’s interesting that in his biography Baker doesn’t mention being a spokesperson for Kmart.  But he does give his experience as an undercover cop who posed as a gardener.  That’s kind of like the actor who plays a doctor on TV pretending to be a real one.  I was told of his former career in police work and I was told why it ended, but I won’t go into details since it was second hand information that might not be entirely true.

Jerry did write his famous talking to plants book in the 70’s and that was just about the time he would have become Kmart’s spokesperson.  You can hype anyone into something and his acting experience as an undercover cop has stood him well over the years.  But gardening with your grandmother many years ago and listening to old wives tales is hardly enough to make you an instant expert.


Most of his gardening tips are silly, useless remedies but fairly harmless.  I can see the tips about taping sponges to your knees and other home-made gadgets but many of his remedies show his complete lack of horticulture knowledge or garden experience.  Yet people listen to this crap because there’s this idea that old time, homey remedies are so much safer and effective than commercial garden products.  This gardening granny is here to say that most of Mr. Bakers remedies aren’t based on any science, don’t work and some are downright harmful.  What he is good at is using his “homey” charm to make people buy his useless books.

PBS and other shows have added to Bakers popularity.  They like an actor that gets people interested in watching and don’t care whether he has any credentials or not.  I gardened with my grandmother too, but  rarely use that as the basis for giving advice, and my grandmother , while she didn’t have any formal degrees, did things like hybridize iris and develop new strains of plants.  She was in the garden nearly every day in season and she read and studied about plants extensively.  

Jerry Baker has no degree in horticulture or probably anything else, and his claim to even be a Master Gardener has been contested as no one can find any indication that he ever took the course. And his use of the name Jerry Baker, America’s Master Gardener, has been contested.  It’s the fault of Extension Master Gardener programs that they didn’t copyright the name before he started using it.  He’s no Master Gardener.
 
As useful as Jerry Baker remedies

What you will never find in any Jerry Baker book is any scientific proof or studies to show that his remedies are effective.  You may find testimonials, people who say they tried it and it worked but most snake oil salesmen have those.  But if you know anything about science or botany you know that most of his remedies have no chance of working, they are scientifically impossible.

True garden experts, people knowledgeable about gardening and who have degrees in biology and horticulture routinely condemn Jerry Bakers advice.  They have petitioned PBS and other places to stop using him as an expert.  If you are truly interested in gardening please don’t use Bakers books or tips or the on line bunk based on those tips as your guidance. 

If you are against chemicals and think Bakers little tricks are saving the environment, just examine the labels of some of the products he suggests, like mouthwash and dish soap.  You’ll find all kinds of chemicals in there, and those products were never developed to be safe for garden use.  Just because you use them in one way doesn’t mean they are safe to use in a different way or mixed with different things.  And we got rid of many dangerous products our grandparents used like nicotine and DDT because we discovered just how harmful they are. 

Many of the home remedies won’t even save you money once you gather all those ingredients and spray, spray, spray.   People have done comparisons of his recommendations and commercial products used as directed and found the commercial products are often less expensive to use.  That’s especially true because they usually work and Bakers remedies don’t.

And if these home remedies don’t work – and most of them don’t, then you are adding chemicals to the environment that didn’t need to be put there and wasting both time and money.  If a mouthwash company isn’t advertising that their product can be used in the garden there’s probably a good reason- why wouldn’t they want to promote additional use of a product?

It’s hard to keep coming up with even more bizarre and useless remedies after you’ve written so many books of them.  But the books keep on coming.  And I bet Baker has a gardener doing his gardening now with all the money he’s made conning folks.  Maybe he can learn something from him.

By the way- my credentials – I don’t talk about them much- are 50+ years of home gardening, work in both retail and wholesale garden industries, 15 years as an Extension home horticulturist, a degree in biology and in education, Advanced Master Gardening certification, many other garden education certificates, and I am the author of 4 non- fiction books all published by established commercial publishers: “Complete Idiots Guide to Country Living”, “Knacks Guide to Canning, Pickling and Preserving”, “Raising Chickens for Dummies”, now on its second edition, and “Beer- a Cookbook” .  I have also published more than 600 articles in various media  forms on gardening and a variety of topics.

Want some other resources to read debunking Jerry Baker type remedies?  Try : The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why –by Jeff Gillman, The Informed Gardener by Linda Chalker-Scott,  Coffee for Roses: ...and 70 Other Misleading Myths About Backyard Gardening by C.L. Fornari, all available at bookstores and Amazon.

Also try these websites



 Don’t stop weeding your garden

When it’s hot and plants are mature enough to compete well with weeds, gardeners sometimes give up on weeding.  Besides the fact that weeds shade garden plants and compete for water and nutrients, there is another reason to keep weeds out of the garden. Some weeds also bring disease and harmful insects into the garden.

Common lambsquarters, pigweed and nightshade all get some of the fungal diseases that tomatoes and potatoes get.  These are extremely common weeds in Michigan gardens.  They can serve as a source of infection for early and late blight and also septoria leaf spot.  Nightshade is a perennial and some fungal diseases may over winter in its living tissue.  Petunias, while not a weed, can also carry some tomato-potato diseases.  Don’t plant them near those crops.
Dandelions and wild carrots or Queen Anne’s Lace, growing near garden carrots may be a source of “aster yellows” a disease that infects garden carrots.  They are spread to carrots by an insect called a leafhopper that feeds on both types of plants.
Redroot pigweed

Many viral diseases are spread by aphids, leafhoppers and beetles feeding on infected weeds and then moving to related garden plants.  Tobacco mosaic virus of tomatoes and peppers, cucumber mosaic virus and powdery mildew are some diseases that can be spread by insects from weeds to garden plants.  Pests like the tomato hornworm may begin feeding on nightshade and then move to tomatoes.

Here are some other weeds that are important to remove from your garden to help control disease and insects.  Prickly lettuce, sowthistles, Canadian goldenrod, ragweed, shepards purse, purslane, yellow rocket, dayflower, deadnettle, teasel, heal all, chickweed and bur cucumber.

If you grow raspberries or blackberries in the garden all wild brambles should be removed for 100 feet around your plot.  They serve as a reservoir for rust and other diseases.

Weeding is therapeutic; I prescribe 2 hours of late evening weeding for all of you.

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

Events, classes and other offerings
Please let me know if there is any event or class that you would like to share with other gardeners.  These events are primarily in Michigan but if you are a reader from outside of Michigan and want to post an event I’ll be glad to do it.

Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share?  Post them here by emailing me. You can also ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com

An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook

Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook

Invitation
If you are a gardener in Michigan close to Lapeer we invite you to join the Lapeer Area Horticultural Society. The club meets once a month, 6:30 pm, on the third Monday at various places for a short educational talk, snacks and socializing with fellow gardeners. No educational or volunteer requirements for membership, all are welcome. Membership dues are $20 per year. Come and visit us, sit in on a meeting for free. Contact susanmklaffer@yahoo.com  Phone 810-664-8912

For Sale:  I have baby parakeets for sale, hatched this spring $15 each.  They are not hand fed.  Beautiful colors, lutino, (yellow) and shades of pale green, olive green, and sea green.  Some I can sex now, others are a guess.  You’ll need to bring your own cage.  Parakeets are active birds that are a lot of fun to watch.  Call at 989-761-7609.

Also for sale Muscovy ducklings, black laced, about a month old, fine to be without mom but you must buy at least 2.  $5 each.  Can’t be sexed yet.  Call the number above.  Muscovy are flying ducks, large sized and make good meat ducks.  They do not quack- and are very quiet.



 Summer is here! Our days are longer and there is more hours of light to enjoy being outdoors. We welcome you to join us: experience nature and be inspired! Back Track To Nature will offer programs on two of Lapeer Land Conservancy properties. As well as at Three Roods Farm and the Tibbits Nature Sanctuary both located in Columbiaville, MI.

We offer environmental education programs for scouts, seniors, homeschoolers, garden clubs, youth groups, retreats, special interest groups and we will tailor programming to fit your specific needs.

Culinary Herbs for Beginners    Tibbits Nature Sanctuary
Friday, July 15, 2016         6pm-8pm              $7 per person
Love the taste of herbs in your meals, but the idea of blending your own or using them fresh is a little intimidating? Join Gina Delisi for an introductory tour of culinary herbs! The class will focus on: Fresh Herbs vs. Fresh-Preserved vs. Store bought, When and how much to add to a meal, Failsafe combinations and getting the biggest band for your buck.  Recipes and samples will be shared. We will also be demonstrating how to make herbal infused vinegar, oil and salt. Call Karen at 810-969-1023 to register.

Culinary Herbs, Beyond Basics   Tibbits Nature Sanctuary
Saturday, July 23rd, 2016       10am - 12pm      $10 per person
Variety is the spice of life! We all love Basil, Rosemary and Chives, but sometimes you find yourself wishing for flavors that are new, ethnic and unique, then this class is the answer. We will be covering traditional ethnic spice blends from around the world and focusing on specific herbs that really pack a flavor punch. A few herbs that will be included in this class are: Ginger, Lemongrass, Tamarind, Sassafras, Lovage, Fennel, Sumac, Turmeric and Cardamom.  Samples and examples of herb usage will be provided including Cardamom coffee. Call Karen at 810-969-1023 to register.

Preserving your Herbs - Tibbits Nature Sanctuary
Sunday, July 31,2016      10am - 12pm     $5 per person
You've worked all summer on those beautiful herbs, and now the plants are huge and fall is coming quick. Make sure to have plenty of top quality herbs all winter long by beginning to preserve now while your herbs are in their best condition.  Join me for a class that covers every type of herb preservation. Freezing, MANY ways of drying, oil & vinegar infusions, herbal broths, herbal liquors and herbal salts.  Pros and Cons of each technique will also be covered. I will be demonstrating many techniques. Bring your questions! Call Karen at 810-969-1023 to register.

Other programs include: Riseman Refuge and Polly Ann Trail  Bike Ride  6pm ­ 8pm Wednesday, July 20, 2016,   
Make a Nature Journal  Tibbits Nature SanctuaryThursday, July 21, 2016,  4pm - 6pm, $5 per person,
Writing in Nature   Tibbits Nature Sanctuary, Thursday, July 21, 2016,6pm - 8pm $5 per person,
Walking Meditation   Tibbits  Nature Sanctuary, Thursday, July 21, 2016  8pm - 9pm  $5 per person
Death Cafe    Tibbits Nature Sanctuary   Saturday, July 23, 2016       1pm - 3pm    $7 per person
A Council of All Beings 10:30am - 4:30pm,Saturday, August 6, 2016      Three Roods Farm
A Great Hundred Acre Wood Adventure  ( Kids program)   2pm - 3pm Sunday, August 14,2016      Tibbits Nature Sanctuary
Aldo Leopold Bench Building Workshop    1:30pm - 4:30pm, Saturday, August 27, 2016     Tibbits Nature Sanctuary

Reservations are needed for all programs listed. Please call or  email Karen at 810-969-1023 and pagekp@gmail.com  Directions to the Tibbits Nature Sanctuary and Riseman Refuge will be given at the time of registration. Thank you!




MSU Garden Day Sat, August 6, 8am-4:15 pm, MSU Horticulture Gardens, 1066 Bogue St, East Lansing, MI

At this conference you will be able to select your favorite garden-themed workshops and enjoy two keynote presentations by David Culp. Pre- registration is $86 until 7/25 Go to http://www.hrt.msu.edu. To see the class selections and register.


Here’s a facebook page link for gardeners in the Lapeer area.  This link has a lot of events listed on it.

Here’s a link to all the nature programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/

Here’s a link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road, North Branch. 

Here’s a link to classes and events at Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor

Here’s a link to programs being offered at English Gardens, several locations in Michigan.

Here’s a link to classes at Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Twsp. MI, and now combined with Goldner Walsh in Pontiac MI.

Here’s a link to classes and events at Bordines, Rochester Hills, Grand Blanc, Clarkston and Brighton locations

Here’s a link to events at the Leslie Science and Nature Center, 1831 Traver Road Ann Arbor, Michigan  | Phone 734-997-1553 |
http://www.lesliesnc.org/

Here’s a link to events at Hidden Lake Gardens, 6214 Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI

Here’s a link to events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580


Newsletter information
If you would like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to me. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly notes. You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do reserve the right to publish what I want.

I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with local people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive these emails have them send email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com