March 22,
2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter © Kim Willis
Hi Gardeners
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| Iris reticulata |
I live in the thumb region and it looks like I have to
prepare for a possible freezing rain event in the next few days. If you live north of I69 in Michigan you should be
keeping a close eye on the weather too. I
dread freezing rain, both because it can cause power outage and because it can
do terrible damage to the landscape. This time of year is prime for freezing
rain events, as transition in the weather is occurring. Run water if you have a well, check your food
and medicine supplies, check batteries and candles, get gas for the generator, charge
your devices, you know the drill.
Spring is supposed to be here now both on the calendar and meteorologically.
We may start weather improvement again by the weekend. Even if you have some flowers blooming don’t
worry too much. Snow won’t hurt them,
except if it’s heavy and wet some things will be smashed. Ice may damage limbs by breaking them but can
actually protect flower buds.
If you recently jumped the gun and planted things like
pansies, or perennials that are already pretty well leaved out, you may want to
cover them with buckets, boxes or similar items for the next few days. Plastic or cloth sheets covered with ice or
snow may smash plants. It’s not going to get really cold but some plants may
still experience browned leaf edges or bud drop.
The Lapeer Horticultural Club held a meeting at Campbell’s
greenhouse in North Branch last night.
We got to tour the production area and it’s amazing how machines have
changed the industry. I worked one
summer for a major nursery on the west side of the state that produced potted
perennials for wholesale trade. They
were quite mechanized there but it’s interesting to see similar machinery being
used for production of annual plants.
In a quick simplistic recap- plug trays that can hold 72-120
seedlings are filled with soil. They are run through a machine that puts a seed
– or 2 if desired-in each tray compartment in less than a minute. The plug
trays go into a heated, artificially lit greenhouse for 28 days to grow. Then
they are run through another machine which lifts each tiny plant out of the
plug tray and plants it in larger cell packs, 4 inch pots or baskets. Hundreds of plants are planted in an hour. They go into other greenhouses to grow to
selling size.
All of this work used to be done by hand. People in our group once had jobs doing that
kind of planting. It still takes plenty of help to run the line, at least nine
people I understand, often many more.
But the work of those people is much easier and machines help keep the
cost of those plants down for us plant buyers. Campbell’s sells about 70% of
what they grow in their retail section.
The other 30% is sold to small greenhouses around the state.
As usual I could not leave Campbell’s without buying plants. I bought a flat of pansies, which will not be
planted until next week, and a neat houseplant I had been thinking about since
my last trip there. It’s called a
zig-zag cactus- (related to Christmas cactus).
I’ll write more about it next week.
Finding a place to put my new plant was hard- my windows and
artificially lit spaces are packed. But
I am working on that. Besides the small
portable greenhouse I bought I sold off some bantam chickens I had and I am
going to turn their coop into a lean to type greenhouse. The outer pen was on the south side of the
barn. It was already roofed with clear
plastic panels. I am going to replace
the contractors plastic that enclosed the coop sides with clear greenhouse
plastic. I am hoping to have it done by
April.
This is only 10’ by 5’ in size but it should give me lots of
enclosed space to start some more seeds and move some semi-hardy plants
into. I don’t think I’ll heat it
although it would be easy to do. My
biggest problem is the wisteria vine that has grown through the fencing on the
pen sides. It has wound itself into the wire
and out the roof vents and has gotten quite thick. It’s been there about 5 years and I have yet
to see it bloom.
This wisteria was started from a seed that came from MSU’s
horticulture garden. I was teaching a MG
class and someone brought the seed pod in for me to identify, she picked it at
the garden. The pod was lying on the
woman’s desk when all of a sudden it exploded and the seeds hit the ceiling. We were all startled but after a moment we
laughed and I kept one of the seeds. I
planted it in a houseplant pot in my office and lo and behold it eventually sprouted
and was taken home to be planted. So
this wisteria is special you might say.
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| Dandelion |
What’s blooming this week?
Outside I have crocus, winter aconite, snowdrops, volunteer pansies, iris
reticulata and cyclamen. Dandelions and chickweed
are blooming in the lawn. Some clumps of daffodils have large buds- maybe after
the storm. The willows are blooming.
Inside I have hibiscus, streptocarpus, Easter cactus, bouvardia,
geraniums, pentas, begonias, kalanchoe (3 species) and abutilon. I am excited that there are lots of big buds
on my Meyer lemon tree.
A friend a bit south
of me reported bloodroot blooming. Mine
isn’t blooming yet nor is it on the large roadside bank up the road. But I’ve written an article on bloodroot
below.
Bloodroot
One of the earliest wildflowers blooming in Michigan is the
bloodroot, (Sanguinaria Canadensis). Other common
names include redroot and puccoon. The
dainty white flower is an Eastern North American native that blooms from March
through April, depending on weather and location. Bloodroot is also cultivated in gardens,
especially those that feature native plants.
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| Bloodroot |
In the wild bloodroot occurs in moist areas at the edges of
woodlands. Bloodroot is sometimes seen on roadside ditch banks and marshy
meadows. It’s an ephemeral, meaning that the plant grows and flowers quickly in
the spring, and then goes dormant when the heat of summer arrives. It usually
is in sun or partial shade when it blooms, but as the trees leaf out the
foliage survives in shady locations.
A single white flower appears first in the spring with a
leaf folded up along the flower stem. The stems rise 6-10 inches from the
ground. The 2 inch wide flowers have
8-10 white petals which may have a pink or lavender tinge. There is a group of yellow stamens in the
center. Flowers open in sunlight and
close at dark or before rain. Each
flower only lasts a day or so. There are
cultivated bloodroot varieties that have double flowers. The double flowers
last a few days longer than single flowers.
After the flower opens the leaf unfurls, it’s a lobed
palmate leaf with the margins scalloped and appears to rise right out of the
ground. It has a downy appearance when new. The deep green leaf will grow to 7
inches or more across in good moist soil and will survive until the heat of
summer. In the garden the foliage is
attractive until it begins to die back.
Bloodroot is pollinated by tiny flies and native bees and is
an early source of nectar and pollen. The
flowers produce 1 inch pods filled with reddish brown to black round
seeds. These are normally hidden by the
leaves and the pods burst and spill the seeds before the leaves are gone. Each seed is covered by a white waxy coating
called an elaiosome, which is a favored food of ants. Ants carry the seeds to their burrows where
they eat off the coating, leaving the seed behind and effectively planting it.
Bloodroot spreads by seed but also by its rhizomatous
root. Left alone a few plants will soon
spread to a large colony. If you
purchase bloodroot you will be sent pieces of the rhizomatous root to plant.
Garden culture of bloodroot
 |
| Bloodroot |
If you wish to grow bloodroot in the garden please purchase
it instead of digging wild plants. Many
places carry the plants. In the garden
bloodroot prefers the shade of deciduous trees and a slightly acidic, light,
humus rich soil. It needs to be moist
but well drained. It does not require fertilization. Bloodroot is perennial and
will persist and spread if conditions are right.
Make sure to mark the spot where you plant bloodroot as it
will disappear in mid-summer and gardeners often forget and plant over it or
destroy the rhizomes. Be aware that deer will readily eat the plants. Since bloodroot is poisonous (except to deer
obviously) keep it away from children and pets.
Herbal use
The name bloodroot arrives because if you break any part of
the plant a red sap will ooze out. The
sap contains an alkaloid called sanguinarine, which is toxic to animal
cells. This alkaloid is concentrated in
the root. Handling the plant or roots
can cause skin irritation and concentrated sap left on skin can cause chemical
burns. The roots of the plant can be
used to produce a red dye.
Indigenous people used bloodroot for many herbal
preparations, as a body paint and red dye. They had many medicinal uses of the
plant but modern medicine cautions against internal use of the plant or its sap
as deaths have occurred from its use. Only very experienced herbalists should
use bloodroot preparations and then with great caution.
Bloodroot’s taste will quickly cause vomiting, if that is
desired and a diluted form was used as an expectorant. It was often used to burn off skin tumors or
dead flesh from wounds and to cure ringworm.
An herbal remedy for skin cancer is still suggested sometimes but
application of bloodroot products to the skin is painful and can cause extreme
scarring. In several trials of its
effectiveness against skin cancer it was found that the product often failed to
kill enough cancer cells and cancer usually re-occurred.
The antibiotic properties of bloodroot did find some use in
toothpaste and mouthwash in the last few decades and helped prevent tarter
build up. Other uses of the
antibacterial properties of bloodroot are being studied.
Chickweed and other creeping spring weeds
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| Common chickweed |
This time of year before grass and other weeds start growing
gardeners often notice mats of low growing plants in the lawn and garden beds
and wonder what they are. While
chickweed is one of the weeds you may see not all prostrate, creeping weeds are
chickweed.
There are two common types of plants called chickweed in our
area. One is smooth or common chickweed (Stellaria media) and the other is
mouseear chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum). Common chickweed is an annual plant, and
mouse ear chickweed is a perennial. They both have creeping sprawling stems
with small rounded oval leaves and tiny white star shaped flowers. They appear
in early spring. Both prefer to grow in
early spring and summer and again in fall when it is cool and moist. They go dormant or die in hot dry weather.
There are also two other species of Cerastium chickweeds that are not as common and can require a very
well trained eye to distinguish from common chickweed.
The difference between the species of plants commonly called
chickweed is subtle to the untrained eye. Both have opposite leaves. The leaves
of mouseear chickweed are a narrow oval and the whole plant is covered in tiny
hairs. Common chickweed has smooth, broad oval leaves with a pointed tip.
Mouseear chickweed starts blooming later than common chickweed, not starting
bloom until May and common chickweed begins blooming soon after the snow
melts. Mouseear chickweed will root at
the stem nodes and common chickweed does not.
Both types of chickweed have shallow, fibrous roots and are
easy to pull from the ground. Both
reproduce by seed, which may germinate in late fall and survive under snow
until spring or in the case of common chickweed seeds may germinate in early
spring. Mouseear chickweed can stay
green under snow or in a protected area all winter.
Thymeleaf speedwell, (Veronica
serpyllifolia) is another low growing early weed that greatly resembles
common chickweed. The leaves are round at the base of the stem and more oval
shaped higher on the stem. Many leaves will have a notch at the tip, and the
tips are rounded, which helps distinguish from common chickweed. It is a perennial and can root at the nodes of
the stems.
Thymeleaf speedwell has tiny, 4 petal flowers on short stems
that are usually pale blue with darker blue or purple vein lines. Petal tips are rounded. They normally bloom in late April-May in our
area. In flower it’s easy to distinguish thymeleaf speedwell from chickweeds.
Catchweed bedstraw (Galium
aparine) is a bit easier to distinguish from chickweed and thymeleaf
speedwell. While it’s a low growing, mat
forming weed it has square stems and the blade shaped leaves are arranged in
whorls on the stem. Stems and leaves
have tiny prickles, which accounts for the name. Another common name is cleavers.
Catchweed bedstraw has tiny, white 4 petal flowers that are
produced in the leaf axils in late spring, usually May here. It is an annual
that reproduces by seed. The plant has a fresh scent, like new mown hay when
dried, which accounts for the bedstraw in its name. It was once used to fill
mattresses because it doesn’t mat down as quickly as some plants and has a nice
scent.
 |
| Catchweed bedstraw |
Catchweed bedstraw’s tiny prickles can inflame the
intestines of animals grazing on them and the seeds often contaminate grain
crops.
Control
All of these plants like cool, moist conditions and usually
are not problematic later in the summer.
While a product like Round-up would kill them they are so easily pulled
that it seems silly to use chemicals. Just use a rake and rake them out of
unwanted areas. Or just leave them alone and summer heat will generally kill
them or make them go dormant. You can
gather the plants and feed them to chickens or livestock or compost them.
Although the flowers of these plants are tiny they do
furnish pollen and nectar to small bees and flies early in the spring. And poultry, birds and small animals eagerly
feed on them in spring and hunt for the seeds later. There is little harm in leaving
them in the lawn.
Herbal and edible uses of the weeds above
Thymeleaf speedwell has been used as a bitter tea with diuretic
and expectorant properties and as a spring tonic. It is used on the skin to soothe irritations
and minor wounds. It’s not considered good
for salads or cooked greens.
Catchleaf bedstraw can be used as a cooked green in spring. Native Americans had many medicinal uses for
the plants. It was used to reduce fever,
as a diuretic (why are so many medicinal plants used to make people pee?) and
in skin conditions. It’s said to stop
the itch of poison ivy. The tiny seeds were
once ground and used as a coffee substitute.
Chickweed remedies and edible uses are numerous, probably
just because it’s abundant and bland in flavor. It can be used in salads and as
a cooked green. A mash of chickweed is
often used as a skin poultice- for it seems almost any skin condition. It is used to relieve constipation- and no
surprise, as a diuretic. Whole plant
decoctions are used to bring on milk production and cause menstruation to
start.
There are old folk remedies that claim chickweed reduces
weight. Other than weight loss caused by
diarrhea and peeing out some water, modern research has found no truth to
this. However chickweed is being
explored as an antihistamine. There may
be some value to early season allergy sufferers to consume chickweed, who
knows?
Dish washing liquid and your garden
Many of the folklore garden remedies offered use two common
household products, Epsom salts and dish washing detergent. I talked about Epsom salts and its
uselessness and possible harm last week, now let’s talk about dishwashing
liquid.
Dish washing liquid is often suggested as part of a mixture
of other materials found in the house.
Sometimes specific brands of dish detergent are actually mentioned. The idea of dish soap being used in
pesticides probably comes from the agricultural use of soaps as “stickers” for
pesticides or the products sold as insecticidal soaps in garden stores. People always want something easy and cheaper
but those soaps are not the same as dish soap and it’s a mistake to think that
dish soap can be substituted for them.
Most folk remedies using dish washing soap say they are
organic, or natural. But if you ever
looked at the label of a dish detergent you’ll find all kinds of ingredients
that are neither organic or natural there.
You may think using dishwashing liquid in preparations to kill pests and
stop disease is safer than using conventional pesticides and maybe in some
cases its safer for you, - but it’s often not safer for the plants. And worse, it’s safer for the pests you are
trying to kill - and that’s not a good thing.
When you spray mixtures of dish soap and other things on
plants you can burn the leaves, especially when done on a sunny day. When you use dish soaps formulated to remove
grease you can damage the waxy cuticle layer plant leaves have to protect them,
leaving the plant vulnerable to other disease and actually encouraging insect
feeding. Different plants have different
responses to being sprayed with dish soap but for most of them it’s not a
pleasant experience.
The dish soap and other junk you mixed up for your “organic”
spray will drip on the ground and may impact soil microbes and other beneficial
critters. In short dish soap can harm
your plants and actually isn’t very effective on pests and disease. Combine dish soap with a chemical called
acetic acid- (vinegar) - or a salt and you compound the damage.
Often the damage to plants doesn’t show up immediately, it
can take a few days so sometimes people don’t connect what they sprayed on the
plant with the damage. Damage can include dead leaves and spots on leaves,
yellowing, wilting, curling and distorted foliage, reddened or bronzed foliage,
white spots or bleached looking areas, and even plant death. Plants immune
system responses can be damaged and natural protection to disease and pests
lost. Some plants are stronger and don’t
show much damage but it’s always a gamble as to what does the most damage, the
homemade spray or the pest or disease you are trying to get rid of.
True insecticidal soap, the kind sold in garden stores, does
have some beneficial effect. It is
usually made of coconut or palm oil, natural fatty acids. On the label you’ll see "potassium salts
of fatty acids" or "potassium laurate" or “potassium oleate”. It can kill some insects, especially soft
bodied ones, when used correctly and may have some effect on certain diseases.
It has to contact insects to kill them. Remember that like most pesticides it
will also harm helpful insects. If you
are an organic gardener insecticidal soap can be helpful. However it won’t stop all garden problems and
is not a miracle cure.
The only beneficial use of dish soap in the garden is to use
it to kill insects you have hand picked off plants. It helps drown them by
removing their protective coatings and makes it hard for them to fly away. Put some dish detergent in a bucket or jar of
water and add insects. Otherwise go to
the garden store and buy insecticidal soap, which is a different formulation
than dish soap and does not contain “conventional” pesticides unless they are
listed on the label. Read and follow the
directions.
Some plants may even be sensitive to insecticidal soap so
test it on a branch or two first. And do
use common sense when adding ingredients to this “safer” soap. Just because something is natural or found in
your kitchen or bathroom doesn’t make it safe or effective to use. Because Epsom salts are basically potassium in
salt form its senseless to add it to soap mixtures based on potassium fatty
acids.
Blue flowers
Blue flowers are popular with gardeners. A true blue color doesn’t occur in all
species of plants; only about 10% of the plant species in the world have the
ability to create blue flowers. There is
no blue pigment in plants rather some plants have the genes for a complex
process that changes red pigment in anthocyanins to blue and different plant
species use slightly different methods to do this. If a plant species does not have the genetic “coding”
for making blue color no amount of breeding can create it.
 |
| Dutch Iris |
Some common garden plants are often said to be blue but in
reality they are various forms of lavender and purple. These colors come from different genetic
modifications of red pigments and are rather common among plant species. Blue daylilies for example are not really
blue, despite deceptive camera practices and misleading descriptions. Other flowers are dyed for the floral trade, that’s
how you get the really blue looking carnations, roses, tulips, mums, orchids
and certain other plants. White flowers
are put in a blue dye solution and the color is absorbed by the flower stem. You may have done such experiments in school.
True blue, undyed roses don’t quite exist yet although they
may soon. In 2008 Japanese plant breeders announced they had genetically
modified a rose by inserting the genes that cause blue color in pansies. There was much hoopla and speculations about when
blue roses would be on the market. But
when the public saw the first blue rose they were not impressed. It looks much like the roses that catalogs
now advertise as blue, which are a lavender color, but was horrendously more
expensive. Plant breeders are continuing
to work with the GMO modified roses and one day maybe a true blue rose will
come to market.
A little sidebar: blue rose
seeds are being offered on Craigslist and Amazon. While roses can be grown from seed, the
result is not always very good and it takes several years for the roses started
this way to bloom. Most named roses are propagated by grafting cuttings on
hardy rootstock; landscape roses are started by cuttings and allowed to grow
their own root systems. If the sellers of
these blue rose seeds truly had seeds from a GMO modified blue rose (which is
doubtful), what you got from growing a seed would be very variable and probably
not even a good garden rose. The seeds
may be from what is now on the market as blue roses, lavender shades, but even
roses grown from those would probably not be great plants. Don’t waste your money; rose plants are not
that expensive.
Tulips are an interesting example of the intricacy of the
blue genetic coding. Despite many
catalog pictures and tulips with blue in their name there are no tulips where
the whole flower of the tulip is true blue.
There are however, species of tulips that have true blue color in
markings near the base of the flower. It
seems that breeding could magnify that bit of genetic coding so it would allow
a totally blue tulip flower. But so far, despite centuries of tulip breeding,
this has not been done. This could be an
interesting (and potentially lucrative) project for those interested in plant
breeding.
You won’t find true blue roses (yet), daylilies, oriental or
Asiatic lilies, mums, orchids, glads, dahlias, or carnations (and many other
plants). These are plants often advertised
as having blue varieties. Often “ blue” listed in a plant description or name will really
mean lavender or purple and for some people that can be just fine. But for those of you who are looking for true
blue, whether in deep or pastel tints here’s a list of some plants where you
can find the color.
 |
| Borage |
Agapanthus, ageratum, ajuga, anchusa, aquilegia, azure
allium-(Allium caeruleum), bachelors button(Centaurea cyanus),borage,
caryopteris, ceratostigma(plumbago), columbine, brunnera, campanula,
catananche, crocus, delphinium, echinops, erynigium, Evolvulus ( dwarf morning
glory), forget me not (Myosotis sylvatica), grape hyacinths, Gentian, Himalayan
blue poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia), Hyacinths, hydrangea, iris of many
types, larkspur, linum (flax), lithodora, lobelia, lupine, morning glory, pansies,
penstemon, petunias, platycondon, primula, Scabiosa, stokesia, some salvias, veronica, and violas.
Good colors to enhance blue flowers are white and
yellow. Silvery gray foliage is also a
good enhancement. Avoid placing blue
flowers against a dark backdrop as they will seem to disappear, unless the blue
color is very pale. Orange and orange
reds generally clash with blue flowers.
Keep an eye on the weather for the next few days
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 Julie Schröder, LAHS Secretary, 810-728-2269 - Julie.Schroder@brose.com
New-The
Heartbeat of the Garden,
Mon, April 4, 7pm, Congregational Church of Birmingham, 1000 Cranbrook Rd,
Bloomfield Hills, MI
What makes
one garden unique & different from another? If gardeners use the same basic
principles of landscape design, why don’t they look the same? The answer lies
in the heartbeat. The speaker is Sandy Wilkins.
Sponsored
by the Hardy Plant Society, Great Lakes Chapter. For more info: www.hardyplantsociety-greatlakes.org.
New- Attracting
Bees & Maintaining Beehives, Thu,
April 14, 1pm, Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center Utica, Mi.
The Shelby Garden Club presents bee keepers
Mary Jo Showalter & Joanne Gartner for a quick session on attracting bees
and beginning beekeeping. FREE For more
info call - 586-873-3782..
Fine-Pruning the Landscape: Spring
Cuts- Fri, March
25, 9:15am, Meadow Brook Hall, 480 S Adams Rd, Rochester, MI
Janet
Macunovich will be giving pruning tips for trees and shrubs. Cost $5. Sponsored by Meadow Brook GC For more info
-248‑364‑6210, MBHGCMembers@gmail.com.
African Violet Display & Sale
Sat, April 2,
10am-4pm Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor, MI
Sponsored
by MSU AV Society at Matthaei Gardens. There will be a FREE workshop at 10:30
am on growing violets, streptocarpus & other gesneriads. For more info LynnAllen0413@comcast.net.
Basic Vegetable Gardening- Two free seminars- Tue, March 22, 6:30
-8 pm, MSU Extension,-21885 Dunham Rd, Charter Twp. of Clinton, MI OR Wed, March 23, 1-2:30pm, Thompson
Community Ctr, 11370 Hupp Ave, Warren, MI
This
program covers everything from planning to planting. To register for either
session call 586-469-6440.
MSU Horticulture Gardens’ Spring
Program: The Garden Professors
April 9, 2016, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Plant and Soil Sciences Building, 1066 Bogue
Street East Lansing, MI
Looking to
bust through gardening myths and dig down to the truth? Join the creators of
The Garden Professors, a blog where expert professors from around the country use
science-based information to provide you with the facts about gardening from
every aspect. We will host two of these professors and they will be joined by
organic farming expert, Adam Montri. Attendees will have the opportunity to
submit questions in advance, many of which will be answered by these experts
during a final Q & A session! Early registration (on or before March 31)
for MSU Horticulture Garden Member $70, Early registration (on or before March
31) for non-MSU Horticulture Garden Member $80 Registrations received after
March 31 $90
Contact:
Jennifer Sweet at 517-353-0443 or hgardens@msu.edu
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 their email address to
me. KimWillis151@gmail.com
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