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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

March 29, 2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

March 29, 2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter    © Kim Willis



Hi Gardeners

Streptocarpus
The sun is out and boy do we need it to dry up the ground.  We got 1½ inches of rain Sunday night and on top of the snowmelt we just had it has caused some flooding.  The ditches are full and we have water in our basement.  Our pond is quite full which is nice but I worry a bit about the additional rain that’s supposed to come Thursday.  Today and tomorrow we will have nice weather so get out and enjoy it.  The weekend doesn’t look so nice.

I have started to convert my chicken pen into a greenhouse.  I have the wisteria trimmed back and the front covered.  I found that clear vinyl shower curtains make an excellent covering for a small greenhouse.  They come in 6’ by 6’ pieces that are easy to handle and are sturdy as well as being less expensive than the same stuff sold for greenhouses.  I am going to see how they fare this year anyway and I think they will be fine for a couple months of use. 

I hope to get the semi-hardy plants off the porch and into the new greenhouse this week.  I may wait until next week to move some seedlings out there as its going to get quite cold and cloudy again this weekend.  We just need more sun!

Speaking of wisteria I am a bit angry at Edison.  I came home from the grocery Friday and saw some tree trimming trucks parked on the road at the edge of our property with a bunch of guys standing around in the road.  I didn’t see them doing anything on our property but unknown to me they had just chopped off our huge wisteria shrubs near one of their guy wires that ran to an electric pole.  They left the shrubs where they were- didn’t chip them for some reason so it was hard to tell anything had happened until Gizmo and I took a walk the next day.

Now these wisteria vines were not climbing the wire- we had been keeping them from doing that along with the trumpet vines entwined with them.  There were times in the past when they had, but the last few years we had been diligent about keeping them off the line.  These wisterias were old, the trunks were 6” in diameter and they had twisted and gnarled into some interesting shapes.  We had pruned them so the shape of the trunks was visible.  Now they are chopped off at the base.

It’s useless to keep being angry but I still am a bit.  We have a big mess to clean up- as if we didn’t have enough new brush for the pile from this winter’s storms.  My hummingbirds are going to miss the place where they liked to nest, in that wisteria-trumpet vine thicket.  They left one trumpet vine clump off to the side so the hummers will have some blooms this year.  We also have a lot of trumpet vine behind the barn. 

Hopefully the young wisteria I spoke about up on the new greenhouse will bloom this year. What Edison and their tree trimmers don’t realize is that these will probably return from the roots.  But I will be without the blooms there for a few years.  I am thinking about planting something else there, shrubs, not vines.  And I may use the gnarly, twisted trunk pieces somewhere else.  

My lemon tree is blooming inside and so is the fuchsia I overwintered.  The crocus and tiny iris survived the snow and I have some daffodils about to open.  The frogs are really singing now as the days warm up.  I thought since March came in like a lion it might go out like a lion like the rhyme says but it doesn’t look good.  But I can feel spring around the corner.  



Getting an Early Start – Cold frames, Tunnels and Row Covers

If you are a gardener that is anxious to get growing in the spring and don’t have a greenhouse, you may want to take advantage of several season extenders available to gardeners.   Cold frames, row covers, tunnels and individual plant protectors are widely available and easy to use.  These items can give you an early gardening start and let you protect crops at the end of the season too.  

Cold frames

Cold frames are a box with a clear top and sometimes clear sides.  Snug in their protected world plants get the advantage of natural light without drafts and frost.  Cold frames are used to start seedlings or to harden off, (acclimate), plants that were started inside.  In the fall they can also be used to grow a crop of greens before severe weather sets in.

A gardener can simply construct a wooden box with a Plexiglas lid or a lid covered with heavy clear plastic film. Clear vinyl shower curtains are tough, easy to find and relatively cheap and can be used with a frame as your top.  The box is best placed on the south side of a structure in full sun.  The back should be higher than the front so the top slopes down.  This allows more sun to enter.  Ideally the box should face south although west or southwest can work.

The box should be at least eighteen inches deep at the low front side to allow plants to grow.  The walls should be thick or well insulated. You can bank soil around the outside of the box or use bales of straw around it.  (You can even use straw bales as the walls for your box).  White walls or walls lined with reflective material help maximize light.

You can add a floor or simply have the box sit on the ground. If it sits on the ground add a layer of thick cardboard, straw or other insulating material to the bottom. A layer of black plastic over this will help absorb heat to keep the box warmer overnight.  You can purchase heat cables or mats from garden supply stores for bottom heat if you like.  Don’t use regular heating pads.

Purchased cold frames may be made of wood or plastic.  They often have hinged lids that are connected to a device that opens the lid when a certain temperature is reached.  They may also have heat cables and fans to circulate air.  You can add a small fan if you want to circulate the air.  Point the air direction over the tops of the plants.  Solar powered fans exist, they are sometimes sold in auto departments to ventilate cars.

Set the cold frame up several days before you sow seeds or set plants in it.  It should receive full sun all day.  Some people add soil and plant directly in the cold frame, but plants transplant better if started in pots or flats. You may want to germinate seeds indoors, in warmer night time temps, and move the pots or flats to the cold frame once the seedlings have their first true leaves.  Don’t start seeds or plants in a cold frame too early.  When they outgrow the frame the weather should be ready for them to be planted in the garden.  Planting in a cold frame can usually begin six weeks before your last expected frost.

The most important thing to remember about coldframes is that even though it is in the upper thirties outside on a sunny day, it will be much warmer inside the box with the lid closed.  If temperatures get too hot the plants will die just as quickly as if they got too cold. Buy an inexpensive thermometer to put in the coldframe.  When temps reach 80 degrees the top should be raised to allow ventilation.  This can happen in happen in an hour or so of late spring sun shining on the box.

Thermostatically controlled openers, (a device that will raise the lid when the temperature gets to a certain point), can be bought from catalogs or some garden stores.  If you don’t use one you must be diligent in raising and lowering the lid depending on weather conditions. If you work during the day this factor can be tricky and you will need to become a close observer of weather forecasts.  If the day is to be sunny and above 40 degrees the top should be propped open at least a few inches. On cloudy, cool days the box top can be left down.  If the day is sunny and going to be above 60 degrees you may want to prop the lid fully open or remove the top.

Close the box lid about an hour before sundown to help preserve heat. If extremely cold weather threatens the whole cold frame can be covered with a blanket.  Normally plants will be fine if night temps fall to around freezing outside the box or if the box is covered with an additional layer even down to the mid-20’s. 

Tunnels and row covers

Tunnels are tall enough to walk under; row covers are shorter and must be removed before caring for plants.  Home gardeners are more likely to use row covers.  They are generally made of plastic or a spun polyester-like fabric. Tunnels always have a frame of some sort but row covers may have a frame or just be loosely laid over plants. 

Both tunnels and row covers are used over crops planted right in the ground. They can protect crops from frost and raise the temperature in the daytime to promote growth.  Row covers will give you about a month’s head start over the same plants planted without them, but won’t protect plants in a hard freeze. Wait until the chance of hard freezes- (below 30 degrees)- is over before setting up sensitive crops like tomatoes and peppers under them.  Plants like lettuce, peas, radish, cabbage, kale and a few others will be fine through temps in the 20’s.

Another consideration of tunnels and row covers is snow.  If you get a late season snowfall that is heavy enough to flatten the tunnels or row covers your plants can be damaged.  Remove the snow as soon as you can and hope for the best. Inverted V shaped tunnels may work better than rounded ones in snow country.

In cooler areas, crops like melons and peppers benefit from draft protection and the warmer daytime temperatures a cover provides early in the season.  Row covers are great to protect crops at the end of the season when an early frost threatens also.

Many types of tunnels and row covers are sold, and there are a variety of fabrics or clear plastics to cover frames you build yourself.  Gardeners can fashion a hoop frame with wire fencing or PVC pipe and cover it.  You will need some sort of pegs or weights to keep covers from being blown off.

There are some lightweight spun fabrics that will not harm plants if it touches them and lets air and water pass through. It can be laid loosely on the plants and will lift as they grow.  Plastic needs a frame as it should not touch plants and must be removed before watering. 

Care must be taken to lift the row covers on a sunny day, especially plastic ones.  Ventilated plastic may be fine when temperatures are below 50 degrees but keep a close check on plant conditions.  Thin spun fabric covers let some air through but even those can become too hot.  When temperatures regularly rise above 70 degrees all covers need to be removed for the season.

Individual plant protection

There are plant protectors that fit over individual plants.  Some are filled with water to hold heat at night. You can buy these or devise your own.  For example, plant your tomato plants, add a tomato cage and then cover the cage with spun row cover fabric, or slide a clear plastic trash bag over it.  A few plastic drink bottles filled with water can be placed inside to collect heat.  Small plants can be protected by 2 liter drink bottles or gallon containers with the bottom cut off.  Set it over plants and leave the bottle caps off for ventilation. 

Remember that if you use plastic or glass the protection will need to be removed on sunny days.  If you forget your plants may be cooked.  These kinds of covers are generally used for 2-3 weeks before the last frost.  You may only need them if temps are forecast to go below 36 degrees at night.

Small portable greenhouses
These have become extremely popular and they do have uses but also some limitations.  They are usually a 3-4 shelf unit about 3 feet wide with a clear vinyl cover.  You can use them inside to increase humidity and warmth for seedlings or outside in a protected area.  If you use them outside try to place them against the south side of a building.  You must be able to anchor them so they won’t blow over in the wind.  Either wire them to an existing wall, post or rail or put posts in the ground to tie them down.   They need to be anchored near the top as well as the bottom.

Be careful of the amount of weight you place on the shelves of these units.  Some of the least expensive ones don’t have very sturdy shelves.  And just as with other types of season extenders they need to be opened in sunny warm weather.  Usually these have a zippered opening on one side.  If it gets above 70 degrees this opening may not be sufficient to ventilate the unit enough and you may need to remove the whole cover.

Marsh Marigolds

Marsh marigolds, Calthra palustris, sometimes called Cowslips, are the spring wildflower equivalent to the daffodils around our homes.  Bright, cheery yellow flowers lent a vibrant cast to Michigan wetlands in early spring.  Marsh marigolds belong to the buttercup family and are poisonous to consume, although deer and elk can eat them without harm.

Marsh marigolds
Marsh marigolds have large, glossy, dark green leaves, which are heart shaped or round and about 7 inches across. Most of the leaves grow at the base of the plant.  Leaf stems are hollow.  Plants grow to 24 inches high in top conditions but generally range from 8 inches to about 15 inches.

Marsh marigold plants put up stalks to lift the bright yellow flowers just above the foliage.  Each glistening yellow flower has 5 petals and a ring of darker golden stamens in the center.  The flowers turn into short, flat seed pods.

Marsh marigolds are perennial plants that can be found in roadside ditches, in swamps and marshes and at the edges of damp woodlands.  They grow in sun or partial shade.  Marsh marigolds generally form slowly spreading colonies.

Don’t be tempted to pick the cheerful flowers because the sap of the plants is a skin irritant and may cause a painful rash.  Marsh marigolds should be removed from livestock and pet areas because ingestion can cause mouth sores and severe bloody vomiting and diarrhea.  They are being sold as pond plants for small garden ponds, so caution is advised.

Designing a moon garden

Do you ever go out when the moon is full and walk in its pale lovely light?   Perhaps you strolled to your garden, only to find it closed up and hiding in the darkness.  You can however design a garden that will welcome your nocturnal wandering, or resting.

A proper moon garden delights all the senses and makes the night and the garden a magical place.  Moon gardens aren’t hard to do and even a novice gardener can accomplish the task.  Properly done a moon garden is as easy to maintain as any garden and can look great in the daylight also.

Moon gardens use light colored plants that float in the darkness, fragrance that wafts on the evening breeze, and the sounds of tinkling wind chimes or bubbling water to delight all the senses. A place to sit or lie in this dreamy spot is also necessary. 

Locating the Moon Garden
Hydrangea, a good white flower.

You won’t need a rocket to find a place for your moon garden, just a patch of soil here on earth.   A good location for a moon garden is close to the house, but slightly secluded, so you can enjoy it in privacy.  Perhaps a little used deck or patio can become the center stage.  It is to be enjoyed by dim light - the moon, or softly lit by strategically placed low voltage lights. The new solar lights can provide a twinkle at night with no electric bill.  Avoid areas where street lights or harsh overhead light intrudes. Moon gardens need to be at least partially enclosed for best effect.  This can be by a hedge, dark wall or fence. This will make you more comfortable when the air is brisk, insure your privacy and show your plants to their best advantage.

You will probably want most of the moon garden open to the sky. Moon gardens can be in the shade but the range of plants you can use is much greater if they have the advantage of sun in the daytime.  And at night the twinkling stars and graceful curve of the moon overhead will make the moon garden more enchanting.

What to grow in a Moon Garden

Moon gardens need plants with white, pastel or silver foliage or flowers.  The flowers should remain open at night.  These plants can be perennials for your area or you can use annuals, potted tropicals, or a combination.  The goal is to have something of interest through at least 3 seasons, so a combination of plants is generally used.  Fragrance is highly desirable, but it should be a fragrance you adore.

Some suggestions for moon garden plants will be listed next.  Remember that the plants must be hardy for your zone, treated as annuals, or brought inside when frost threatens.  They must be watered and fertilized according to their needs.  You should have low, medium and tall plants to give depth to the design.  Darker plants between the light colors are needed to enhance the backdrop.  Vines, shrubs and trees should be incorporated in larger moon gardens.  Using plants with blues and reds in the foliage or flowers along with the whites and pastels will keep your garden looking nice in the daylight and provide the dark contrast at night.

For spring color choose white tulips, (they fold at night but still look good), hyacinths, iris cristata ‘Tennessee White’, and sweet smelling white narcissus.  White lilacs will add fragrance and late spring color for larger gardens.  Nothing beats a white crabapple or flowering cherry for a cloud of white on spring evenings.   Many white flowered dogwoods are on the market, one called  ‘Elegantissima’ has white flowers in spring and the leaves are edged in white for  even more interest.  White flowered magnolias and viburnums are other choices for larger gardens.

For early summer; white roses, such as ‘Iceburg’, shasta daisies, and white petunias, peonies, stocks, cleome, evening primrose, four o’clocks, coreopsis ‘Snowberry’, white salvia and white bearded iris are good choices.  For midsummer you can add nocturnal daylilies like Hemerocallis citrina, which is fragrant and has pale yellow flowers, white Asiatic lilies, white coneflowers, such as ‘Fragrant Angel‘, white phlox,-‘David’ night flowering Jessamine or jasmine, and hydrangeas. 

For shimmering silver in the moonlight add; artemesia, Lamb’s Ears, mugwort, wormswood or silver thyme.   Thyme ‘ Silver Posie’ is  low growing with each leaf edged in silver and is fragrant when you step on it.

Sweet Autumn clematis is a good, fragrant moon garden plant
For late summer try; white asters, anemones, chrysanthemums, and oriental and hybrid lilies which come in many wonderful white and pastel colors and are highly fragrant.  A favorite oriental lily is ‘Casa Blanca’, which is outstanding for a moon garden.  Ornamental grasses with white plumes such as Cortaderia ‘Sunningdale Silver’ are also good for late fall color.

 For moon gardens which are in the shade during the day try; white astilbe, white impatiens, white tuberous begonias, foam flower, hosta with white variegations, Goatsbeard, Cardiocrinum giganteum and Clethra.  The silver Japanese ferns such as ‘Ghost’ and ‘Silver Falls’ are stunning in the moonlight.

No moon garden is complete without two plants, the moonflower vine and woodland nicotiana or ‘Only the Lonely’.  The moonflower vine has huge heart shaped leaves and equally huge and fragrant white flowers like a morning glory flower, which open at night. It will need to be started inside in the north because it takes a long time to begin blooming.  Woodland nicotiana is a close cousin to smoking tobacco and the huge leaves on this plant make it best in the back of the border.  It sends up tall stalks of white, dangling, trumpet shaped flowers with a delicious fragrance. Both of these plants attract sphinx moths to the garden.

Don’t forget to add the finishing touches, a bubbling water feature or a melodious but gentle wind chime.  Sound carries further on a still evening and you want subtle noise that won’t drown out the tree frogs and the wind in the trees.  Add the clink of ice in your favorite beverage and you are ready to enjoy your moon garden.

Today’s frugal gardening tip- a seed spacer

I get these garden supply catalogs and I can’t believe what they charge for some simple tools people can make at home.  A seed spacer helps you correctly space seeds in the garden or in a flat and saves you money on seed and work thinning seedlings.  But if you make your own instead of paying $10 you’ll save some more money.

You need a piece of C or V shaped molding.  Plastic ones are cheap and a single 8’ piece could make several seed spacers.  Cut the molding into the lengths you think you’ll like to use in planting.  For flats maybe 18 inches long, for outside rows I’d go with pieces about 4 foot long for ease of use but you could leave the piece its full 8 feet. Measure and mark the molding at ½ inch intervals for flat seeding or 1”  spacing for outside rows.  Now drill or melt holes in the molding piece where you marked it.  You can use a skewer heated in a flame, the tip of a hot glue gun, or soldering iron to melt holes. 

Make the holes just big enough to let your largest type of seed pass through.  This would probably be a bean or maybe pumpkin seed.  To use lay the seed spacer on a prepared seed bed in a nice straight line and press gently into the soil.  Put a seed in each hole – or skip a hole if that’s what seed spacing is called for.  Gently pour some fine soil, sand, vermiculite or other seed covering in the seed spacer channel and lift the seed spacer.  Your seeds are now properly spaced and covered.  

If you want less stooping and bending use a piece of tubing cut to a comfortable length for you.  Put one end over the hole in the seed spacer, drop a seed in, follow with soil or other covering – you may need a funnel at the top to make that easier -and you are planting without stooping. You can use your tube to press on one end of the seed spacer, popping the other end up so you can grab it without stooping when you need to move it.

If you are a person who plants in square foot increments or round hills or so on, you may want to make a seed spacer by putting holes in a square or round plastic plate or other container.  Make seed spacers that fit your needs.

Once you get the motions down you can quickly and accurately plant large amounts of seed with a seed spacer. If you do a lot of gardening you may want several sized pieces of seed spacer and ones with different sized or spaced holes. 


Two species you know well may be destined to be lost

Two somber research articles were posted this month on the fate of two species of life, the monarch butterfly and the ash tree.  Both it seems may soon vanish forever. 

A review of ash trees and their many problems by tree expert Dr. Peter Thomas was recently published in the Journal of Ecology, (March 2016 DOI: 10.1111.1365-2745.12566).  While Dr. Thomas is studying ash in Europe he feels the problems are world-wide for this tree and it’s just a matter of time before they are lost.  The first problem is a fungal disease called ash die back (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus).  It’s projected to kill 95% of the ash trees in Europe in the next decade.  But if that doesn’t get them Emerald Ash Borer will- as this nasty beetle is now munching its way from Russia to Britain. 

U.S. ash trees were feeling the ravages of ash die back before they started succumbing to Emerald Ash Borer too.  Ash trees are gone across wide expanses of this country and the beetle continues to spread.  Just as elm trees were lost across the U.S. and Europe 50 years ago to Dutch Elm disease carried by beetles so goes the ash tree.  The probability that ash trees will cease to exist, at least European ash and North American ash species, is good. 
Another much beloved life form, the Monarch butterfly, is continuing its downward population slide and things look grim for the species.  Research from the University of Guelph, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, found that there is a good chance of extinction or near extinction of the Monarch in the next twenty years.
Monarch butterfly

This new research said that while habitat loss in the wintering area has some effect, its habitat loss and change in the breeding range of the monarch in the U.S. that has the most effect.  Milkweed, the only larval food of the monarch, is being lost across the United States in large numbers.  That combined with erratic weather patterns and pesticides is taking its toll.  Even though a big increase in Monarch numbers was reported in the wintering grounds this year, a late storm in the south has already cut that population increase. 

People are trying to help by planting more milkweed but sometimes things are just not meant to be. We lost the passenger pigeon, a bird that numbered in the hundreds of millions in just a few decades. Even 5 years ago I saw many monarchs each summer, I never thought of them being particularly endangered.  But even though milkweed is abundant here, I saw only 1 monarch last summer and only a couple the year before.  That’s how fast things can change.

Or the monarchs just may get a reprieve of some sort from nature too. Maybe planting milkweed will help.  We aren’t ever able to predict these things with 100% accuracy. But change and extinctions in nature are not rarities, they are continuously happening.  While man plays a part in some extinctions, they happened before man existed, and before man had much influence on the planet too. Other butterflies may become more numerous in the Monarchs absence. One day man will cease to exist on this planet too, nothing lasts forever.

Enjoy any monarchs that you see this summer and take pictures, because they may not be here for future generations.

Get outside and enjoy the sun
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- A new way of looking at “invasive plants”. I will be speaking at the Lapeer Horticulture Society meeting April 18, 6:30 pm, Mayfield Township Hall, Lapeer.  I’ll be exploring some of the new research that suggests we are not thinking about non-native plants correctly. Most non-native plants are not our enemies or the ecological problem we think they are.  Come and listen.  If you need directions call the number above for the Lapeer LAHS secretary.

New-“Companion Planting” Tue, April 19, 6:30-7:30pm, MSUE Assembly Room, 21885 Dunham Rd # 12, Clinton Township, MI
Mary Gerstenberger will discuss friend & enemy plants. Sponsored by Macomb County Master Gardener Association MCMGA meeting to follow- $5.

New-Heritage Peonies: Beautiful Then, Glorious Now Fri, April 22, 9:15am, Meadow Brook Hall, 480 South Adams Road, Rochester MI
A talk about heritage peonies and how to grow them, featuring guest speaker Dr. David C. Michener. Sponsored by Meadow Brook Garden Club $5. 2483646210.

New- 2016 Educational Gardening Conference, Sat, April 23, 8 am – 4:15 pm, Oakland Schools Conference Center, 2111 Pontiac Lake Rd, Waterford Twp, MI
Keynote Speakers: Karen Bussolini,(Jazzing Up the Garden),  Ellen Ecker Ogden, (The Art of Growing Food), Barry Glick (Woodland Wonders from the Wild). Garden marketplace, entertainment and more.         
Sponsored by Master Gardener Society of Oakland County, Inc.  $80. No registration at the door.  Registration brochure at http://www.mgsoc.org/2016_ConferenceRegistrationColor.pdf

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.

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..

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.

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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