Tuesday, November 8, 2016

November 8, 2016, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter


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


Hi Gardeners

Ligularia seed head  with a golden glow.
Yesterday was such a beautiful Indian summer day, the light low and warm, turning everything golden.  I hope you got outside for a little while as the weather today is more typical of Michigan November, gray, damp and dull.  Some of you may be having another golden day but your typical November weather is knocking on the door.

Gizzy and I took a walk through the yard and around the pond to the woods yesterday. The sumac seed heads were deep red against the sparkling blue sky, yellow and brown maple leaves littered the ground while a few red and gold remnants clung to the trees.  The bittersweet was opening its yellow husks to reveal the orange berries (more about bittersweet later).  I may cut some soon to bring inside.  Dangling clusters of red, high bush cranberries emerged from plants around the pond. Fluffy white clusters of goldenrod seed heads were spread across the old pasture, turned sparkly when backlit by the sun. 

In the yard a very late mum is finally putting on a decent show.  It was a marked down plant I planted this spring.  In many Michigan autumns the weather doesn’t stay warm this long so I hope next year this pretty mum blooms a bit earlier. I have another mum in bloom that’s been blooming since late August.  One red petunia is still blooming in a planter by the barn and a red Knock Out rose by the back door.  And I still have a white iris blooming.

What really amazes me is that a bacopa plant in a planter in the front is still blooming profusely even though we have had several freezes.  Its spunk makes me want to save it inside for winter but I look at how crowded my indoor space is and I resist the urge.  Besides it’s a good experiment to see just how hardy it is.

The turkey vultures and robins appear to be gone now.  We seem to have had a population explosion of blue jays and they are emptying my feeders almost as soon as I fill them.  They are pretty birds but often aggressive toward other birds.

I got my first spring garden catalog yesterday.  Winter will pass.

November next to last,
Gray days that slowly pass


Fall Care of Houseplants

Did your houseplants drop leaves like crazy when you brought them inside?  Don’t worry; most of them are just adjusting the number and thickness of leaves to what they need to utilize indoor light.  If you see new leaves or leaf buds then they are just fine.

Bromelid
Even houseplants that were in shade outside will need more intense light inside.  If you don’t have sunny windows for plants consider installing grow light fixtures over them. There are some houseplants that will grow in dim light but most prefer bright light indoors.   

As the days shorten and the angle of the sun weakens its rays, most houseplants receive less light.  It’s time to stop fertilizing if you do so regularly.   Also check the soil before watering as plants need less water this time of year and you may over water them.

The air will become dryer in most homes as the furnace begins to run.  Misting houseplants is no longer recommended, but the plants will benefit if you can increase humidity.  You can use a humidifier in the home or set your plants over water filled trays.

The bottom of the plant should not sit in the water, but be held above it.  Gravel or marbles in a tray will work, as will sitting the plant on top of an inverted pot or saucer in the tray of water.  Grouping plants together also increases humidity.

Remove dead leaves and trim off brown areas.  Hold off on pruning off branches that seem to be bare- as mentioned above the plants may be just renewing their leaves to make them more suitable for indoor light.  If you don’t see any new leaves in a few weeks and the branches are brittle and snap cleanly you can trim them off.

You may want to shuffle your plants around or give pots a half turn each time you water. Rotating plants into brighter light from time to time may keep them growing well if there isn’t enough space in a sunny window for all of them and you don’t use supplemental lighting.  Also turning pots keeps plants from leaning in one direction and gives them a more even shape.

Check your plants carefully for pests now. Aphids and scale may have hitched a ride inside. If you have the time and patience you can wash them off leaves with a soft cloth dipped in soapy water. Aphids are tiny fat bodied insects that come in many colors. They may cluster on buds or the upper surfaces of leaves near the top of the plant but can occur anywhere.  

Scale appears as scabs or brown hard bumps on leaves and stems and it may take your fingernail or a credit card edge to remove them. With both insects you may notice “honeydew” a sticky excrement on pot edges, windows and other surfaces. If you have too many plants to hand clean you can use water soluble systemic pesticides to control both these pests.  If the plants aren’t in a room you constantly use (you don’t want to breathe poison) you can treat aphids with insecticidal sprays.  Sprays rarely work with scale.

Why you need houseplants

In the seventies having your house full of plants was the “in” thing.  Every store you went in had aisles of houseplants, pots, soil, and macramé hangers.  Many new types of houseplants were introduced to feed the public interest.  While the interest in house plants has waned a little, there is still good reason to have plants in the home and office.

Several studies have proven that people prefer rooms with plants over rooms without them, that they feel calmer and happier.  Studies of hospital patients have found that patients report less pain and are able to go home sooner if the room has plants.  Malls, hotels, casinos, medical buildings, office buildings and other large buildings usually feature some kind of indoor landscaping, because of the stress reducing and mood lifting qualities plants have, as well as their beauty.

Our indoor air is filled with pollutants.   Gasses volatize off wood products, paint, inks, plastics and other things and fill the air with toxins like formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene.  Smoking, cooking and burning candles release toxins and tiny particles into the air that irritate the lungs.   Newer, airtight homes are very prone to “sick air” from all the toxins swirling around inside with few drafts to provide clean, fresh air.

Lemon button fern
Plants pull that polluted air through them, using carbon dioxide to make food, neutralizing toxic chemicals and releasing pure oxygen into the air.  Microscopic particles floating in the air are stored in the plants vacuoles, tiny water filled sacs in plant cells, until the plant dies, removing them from the air you breathe.  The soil in the plants pot also absorbs and holds toxic chemicals in the air.

NASA thinks so highly of the plants ability to clean the air that they placed plants on space missions.  The common spider plant was found to be an excellent air cleaner.  Other good air cleaners are chrysanthemums, peace lilies, philodendron, pothos, dracaena and snake plants.   All houseplants though, will help clean the air. 

There is a houseplant to suit every room condition.  Even offices without windows can have plants if they are well lit.  While just the green foliage of plants is soothing there are houseplants that light up your world with flowers.  Plants make excellent hobbies for people confined inside during the long winter.

While retail outlets for houseplants are not as numerous as they were in the seventies houseplants are still sold in many garden stores and nurseries, often during the winter when the perennials and annuals are gone.  Houseplants come in all price ranges but even some large potted plants can be purchased for less than $20.  Beautiful pots and other accessories turn plants into decorating assets.

All plants will require some care but most only require a few minutes of time each week.  Choosing the right houseplant for your light and temperature conditions will help assure the plant will grow and thrive for you with minimal care. Most will only require water, fertilizing a few times a year and occasional dusting of the leaves.  Below are lists of common houseplants and the conditions they prefer.  Some plants are suitable for many areas.

Plants that will grow in or need high light or full sun include, cacti, fruiting plants like tomatoes and strawberries, fruiting figs, citrus trees, hibiscus, ornamental peppers, pomegranate, window sill herbs like basil, thyme and chives.  

Plants that will grow in or need bright light include:  abutilons, African violets, agave, aloe, amaryllis, asparagus fern, azaleas, bamboo, begonias, Boston ferns, bridal veil, cacti, Christmas cactus, citrus trees, coleus, corn plants, crotons, dieffenbacia, English ivy, ficus ( figs, weeping figs), gardenias, geraniums, gloxinia, hoya, impatiens, jade plants, kalanchoe, Norfolk Island pine, orchids(some), oxalis, palms, prayer plant, peperomia, pilea, poinsettia, polka dot plant, pothos, rosemary, rubber tree, sensitive plant,  schefflera, spider plants, split leaf philodendron, swiss cheese plant, tradsecantia, windowsill herbs, zebra plant, zebrina. 

Spider plant in an office with no windows
Plants that will grow in or require moderate light include:, aralia, bamboo, bridal veil, cast iron plant, Chinese evergreen, dieffenbacia, dracaena, English ivy, heart leaf philodendron, parlor palm, pothos, prayer plant, orchids (some), rex begonias, peace lily, spider plants, split leaf philodendron, snake plant, rabbits foot fern, most ferns except Boston.  

Plants that will grow in dim light include: cast iron plant, Chinese evergreen, peace lily, snake plant.

You don’t have to have a window to have good strong light for plants anymore.  There are grow light bulbs that can fit into regular fixtures of all kinds. Grow lightbulbs aren’t required, but plants do better with them. If you choose LED or compact fluorescent bulbs they won’t cost you much to operate either. You can put a grow light bulb in a desk lamp and grow African violets on your desk for example.  Offices that are brightly lit especially with light colored walls, may provide enough light for plants in the moderate light category.

In northern areas even good window light may not be enough for some plants in the winter.  Add supplemental lighting and you can grow almost anything. 

Plants should have a light source for 12-14 hours a day. Use inexpensive timers to control the lights when you can’t. Reminder- to bloom some plants like Christmas cacti need the same amount of light that’s happening outside- a gradual shortening of daylight – to prompt bloom.

Temperature

Plants that grow well in the cooler range 45-60 degrees F. include: Chinese evergreen, chives, cast iron plant, cuphea, geraniums, Norfolk Island pine, parlor palm, peace lily, rosemary, spider plant, tuberose begonias.  Some cacti will thrive in cool areas in the winter months. These plants must have the correct light conditions also.

Almost all houseplants will do fine when night temperatures are lower than day temperatures, at least down to 55 degrees F. Don’t worry about turning the heat down overnight.  Even turning the heat down while you are gone for a few days (such as in an office) or if you lose power won’t hurt most plants.

Day temperatures over 75 degrees in winter aren’t necessary (for you or plants) and may cause problems with some species of plants.  A good temperature for a wide range of plants is 68-70 degrees in daytime.
Christmas cactus

Humidity

The optimum humidity for most houseplants is 40-60% relative humidity.  Humans do best in this range also. You can increase humidity with a humidifier, pots of water simmering on the stove or heater, or putting trays of water under plants with the pot bottoms above the water line.

Plants that need high humidity (60-70%) include: Boston ferns, coleus, gardenias, and most orchids.

Plants that thrive in dry conditions 20-40% include cacti, Euphorbia, Echeveria, Haworthia, sedums, sempervivums, agaves.

There’s no good excuse not to make your house a home or your office more appealing with houseplants.  People and plants belong together, inside and out.  Whether it’s an elaborate indoor landscape or a few pots on the windowsill, plants in the home will make you healthier and happier.

Growing hosta from seed

If you have a garden full of beautiful hostas or even one spectacular plant you may be wondering if you could reproduce that plant from seed.  The easiest way to propagate hostas is through division- dividing a mature plant into several smaller ones.   Hosta rarely grow from cuttings, although a piece of the plant with a bit of the basal area of the crown may grow under ideal conditions.  But hostas can be grown from seed; it’s the way many new varieties are produced. 

Hosta with seed pods
If you want a hosta plant exactly like the plant you have, planting the seeds probably won’t get you what you want.  Hosta rarely come true from seeds.  But if you like experimenting you can plant hosta seeds and see what you come up with.  Who knows?  It could be something great.  Here’s the way to grow hosta from seed.

Making hosta seed

Most hostas flower, even though most people today grow them for their foliage.  You can simply wait for nature’s helpers, the bees, to pollinate your hosta plants and then collect the seed pods that form.  Different types of hosta flower at different times so even in a mixed group of hosta some plants won’t be able to cross.  But even if all the hosta plants nearby are the same variety the plants grown from seed they produce will probably not look exactly like the parent plants.

You can also distribute pollen from one plant to another with a small paint brush if you want to cross certain plants.  Pollen is the yellow dust like substance found inside a hosta flower.  Rub your clean paint brush on it then take the brush to the plant you want to be the female parent and brush the pollen on the stigma.  The stigma is usually in the center of the flower.  It looks like a fleshy stem with a flat, sticky top.  You should tie a tag on the flower stem with what plants you crossed written on it.  If you want to be really professional you will also cover the pollinated flower with a small paper bag for a few days so bees can’t add pollen from other hosta.

Crossing green hosta and green variegated hosta usually produce 100% green plants.  Blue and gold hosta and crosses of such may produce a small percentage of blue or gold plants.  Crossing white variegated hosta may produce hosta with all white leaves, which will die shortly, as they can’t produce food.


Collecting hosta seed

After the hosta flowers it may produce seed pods, although some people trim the flower stems off right after flowering and if you do this you won’t see any seed pods.  Some hostas also do not produce seed pods because they are sterile. 

Wait until the seed pods are dark brown and dry.  Don’t wait too long or the pods will split and the tiny seeds will scatter. Collect the pods and shake them in a bag to open the pods and release the seed. When the pods are almost dry you can cut off the flower stem and put it in a brown paper bag to finish drying and to collect any spilled seeds.  Be ready to plant the seeds soon after they fall.  Hosta seed has a lower germination rate than most plants and fresh seed germinates better than stored seed.

Starting hosta seed

Use only sterile seed starting medium in clean pots or flats to start the seed.  Moisten the medium and fill the containers.  Sprinkle the tiny hosta seeds over the moist medium and press lightly into the soil.  You can spread the seed thickly because of the low germination rate.  Mist the medium and seeds and cover flats and pots with a plastic bag or top.

Hostas germinate best with warm soil and cool air conditions, rather like fall conditions.  Placing flats on the warm ground in a semi-shady spot outside can work as well as sitting the containers on a seed starting heat matt in a cool room.  The trick is to get the plants up and growing before winter weather and then getting them to over winter successfully.  If the plants have a good set of leaves started and can be planted outside before a hard frost to develop a good root system in the ground , they can be covered with mulch and will probably over winter well. 
Hosta seedling


If the plants aren’t very developed before a hard frost it may be better to keep them in containers and over winter them somewhere just above freezing, such as an unheated garage or porch.  They’ll need at least some light and careful watering so they don’t get too wet or dry out.  Don’t try to grow them on a window sill in a warm room although a cool greenhouse can work.  Plant them outside again when the hosta in the garden have a few leaves emerged.

All new hosta varieties have to come from somewhere so if at first you don’t succeed keep plugging away.  Discard the plants you don’t like or give them to friends.   It can be a fun hobby that may pay off big if you produce something unusual.

Bittersweet

In the last golden days of autumn comes the decorative burst of bittersweet berries, appropriately reminding us of the bittersweet promise of winter. There are two species of Bittersweet one may come across, American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) and Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Note: Oriental bittersweet is sometimes called Asian bittersweet.

Oriental Bittersweet

I like bittersweet for fall decorations, although many people frown on cutting it for such, especially if it’s Oriental Bittersweet, one of those dreaded “invasive non- native plants” plants.  I take no mind of this, because on my property I have yet to find plants outside of the original two (male and female) that I planted.  Yes those plants eagerly climb the trees nearby seeking sun, but they are easily kept in bounds with pruning.

Here are the supposed crimes of Oriental bittersweet.  It out competes native bittersweet.  It also crosses with American bittersweet so it’s no longer “pure”.  And it climbs into and may smother trees, as does its cousin American Bittersweet.

Here’s the thing with the two Bittersweets.  They are very, very close in leaf shape, size, and in habit.  Even experts have difficulty telling them apart if they are not blooming or don’t have fruit. They occupy the same niche in the ecosystem. Some say American Bittersweet is less aggressive than Oriental Bittersweet, but that’s a matter of perspective and where the plants are growing.

I often chuckle looking at pictures of bittersweet in garden catalogs, stating that this is American Bittersweet when it’s very obvious the picture is of Oriental Bittersweet if the fruit is being shown.  The plants I bought were labeled American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) but when they fruited I realized they were Oriental Bittersweet.  I am going to guess that at least half of the bittersweet sold is Oriental Bittersweet mislabeled as American bittersweet.

So what’s the difference?

So here’s the obvious differences between Celastrus scandens, American bittersweet and Celastrus orbiculatus, Oriental bittersweet. You’ll need to see a plant in flower in spring or in fruit in fall.  Bittersweet has plants that are either male or female.  Only female plants have fruit and you will need one plant of each sex to get fruit.  So to ID a male plant you have a very tiny window of opportunity. Look for American bittersweet’s white flowers in clusters at the end of branches. Male flowers will have anthers covered in yellow pollen.  Oriental bittersweet’s white flowers are spread down the stems, along each leaf axil. The male flowers have white pollen. Female flowers of the two species are virtually indistinguishable.

Fruit develops in clusters at the end of the branches on American bittersweet. The fruit has a bright orange husk and berry with one seed inside.  Oriental bittersweet fruit develops all along the stem and has a yellow husk and an orange berry, very showy, with 5 seeds inside each berry, which is segmented.  If you look at pictures on line you will often see pictures of fruit where the distinction between orange or yellow husk is blurred because many hybrids of the plants occur. And as mentioned the pictures are often mislabeled.

One more not so helpful ID tip is that the leaves of Oriental bittersweet are more rounded at the tip and wider than American bittersweet leaves.  But leaf shape in the plants varies considerably, even on the same plant.

So why should we worry about which bittersweet we plant?  Both grow in the same manner, they are twining vines. Their habit is to climb up trees and both can damage trees.  Birds eat the fruit/seeds but humans shouldn’t, because both species are poisonous, (all plant parts). Both are decorative.  Oriental bittersweet has been here since 1879 and it’s not likely to disappear. American bittersweet is a little more hardy- zones 3b to 8 and Oriental zones 5-8.

American bittersweet
Photo from Minnesota Dept. of Ag

Personally I don’t think it matters much which you plant in an ornamental setting.  You are going to have to do some controlling of either species.  If you want the plant in a native or wild setting then try to find American bittersweet but don’t be surprised if plants you buy turn out to be the other species.  Will Oriental bittersweet spread to wild areas?  It could but then again it could already exist in wild areas near you and it has pretty much naturalized across the US.  While either species can kill trees under the right conditions it’s not like the damage is widespread and not all trees are killed or even seriously damaged. And once again both species fruit feeds birds and other animals.

I personally find the yellow and orange colors of Oriental bittersweet more decorative than the plain orange fruits of American bittersweet but you may prefer the opposite.  So fall color may help determine your choice.

Growing bittersweet

The culture of both types of bittersweet is the same.  In the garden they are grown for fall color and perhaps to harvest the stems with ripe berries for fall decorative use or left to feed birds.  There are two things to remember about bittersweet- you need a male and female plant to get fruit and they need to be planted fairly close together.  It takes several years before the plant grows large enough to bloom and sex can be determined.  You’ll have to rely on the nursery you buy the plants from to sell you correctly sexed plants.  If the plants aren’t sexed buy several and hope for the best.

The second consideration in planting bittersweet is the location you’ll plant it in.  It can be grown on a large sturdy trellis or strong fence if it’s kept in bounds with pruning.  It can also be pruned into a large shrub shape. The lower stems get woody and large over time.  Mine grows on a chain link fence but periodically I have to prune it out of nearby cedar trees.

If bittersweet is planted near trees it will pull itself into them and scramble through them. It will send out probing vines from your fence or trellis seeking a hold on anything nearby.  Oriental bittersweet can climb to 60 feet and American bittersweet almost as high. This can harm some trees, keeping them from light and breaking limbs under the vines.  You won’t want it near electric poles or antenna towers either. Cut wandering vines quickly. You’ll want to encourage horizontal growth, not vertical growth.

Plant your bittersweet in full sun or light shade in well-drained soil. Space plants 2-3 feet apart.  Bittersweet adapts well to most soil types. It seldom needs fertilization.  Prune to control size in the winter or early spring while dormant, when vine structure can be seen.  If you are pruning American bittersweet which flowers on branch tips, you may lose a lot of flowers and fall fruit if you prune hard. So you may also want to prune lightly to keep it in bounds through the summer.  Pruning actually promotes a compact plant with more fruit.

Reproduction and spread

Both types of bittersweet reproduce by seeds and by spreading roots, (suckering or cloning).  Seeds are generally dispersed by birds (or humans).  But here’s a tip for those worrying that growing Oriental bittersweet is naughty and that seeds might be carried to wild areas.  Birds do not eat the berries until late winter. (Interesting fact- bittersweet seeds may remain in a birds gut for 2 weeks or so.) If you keep your plant a manageable size you can harvest all the berries before then.  If you didn’t cut the stems for fall decorations go out and trim off all the berries in early winter after you’ve enjoyed the fall color.  Dispose of them by bagging and sending to a landfill. The birds won’t eat but your conscious will be clear.

You can keep suckering roots and stems mowed or cut.  If you treat them with pesticides be aware that the product may travel through the roots to the original plant and kill it.  Unless your yard and garden is really neglected it’s unlikely the bittersweet will escape to wild areas this way.

When you cut oriental bittersweet for fall décor be careful where you drop berries- collect stems in bags- and dispose of the berries when they start to fade, but not in the compost pile. To keep the berries of either species looking nice longer and make them less likely to shatter and fall off, spray them with clear hairspray or craft spray.

Herbal uses of bittersweet

Both types of bittersweet are used for basically the same purposes in herbal medicine.  Keep in mind that all parts of the plant are poisonous and they are not to be consumed as food, only in small medicinal doses.  The root bark is the part most often used in herbal remedies and it’s generally made into a tea.

Bittersweet tea is an old remedy for causing abortions or as kind herbalists say, bringing on late menstruation.  Pregnant women probably shouldn’t use it.  It was also used to ease childbirth.  If you aren’t worried about pregnancy bittersweet is used as a diuretic, to cause vomiting, to cause sweating, for rheumatism and in complaints of the liver. 

Bittersweet is sometimes added to ointments for skin conditions and infections as it has some antibiotic factors.  Please be aware that in older herbals bittersweet is the common name for woody nightshade, which is a completely different species and is used in a different way.  Be sure you are looking at herbal remedies from the right plant.

Either type of bittersweet is great for fall color and fall decorating.  Don’t get overly bogged down with worry if you get Oriental bittersweet growing in your garden. The plant already grows over much of the eastern US, although it’s not widespread in most areas, and it’s not going away soon. Nature treats both species basically the same, it’s only humans that attach labels.

Quick Hot Sauce recipe

Here’s a recipe to make on a cold and dreary day.  You can use your home canned tomatoes or buy canned diced tomatoes.  This sauce can be used up in a few days or can some for future use.  The taste of this recipe and how hot it is can be adjusted to suit you.  This recipe was in my book Knack’s Canning, Pickling and Preserving.

This recipe makes 2 pints or about 8 cups of sauce. It takes an hour or less to prepare.

What you need

  • 1½ cups chopped hot peppers of your choice, serrano, jalapeno, chili, tabasco or a mixture.  Use rubber gloves to chop peppers.  
  • 8 cups of canned, diced tomatoes - do not drain.
  • 4 cups cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons salt, use canning salt if you’ll be canning this
       ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons pickling spice, see additional spice tips below
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder

You’ll also need a large pot, blender, tea or spice ball or a square of cheesecloth, and if you are going to can this- 4, ½ pint jars with lids and a water bath canner.

Place the peppers and tomatoes in a large pot with the salt and vinegar. 

Tie up the spices in the cheesecloth with a piece of string or knot the material or put the spices in a spice/tea ball.  Throw that in the pot.

Bring the pot to a boil, then turn down to simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the spice ball/bag and put the sauce in the blender.  Blend until smooth.

Return the sauce to the pot and simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently.

You can cool and serve this sauce, refrigerating leftovers or can it.

To can: fill hot clean jars to ¼ inch from the rim with sauce. Wipe rims, add lids.  Process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes up to 6,000 feet altitude, 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.  Cool and check seal.

Spice tips

Instead of pickling spices you can use a mix of mustard seed, celery seed, chili powder, red, cayenne, or black pepper, horseradish, cumin, bay leaves, cloves or cinnamon.  Mix and match to your taste.  Spices will intensify with cooking.  You can also leave out the salt for a salt free diet.

You can also use finely diced onion or crushed garlic cloves, or garlic juice in the recipe.

Hope you voted today

Kim Willis

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


Events, classes, free items and sales

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

I have 5-6 large size, young roosters I will give away free.  They are Rhode Island Red and some are a cross of Australorp and “Easter egg” chickens.  Shoot me an email for more information Kimwillis151@gmail.com 


Garden events have pretty well ended for the year in this area.  But if I come across any they will be posted.

Click the
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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/blog 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 or you can comment directly on the blog. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly note if you email me. 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 people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com

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