© 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.
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.
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
We are an online pharmacy for weight loss products. We provide individual counselling and motivate patients to reach their goal weight and transition to a healthier lifestyle.
ReplyDeletewinstrol-for-sale
tren-75-for-sale
testosterone-enanthate-for-sale
testosterone-cypionate-for-sale
buy-steel-adabolic-online
buy-testofuel-online
buy-methyltestosterone-online