How to Let Your Native Garden Fill in Naturally A newly planted native garden often asks something difficult of us. Patience. We plant young perennials, grasses, and shrubs with an image in our minds of the mature garden they will someday become. But in the beginning, there may be a lot of visible soil. Plants […]
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The Best Michigan Native Vines for Pollinators When we think about adding more native plants to a garden, we usually look down. Where is there room for another coneflower? Could we tuck in another grass? Is there space for one more shrub? But sometimes the most useful growing space in the garden is not beside
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How To Create Small Water Features for Wildlife Water has a way of changing a garden. Add even a small amount, and suddenly there is movement, reflection, sound, and often, new visitors. Birds arrive to drink and bathe. Butterflies may stop at damp edges. Bees and other insects need water too, particularly during the hottest
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Why Your Native Garden Gets Better Every Year The Most Beautiful Native Gardens Weren’t Built Overnight One of the hardest parts of planting a native garden is learning to be patient. You spend weeks planning. You carefully choose plants that belong in Michigan. You prepare the soil, spread mulch, and water faithfully. Then you step
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How to Prepare Your Garden for Fall Pollinators Fall Begins Long Before the Leaves Change When most people think about preparing their gardens for fall, they picture rakes, leaf bags, and weekend cleanup projects. But for Michigan’s pollinators, autumn begins much earlier. Long before the maples turn brilliant shades of red and gold, monarch butterflies
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The Best Native Plants for Hummingbirds in Michigan A Flash of Emerald and Ruby There are some moments in the garden that happen so quickly you almost wonder if you imagined them. You’re watering a flower bed on a warm July morning. The air is still. Native grasses sway gently in the breeze. Then, out
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How to Help Monarch Butterflies During Migration in Michigan There are moments in the garden that seem almost too brief to notice. A warm August afternoon. The gentle movement of Little Bluestem in the breeze. Purple Coneflowers beginning to fade into seedheads. Then, almost without warning, a monarch butterfly drifts into view. It doesn’t hurry.
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