Three Top Bee-Pleasing Plants for Your Garden

Jo Ellen Roe April 20, 2015 0 Comments

Swamp milkweed 2

This bee seems to be quite happy as he explores this sweet pink blossom.

The bees are in trouble. I did a quick Google search, which yielded three full pages of articles about this problem. If you read them, you’ll come away wanting to help. One way is to plant perennials that bees love.

What should you plant? This post will recommend three guaranteed winners: swamp milkweed, bee balm, and Lemon Queen perennial sunflower. These three will carry a garden from June through fall.

First on the Scene: Swamp Milkweed

The swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnarta) starts to bloom in June. It has lovely tight pink buds atop a two-to-three foot stalk. These buds open as the photo shows, and the bees come almost immediately. ... Read More

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Tracking Spring in Serendipity Gardens

Jo Ellen Roe April 13, 2015 0 Comments

Red winged blackbird

This faithful bird is a true harbinger of spring at Serendipity Gardens.

As I have blogged about previously, watching each year for the return of the red-winged blackbirds and listening for the spring peepers to start peeping are spring milestones that I track informally each year.

I also really enjoy watching the birds migrate north via maps like the 2015 Ruby-throated hummingbird migration map. It’s just so fascinating to think of those determined little travelers making their way to their summer homes each year. When I first looked at the map this year, the birds had reached just inside the continental United States. Now, they are entering Ohio and Indiana. Next stop: Michigan and beyond. ... Read More

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Waiting for Spring

Jo Ellen Roe March 9, 2015 0 Comments

waiting for spring

Old snow — not a pleasant sight!

Spring, that season that all gardeners I know dream about when in the midst of a long, cold winter, sometimes seems, like Godot in Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, that it will never come. This particular winter has had numerous days sporting wind chills of as much as 28 degrees below zero … and right now, outside my window, snow, sheened by a thin layer of ice, shines in the moonlight. Old snow along the roadsides has become an ugly, dirty slush that I for one am tired of. ... Read More

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A Mid-Winter Green Treat: Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Jo Ellen Roe February 13, 2015 0 Comments

mbg Sign

Hungry for green while living in a white, snow-covered world, I decided to pay a visit to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Just entering the place made me feel good. It smelled of gardens and dirt and growing things — sweet smells indeed.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens, associated with the University of Michigan, has this to say about itself on the MBG website: “Matthaei Botanical Gardens is located in northeast Ann Arbor … Here you’ll find the conservatory; gift shop; classroom and meeting spaces; display gardens such as the Gaffield Children’s Garden, Bonsai & Penjing Garden, Great Lakes Gardens, and others; and many trails and natural areas. The Botanical Gardens are free [though parking is free only to members] and open 7 days a week.” ... Read More

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Front Yard Gardens: A Book Review from Serendipity Gardens

Jo Ellen Roe January 23, 2015 4 Comments

Primeau

What’s a gardener to do when the wind howls and the snow flies in January? Reading an inspirational gardening book is always a good idea. This post is a review of just such a book — Front Yard Gardens by Liz Primeau, a Canadian garden professional and writer. The book, published by Firefly Books Ltd. in 2003, includes hundreds of beautiful photographs, most by Andrew Leyerle.

An updated and expanded version of the book came out in 2010.

I came across this book a few years ago while perusing gardening books in a bookstore. I loved the cover, which depicted several beautiful front yard gardens. (I later learned that the top left photo is of the author’s garden.) Those pictures inspired me to begin thinking about how to transform my front yard into something far more interesting than the small sward of grass it was at the time. ... Read More

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