Looking for Spring in Serendipity Gardens

Jo Ellen Roe March 17, 2014 0 Comments

Call to Action2

Snowiest Winter on Record

Our most recent mid-March snow of six inches pushed the record books. It is now officially the snowiest winter ever in Southeast Michigan — over 90 inches.

Normally, at this time of year, I’d be venturing out on nice days to look for spring. I would lift up the dried plant tops to see the spring miracles underneath. This year, because of the snow cover, I’ll have to take a pretend journey. Come along with me …

First of all, the Red-winged Blackbirds are back in Serendipity Gardens, as detailed in last week’s post, so let’s enjoy listening to their strident, territorial calls as we look for signs of spring. ... Read More

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Who Lives in Serendipity Gardens? Who Lives in Your Garden?

Jo Ellen Roe March 3, 2014 0 Comments

First of all, I live in Serendipity Gardens with my husband, my dog Nestle, and my cat Buster. The four of us live in the small house that’s there.

Several years ago, I registered my garden as a natural habitat. Since that time, I’ve become more aware of the many other creatures that live at Serendipity Gardens, too — so many that I cannot begin to name them all. But I can name some of them.

A Busy, Buzzing Place

On a typical late summer afternoon, I come out onto the patio, carrying some scraps to toss into the compost pile. My dog Nestle is with me. The patio is surrounded by butterfly bushes, planted long before I knew they were invasive. To be honest, I have no plans at present to remove them. Several bees, a couple of butterflies and a hummingbird moth are enjoying the blossoms. ... Read More

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Building Compost at Serendipity Gardens

Jo Ellen Roe February 17, 2014 0 Comments

Compost

I told my grandson once that compost was one of the reasons I believe in God.

“Only God can take a mess like this” I said, pointing to my compost corral topped with a recent addition of eggshells, potato peels, and the innards of a couple of green peppers, “and turn it into black gold.”

Right now, Serendipity Gardens is smothered by the deepest and longest-lasting snow in its nine-year history. But underneath all that snow lies its most important component, the soil in which all the plants grow. And the very best way to enrich and nurture that soil is to add compost. Here, in this photo, we have a wheelbarrow full that will become part of the soil in the herb pots. ... Read More

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What’s a Gardener to Do When the Groundhog Sees His Shadow?

Jo Ellen Roe February 3, 2014 0 Comments

snow pic 1 2014

Yesterday, February 2, in celebration of Groundhog day, Punxsutawny Phil came out of his burrow in Pennsylvania, saw his shadow, and darted back in. According to the Groundhog Day legend, that means six more weeks of winter. (Groundhog Day began as a Pennsylvania German tradition in the 18th and 19th centuries. “It has its origins,” says Wikipedia, “in ancient European weather lore.”)

Be that as it may, my goodness, what a winter it has been! Michigan, where Serendipity Gardens is, has had one of the coldest on record, with temperatures well below zero on many mornings. According to Michigan meteorologist Mark Torregrossa, in an article posted at MLive.com,  it may have the most snow cover of any state, with as much as 40 to 60 inches on the ground near Lake Superior. ... Read More

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Three Reasons to Work Toward Making an Eco-Friendly Garden

Jo Ellen Roe January 25, 2014 0 Comments

Butterfly

Reason#1: Bring Life to Your Garden

It’s a heck of a lot more interesting to sit in a garden buzzing with life than it is to sit in a still one. You can watch the birds bathing, see butterflies and bees up close, and count the frogs.

The truth is, if your garden is missing its wildlife, you probably won’t be sitting in it very often, either.

Liz Primeau, a Canadian gardener and author, describes the difference between a lively garden and a lifeless one in her book, Front Yard Gardens. “Esthetics may have been the primary reason I finally dug up the lawn and planted a front yard garden,’  she writes, “but I did have other more lofty considerations. Over the years I’d come to consider our lawn more than merely boring, there seemed to be something wrong with it. The birds and the bees shunned it, the bugs stayed away in droves. There was no movement, no rustling, no chirping Jiminy crickets to leap up in front of me as I passed by on the pathway … ” ... Read More

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