Garden Walk 2010

After a several year hiatus Saginaw decided to have a garden walk this year. I bought my ticket and was able to get to three gardens before being at my designated garden for the rest of the afternoon as a volunteer for the Master Gardener’s. And what lovely gardens there were to see!



The Picard garden gives the flavor of a tropical island, complete with pool and tiki bar. I love the idea of putting a rather invasive grass sunk into the ground in a pot and then surrounded by stone. What a good idea!



My assigned destination for the rest of the afternoon was the Rios garden. Suc a treasure in the heart of the city and not too far from the Hoyt Library where I have worked for the past 30 years. Even though the weather was a bit brisk and of course I didn’t dress properly (I think this is summer and I seem to forget that this is also Michigan) the afternoon was a pure delight.





This garden has a front section and a back section; the front is a sunny area with many sun perennials including Maltese Cross and Joe Pye Weed. There is a lovely pond, complete with fountain and fish.


The back area of this garden is quite shaded and has a super collection of hostas among many other shade loving plants. The white impatiens set off all the different shades of green. These colors combined just lovely!





The Rios garden also has a number of roosters and chickens. I suspect slugs are at a minimum here. What a useful pet to have!

And to complete this wonderful afternoon those of us who came to this garden were given a tour of this wonderful 1886 house that is in the process of being restored to its’ original splendor. All in all it was a find day for a garden walk and I hope it is held again next year.

What is blooming in my garden right now? Well everything is about 2 weeks early this year, probably helped along by a lot of rain and some sporadic warm weather. The alliums are at their peak right now and I also have a clematis that is blooming its’ head off. This is a plant I added to my garden last summer so of course I an exceedingly pleased.




I also have hollyhocks starting to bloom and the roses are weighing the netting they hang from down they are so thick. I have some pots with wave petunias, a plant that cannot help but please.




Soon I will be harvesting garlic and once the basil takes off there will be pesto. Can tomatoes be far behind? Bring on the summer! I am ready to eat!

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Plants

What a wonderful few days it has been. Friday was Beautification Day in St. Charles, Michigan. All the students at the high school participate in this clean- up project each spring. I was lucky enough to be on the planter crew. We potted up several large pots with geraniums, ivy, asparagus fern, coleus, impatiens, petunias and then the pots were scattered at various places throughout the community. This project has been ongoing for 36 years and is a great way for the students and teachers to give back to their community. I will definitely volunteer to help again next year.



On Friday afternoon my friend Janet and I slowly wended our way to Auburn Hills where my sister lives. When I say slowly I mean that we stopped off at a few garden centers first. We stopped at the Weed Lady in Grand Blanc whose building I loved as much as the many unusual plants I saw for sale. Then we moved on to the Heavenly Scent Herb Farm which is known for it’s heavenly scents. At least at the Birkam household it is. I bought a Lemon Meringue scented geranium that reminds me of pie (hence the name) plus a lemon verbena plant which is a plant I cannot be without. This year I plan to keep it in a pot and see if I can winter it over. Heck, if the French Tarragon could come back wintering over in a pot in the shed, maybe I will have the same luck with the Lemon Verbena.

After we left the herb farm we stopped at Bordine’s where I just had to get a Bay. I try this plant every year and every year I swear it will be the last time I try to winter it over, but here I go again. I just couldn’t resist this particular Bay since it seemed so healthy. Janet has agreed to try it in her basement room with no ventilation if it starts to seem droopy. At least I know I will have no problems in the summer. It loves to be outside.

We did finally arrive at my sister’s where we spent the night before heading to Eastern Market early Saturday morning. My sister and her friend Parul joined us and Brecque met up with us in front of the J. Hirt Jr. building where I bought cream and cheese and returned my bottle for a new bottle of milk. I think I am living in farm heaven.

We recommended a pot of geraniums and a spike with some trailing ivy for Parul’s front porch. Also two hanging pots of wave petunias. She wanted plants that would look good all summer on a west facing porch that gets full sun. Hopefully we did a good job advising her and she won’t complain about those two garden ladies who don’t know anything.

Brecque bought two big tomato plants which she already has planted. My seedlings are still sitting on the deck. Amongst other plants. Isn’t that how it always goes? Hopefully they will get in the ground before summer says goodbye.

Janet and I bought some fresh food-lettuce, spinach, radishes and asparagus. All of it was homegrown in Michigan. I also bought some bread from Hampshire Farms-the three seed bread they sell is absolutely the best bread. The best bread ever! My sister was the only non-spender Saturday. One of us had to be good.

We ate at Traffic Jam afterwards and settled in for a good meal and a nice chat. Just what good friends are for!



Better late than never I say. Here comes the Joe Pye Weed and the Butterfly Weed. I always wonder if they are really going to come up, but they do seem to manage eventually.




And now the lupines are blooming. They don’t last long, but are so gorgeous while they do last.


So what is a garden good for? Well, according to Mr. Frog, it is those lazy hazy days of summer time. And the garden is a great place to do it in. Good friends, good food, good plants. One doesn’t need a whole lot to be happy on this earth. Fortunately I have all the things I need.