The mission of PLANT IT WILD is to foster greater awareness and appreciation of the fragile natural environment of our region. Through direct efforts we work to preserve, protect, and promote the natural beauty of the area and its plant communities.
We promote the use of native plant species by producing educational materials available at our meetings, booths, presentations, and through our website. Programs are offered from May through September featuring a wide array of speakers and topics on native plants.
Not sure which plants are native to Michigan? Click Here to view a list of some of our favorite plants from this beautiful state.
Click Here to join Plant It Wild and help us preserve, protect, and promote the natural beauty of the area and its plant communities.
Click Here to read more about who we are and how we strive to help the community be a more natural and beautiful place.
Fascinating presentation by Paula Dreeszen at the Plant it Wild May meeting last night. Should you wish to add rescued or properly propagated woodland wildflowers to your yard check out the following sources: Saturday, May 18, Grand Traverse Conservation District native plant sale; May 24 & 25 Leelanau Land Conservancy native plant sale; June 14 Manistee Conservation District plant sale. Check websites for times and location. Also, When I was last at Pine Hill Village Gardens in TC they had some woodland natives. As ALWAYS, aks where the plants were sourced, know the Latin names of the plants you seek and DO NOT purchase cultivars of native plants, and finally, ask if they have been treated with pesticides. In the case of rescues, I doubt if they have been, but it is good to get used to asking the important question about neonics. Hope this is helpful. Go Wild, Go Native!
Move over myrtle.3 great WILD and native ground cover options for you. Here are Wild Ginger, Wild Strawberry, and Wild Stonecrop.
What's your favorite native ground cover?
Support pollinators with NATIVE plants... not plants from other countries, not plants that have been genetically modified (cultivars or nativars). Not plants grown in huge greenhouses that treat plants with nenocics. Straight, plain, old beautiful and beneficial native plants!Pollinators are essential to our environment. The ecological service they provide is necessary for the reproduction of over 85% of the world’s flowering plants, including more than two-thirds of the world’s crop species. The United States alone grows more than 100 crops that either need or benefit from pollinators, and the economic value of these native pollinators is estimated at $3 billion per year in the U.S. Beyond agriculture, pollinators are keystone species in most terrestrial ecosystems. Fruits and seeds derived from insect pollination are a major part of the diet of approximately 25% of all birds, and of mammals ranging from red-backed voles to grizzly bears. In many places, the essential service of pollination is at risk from habitat loss, pesticide use, and introduced diseases.
Learn about the Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Program's work to protect these vital invertebrates.
xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/
(Photo: Xerces Society / Sarah Foltz Jordan)
Don't lose sleep, but do take away the message that early detection is worth a pound of cure.
Knotweed Can’t Be Killed. But Can It Be Stopped?
slate.com
The invasive plant that crossed an ocean to terrorize my backyard is coming for yours.Paula Dreeszen will be our presenter tomorrow night, Trinity Lutheran Church in Frankfort at 7:00pm. This is a free event and all are welcome to attend.
Event co-sponsored by Master Gardeners Association of Northwest Michigan.Here are a few glamour shots of some wildflowers in bloom right now. If you missed volunteer Paula H Dreeszen's incredible wildflower hikes at Pete's Woods in Arcadia Dunes, you might want to download a wildflower field guide for a self-guided tour. The show is quite spectacular, and the experience is definitely enhanced when you know a bit about the flowers and can call them by name. Enjoy!
Wildflower Field Guide: bit.ly/2JjW24e
Visit Pete's Woods: bit.ly/2DXw7Mp