Portage
Wednesday, July 24, 6:00pm to 8:00pm
This is an open-house style tour. The garden owners will be at home between 6:00 and 8:00. Stop by in any order you wish.
The gardeners’ stories:
1304 Dogwood Drive
I originally became interested in native plants when I noticed the orioles (and other birds) would disappear from my yard shortly after migrating back to Michigan. I started researching what they eat, and realized if I want them to stay and raise their young here, I need to provide the food they need (caterpillars). I joined Wild Ones in 2021 to learn about plants and habitats native to Michigan. For the last three years, I have been winter sowing native plants using seeds from the Portage District Seed Library, and buying plants from Hidden Savannah, Bee Friendly Nursery, and other native plant enthusiasts on Marketplace (you know who you are Jon Warner). Some challenges I have with my native gardens are deer and rabbits, keeping my gardens looking tidy(ish) with well-defined borders, price of plants, and length of time they take to grow. Some benefits gardening with native plants has brought include reducing the amount of watering and mowing, blooms from March to November, and attracting wildlife. Since converting my front yard to native plants, I now have tons of birds, dragonflies, monarchs, painted lady, spicebush swallowtail butterflies, and all kinds of insects I have never seen before. I hope you enjoy my native gardens and feel free to ask questions!
-Kira Griggs
10970 Poplar Bluff Court
After I decided to move, I looked for a larger lot with greenspace. I found one in the Avalon Woods area. It was an abandoned field with a wooded area. I had a vision of meadows (from hiking in the Cascade Mountains) and prairies (from living in Iowa). Almost 20 years later, I now have a lot of experience that would have been really handy when I started. From clearing non-native honeysuckle bushes to trying to organize plants to stay where I wanted them, it’s been a life-time experience. I now have a wooded area that ranges from woodland flowers to “maybe someday.” I have a grassland with a wonderful variety of forbs, grasses and sedges, bushes, and trees. I have a rain garden that needs some work. (The weeds got ahead of me.) Please come look at my oasis of biodiversity. (Bug spray advised.)
-Ruth Caputo
