Date: May 15, 2026 Early Morning Thoughts
The serviceberries are just finishing their blooming, soon to bare an early fruit for wildlife to enjoy. They were bit late because of our cooler spring, (if you get a chance read Robin Wall Kimmerer book, The Serviceberry. A quick and delightful read. It’s a book that makes you see the world in a different way), Lilac buds are bursting and ready to bloom, Forsythia were beautiful and finishing their spring glory. Saucer Magnolia flowers are opening and hoping that a late frost doesn’t damage the large flowers they produce.
We unloaded a truck yesterday with beautiful plants in full leaf and expect another today with the same; plants in full leaf. I was awake in the early morning trying to figure out how to protect our new plants from Northern Michigan’s temperature fluctuations. First thing I did was check the temperature and to my elation it was 40 at 4 am. I waited until first light to head up to the nursery and check on them. We did have some frost damage but all in all very minor. We’re still not out of the cold but night time temps look good for the next 10 days with a cold night next week.
All nursery people and gardeners in Northern Michigan suffer anxiety in the spring and every spring is different. For the last two springs we have not had a frost from early May forward. But I remember a spring when we received a truck of Japanese Maple from Ohio, all in full leaf. It was mid-May and a few nights later the temps. went down to 23 degrees. I lost them all and it was heartbreaking, partly the financial loss and mostly the death of those beautiful plants. We had covered them with snow blankets but it just got too cold.
Enjoy your gardens this summer: flowers, pollinators, the scent of a rose, a peony or the many other flowers that are part of our lives. Gardening gets us outside to witness and connect to nature. For me connecting to the beauty of our plant world, whether in my back yard, at the nursery or on a hike in the forest, helps me feel whole.
I need to end with an, Oh My! I found out last night our nursery was written up in Midwest Living magazine as one of the The 12 Best Native Plant Nurseries in the Midwest. I’m not sure who wrote it or any of the details. All I know is the article really captured the spirit of the nursery. Whoever the writer was I thank you for the article. My wife and staff have helped turn a corn field into an entirely different wildlife diverse environment. We can’t change the larger world but we can change our world, and every day I drive into the nursery I am reminded of that.
