Cathy Susan & Sue Reinhart’s M2M Yard Visits – 05/25/2022
I would like to first thank Cathy Susan and Sue Reinhart for opening up their yards for our inaugural A2WO Member-to-Member yard visit, THANK YOU!
It was a great opportunity where Cathy and Sue were able to share the story of their native gardens, and for the attending members, to ask questions and take away ideas of what could be in their own gardens! I LOVED EVERY MINUTE! For those who couldn’t make it, the above link a few photos of each garden. It’s going to be a great weekend, get out in your gardens!
If you missed Marta Manildi’s M2M Yard Visit – you missed another great display of native plants, and an opportunity to get together with fellow members! Several attendees were new members of the Chapter, and several were veteran members. As Marta and her husband walked us through their yard, I was impressed with the many pockets of native plants and trees they created from fields of vinca vine and other invasive plants that existed when they bought the house 20-odd years ago. I was also impressed with their location facing the Huron River, and the opportunities and challenges such a location afforded in restoring a biodiverse native landscape. It was all very impressive!
We held another double-header yard visit in July! We couldn’t let July close without thanking Sue Beecher and Nancy Whitelaw for hosting our group for July’s M2M Yard visit. I was blown away by both – their preparation for the yard visits and the energy they displayed while taking us through their respective properties. Thank you both for the wonderful evening! The above link will take you to the photos.
We closed out our August events with another outstanding A2WO Member-to-Member (M2M) Yard Visit! Our gracious host this month was Jim Vallem. Jim’s presentation, along with the breadth of his gardens was simply outstanding. His elevated rain garden in his front yard, along with the native boulevard garden was speacial attractions. While we toured, we saw several examples of “If you build it, they will come” – I saw many bumblebees, a hummingbird, and even a Monarch caterpillar. Jim also went the extra mile by including garden maps, and a sign-in table with refreshments. All very nice touches that set a new standard to match for future yard visits.
We closed out the M2M Yard visit season this recent Wednesday visiting Marie Everitt’s yard and my yard. First, I would like to apologize to the five people who missed my Monday morning email to the group noting the time change. I’ll confirm my list of recipients and work with you to figure out what happened. I am glad you were able to take an unguided tour of Marie’s yard. Because when I walked into her backyard – WOW!!! it blew me away! Marie’s pond, the rustic pavers, and rock work throughout the yard were phenomenal, wasn’t it? As with all these M2M yard visits this season, I have been blown away by what everyone has accomplished with their yards. It has given me so many ideas on what I want to accomplish with mine! I do appreciate all the members, as well as local Livonia gardeners and Master Gardeners, to squeeze into my yard on that chilly night. Offering your insights on my current & future projects was very much appreciated. Several of you had asked about my plant markers. I’ll send out details on how I created my markers next week, along with the templates I used, in case you wanted to create your own. I’ll also send information on the trail cam we are using, that several of you asked about. I’ll include some photos of our suburban fauna taken by the trail cam as well.