Green Infrastructure Presentation

A recording of Dale Browne’s presentation on Green Infrastructure at the September 2021 MGAWC membership meeting is posted at https://youtu.be/lPalNmrxrA8.

Resources:

Box Tree Moth Found in Michigan

Learning from the Past Handout from Gail Morrell for May Membership Meeting

Learning from the Past 2021 

Perennial Plant of the Year® 2021 — Calamint (Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta)  – Zones 5-7; height 18”, width 18”; full sun; attracts pollinators with its tiny white flowers blooming summer to fall

Oudolf Garden Detroit – Fall 2019 planting postponed due to high water.  Initial planting completed late summer 2020.  Installation of the rain garden, bulb planting in late fall and the wetland planting continues.  Scheduled opening Summer 2021. For updates and status go to https://oudolfgardendetroit.org/

Dollar spot on lawns – (Lanzia and moellerodiscus fungi) — Stress and inadequate nitrogen are the primary cause.  Drought, overwatering, improper mowing height, heavy thatch and poor aeration can all contribute to the disease.

European Crane flies/Leather Jackets (Tipula paludosa) — Feeds on turf and resembles oversized mosquito

Protecting evergreen plants from feeding deer

            Beautiful creature but . . .

            Arborvitae (Thuja ‘Emerald Green’)

            Arborvitae (Thuja ‘Green Giant’) Western red cedar/Japanese arborvitae Somewhat deer resistant

            Yews (Taxus)

            Repellents:  Deer Out; Liquid Fence; Deer Scram; Bobbex; Plantskydd

            Fencing/netting

Winter interest perennial plants!

Italian Arum (Arum italicum) Deer resistant, Z4-9, evergreen, part sun to shade

Hardy Cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) Deer resistant, Z6-9, bulb, partial shade to shade

(Cyclamen coum) Deer resistant, Z6-9, bulb, partial shade to shade, winter to spring

Fairy Wings (Epimedium) Deer resistant, Z6-8, evergreen, part sun to light shade

Snowdrops (Galanthus) Deer resistant, Z4-7, bulb, partial shade

Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) Deer resistant, Z3-8, evergreen, partial shade

Lenten Rose (Helleborus hybridus) Deer resistant, Z4-9, evergreen, partial shade

Bear’s-Foot Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) Deer resistant, Z5-8, evergreen, partial shade

Sources: www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com; www.carolynsshadegardens.com; www.plantdelights.com 

 Plant tags and marker

            Forget-me-knot tags   Source: www.kinsmangarden.com  $9.95 for 12

            Garden Marker  Source: www.dpind.com  $5.99 for 1; $12.00 for 4

Books

The Nature of Oaks by Douglas W. Tallamy $27.95

What It’s Like To Be A Bird by David Allen Sibley $35.00

Michigan's Sentinel Tree Monitoring Network

Here’s a link to the citizen science project proposed for members and others to do.

Eyes on the Forest (msu.edu)

According to the website: “Use the New Sentinel Tree or Annual Data options to record your tree data. New Sentinel Trees will require you to identify the tree location on a simple Google Map and record your first observation. Annual Observation data is recorded once a year for all Sentinel Trees in your network.”

Dean Krauskopf, Ph.D., would like to expand the reach of this citizen science project which is suitable for interested adults and kids. There are many tree species to choose from on the MISIN website. You pick the tree or trees that you want to adopt. It can be in any county, in your backyard, in a park, up north, anywhere convenient for you to visit at least once a year, any time of year.

Invasive species tend to move into new areas by planes, trains, trucks and automobiles, so adopting trees near the airport, train tracks, highways, and rest stops might be especially valuable, but starting in your backyard is great.

The initial selection and identification might take 15-20 minutes including using a tape measure to measure the diameter. The next step is visiting the website to establish the new tree in the network of sentinel trees. After that, return to the tree to observe for about 10 minutes annually and then to the website to record any changes. For tall trees, you might want to bring binoculars to get a better look toward the top.