I come from a family of gardeners. The photo above is me in 1963 with my grandmother and mother. The roses in the background were from my great grandmother’s garden. They are now in my garden along with the roses from my mother’s garden. My sister is a landscape architect, http://www.seventyacres.com, and my cousin is a beekeeper.
Marilyn, the inspiration behind this website, would have turned 90 on June 30th, 2019. In honor of her milestone, we thought we would do something special. The opportunity presented itself when Detroit Abloom wanted to create a Butterfly and Pollinator Garden at Grosse Pointe South, her alma mater. She was her 1947 class secretary for all four years of high school and ended up planning over 65 years of class reunions. After all, just because she is not with us does not mean that we can’t continue to share her giving and joyful spirit.
Detroit Abloom has a vision of turning the five Grosse Pointes and Harper Woods into a 7 mile Butterfly and Pollinator corridor. So we started with Marilyn’s Garden at Grosse Pointe South. Since then, we have added a courtyard garden at Harper Woods Middle School, a greenhouse garden at Grosse Pointe South, and are in talks with Trombley and Kerby Schools about a new garden.
If you are interested in adding some shrubs and perennials that have proven to be favorites with butterflies include the Butterfly Bush, Lilacs, Blueberries, Asters, Bee Balm, Coreopsis, Phlox, Sedum, Yarrow and Purple Coneflowers. Among the annuals that attract butterflies are Cosmos, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Petunias, Sunflowers, Verbena and Zinnias.
On the wings of the tiniest earth angels,
may the spirit of those that we mourn today be remembered
and may this be the start of healing for all.
Learn more about pollinator gardens here.
Learn about Bees in the D here.
Learn about the Greening of Detroit here.
