Advice From Nature: Doldrum Daydreaming

So let's say that you have spent around 10-15 minutes a day out there during the dog days and finding a good sit or walk to be much more enjoyable than weeding or planting.  That Spring energy is long gone and now you just want to look at the pretty flowers and blowing foliage.  I can't say that I blame you, as the annuals have begun to take on carpet proportions and the mid-summer perennials are starting to put on quite the show.  Maybe you are looking out there thinking that some of those would be nicer in greater quantity or arranged differently.  Maybe you are noticing that that plant labelled "full sun" seems to actually be doing far better in the partial shade of your eastern wall (looking at you, hollyhocks).  Maybe you are wondering if any of this makes sense, and are stumped, bored, puzzled, frazzled, exasperated, etc.

It happens to the best of us.  The history of garden design is marked at certain points by sudden shifts in inspiration brought about by global exploration, accidents, a lack of weed control, and thrift.  All of these causes have in common one feature: nature.

That's right, sometimes things changed just when someone looked past the garden into the forest or fields and thought maybe the Primal Designer was on to something.  We got lucky here in SE Michigan, as many little pieces of nature converge into a rather diverse buffet to devour.  So hey, let's step outdoors for a minute and see what we have to throw at our cultivation craze right from our own backyard.

In general, SE Michigan can be categorized as having three basic groups of natural setting with one significant subgroup, and then a wet and dry version of each.  They are boreal, from the north, eastern forest, and prairie, from the west (with the savanna being that significant subgroup).

The boreal world has probably the least noticeable presence in our relatively mild corner of the state, with some amazing pockets of "up north" existing here and there.  I will launch into these amazing little places in greater detail, but if you want to find some in the meantime, head towards Brighton; tamaracks (Larix Laricina) are everywhere.  For windshield tourists, Beck between Seven and Eight mile has several large specimens on the west side of the road, which is the eastern border of Maybury State Park.  Grand River, out just east of Pleasant Valley, features a large stand on the north side of the road.  Nearby Kensington Metro Park features a ton more, in a trail that passes through a fen, which features some prairie stuff meeting the northern stuff.  In general, the further north you head, the more elements of the boreal world one will tend to find.  Just around Birch Run one will find coniferous trees  getting peppered into the forest, and I-94 just short of Port Huron features birch and pines giving a mocking "welcome to Canada" effect, despite Sarnia across the way being rather southern for Canadian standards.

As for how the boreal can be introduced into our gardens, let's just say that a little shade can go a long way.  These trees like their feet cool, and they and their companion flowers like the soil to be moist and acidic, just like blueberries and such enjoy.  As you can see from that tamarack up there, though, give them an inch and they will take a mile and be right at home.

The eastern elements are going to be rather common, being found pretty much wherever forest has been allowed to spring back up or has never been mowed.  Most state and metroparks will be full of wooded areas, and our variety of deciduous trees is amazing enough to mean we can put on fall shows to rival most of the destinations that leaf-peepers drive hundreds of miles to find.  Midsummer inspiration can actually be found for those cursed/blessed by shade: see what works in the understory, if only in log and fern combinations!  Hines Drive features a trip along the Rouge River with many parks to pull off into and explore the eastern forests up close and on foot, completely free of charge.  Highland State Recreation Area features Haven Hill Natural Area, where one can find EVERY forest type in Michigan, wet and low and high and dry.  In a few places, especially along the Black River and French River, you can get really eastern and find the odd Appalachian plant...

Island Lake State Recreation Area

For most people, the forests are going to be present in elements in the backyard already, be it in the form of trees, ferns, or even a few shade loving wildflowers.  More on all this later!  For now, head out to a park of some sort, or just look out your door.  We do forests well here in SE Michigan.

Before we cleared a lot of them out, though, the forests shared the stage with a very, very special kind of landscape: prairie.  We tend to think of the grasslands as being a flat, boring, Kansas sort of thing.  In truth, grasslands were as much as a third to half the battle in Michigan and neighboring Ohio and Southern Ontario, even more so in Indiana and points westward.  Fires, dry soils, and slow growing trees were responsible for making southern Michigan into a very exotic tapestry of grass, tree, flowers, and lakes and rivers.  Very little of this landscape is left to us, because that amazing grass and flowers gave us some incredible soil which proved irresistible to farmers and the open landscape cried out to developers and surveyors.

Island Lake State Recreation Area

In many places, the grass married the forest, with the oaks serving as the trees in the wedding.   The result was a park-like landscape full of amazing flowers and incredible views.  When you travel back roads in the country and come across a lone giant oak, odds are it survived the axe and is centuries old, once standing over such a landscape.  Restoration efforts are slowly bringing them back, by letting fire do its thing and keeping the invasive species away.  One of the best places to find savannas is at Algonac State Park, which grades into wet prairie, forests, and the rare Lakeplain Oak Openings.  Needless to say from the pictures, Island Lake State Recreation Area also has a few prairies and savannas; you just need to head off the beaten path.

Island Lake State Recreation Area

Needless to say, native plant gardeners drool over grassland inspiration.  Meadow gardens, prairie gardens, etc. are our attempt to make midsummer flower beds boom with color.  You could easily make a mock oak savanna just by planting a few native oaks in your lawn!  No matter what your soil is like, if you have a little sun, you can reproduce some of this lost Michigan on your lot.

So get out there!  Find some local plants to try, or at least be inspired by the natural landscapes.  Think content, layout, structure, etc.