Bob Hauser and family have resided in Livonia for the past 48 years. He is a former Wayne County Master Gardener and has been interested in landscaping with native plants since 2008. He has also been a member of two Wild Ones chapters since 2010. Approximately 80% of his smaller quarter-acre lot is home to over 35 species of native plants!.

Bob will share with us his experience with Wild Ones, the only non-profit educational organization with a mission to promote native landscapes through education, advocacy and action. Native plants are sustainable and they create a wildlife habitat. These plants can improve water quality, reduce the need for pesticides, and attract pollinators. Native plants bring beauty and excitement to your yard, creating a welcoming sanctuary that can be enjoyed at your home.

Agenda:

6:30 p.m. : Membership check-in

7:00 p.m.: Presentation to follow

Presentation is open to the public.

If you have already registered for the 2025 DIG IN! Extension Master Gardeners Zoom series you will have received an email with the Zoom link.

This presentation will be recorded and sent to everyone who has registered in case you are not able to attend the live session. If you receive this email, but do not receive the recording, that is because your email provider is blocking the recording emails. Please be patient—it may take a week or so to complete closed captioning for the recording. Please add gregers7@msu.edu and juddbars@msu.edu to your safe senders/address book. 

This series may be used to fulfill your EMG continuing education hours for 2025. Don’t forget to record those hours before November 30th! You will find the link below for tomorrow’s Zoom webinar.

October 14: Julie Crick – MSU Extension Natural Resources Educator
Guiding Neighborhood Trees through Climate Change

Natural Resources Educator, Julie Crick, will discuss climate variations, both experienced and expected, and provide tips to limit resulting stressors on our urban trees. In addition, she will review species vulnerability reports for urban trees in Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

You are invited to a Zoom webinar!

When: Oct 14, 2025 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic:  DIG IN 2025: Guiding Neighborhood Trees through Climate Change

Learn about invasive species, pests and diseases that are impacting trees in Michigan. We hope you leave this talk with greater knowledge on how to identify invasive species, alternatives to commonly planted invasives and how to manage various pests and diseases. The presentation will specifically cover Spotted Lanternfly, Beech Leaf Disease and more!

Lawrence Law is an Urban and Community Forrester. He has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Michigan State University, is an ISA Certified Arborist and also has ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. His work takes him across Michigan to assist communities and groups with issues regarding trees.

6:30 p.m. - Membership Check-in

6:45 p.m. - MGWWC Announcements and Discussion

7:00 p.m. Educational Presentation

This presentation is also available via Zoom. Please check your email for Zoom details.

Presentation is open to the public.

Darla Kroft invites fellow gardeners to discover edible plants you’ve never thought to grown and may never know existed. She will share what she is currently growing, and with hope to cultivate next, and how these plants can enrich both our gardens and our diets, Rooted in sustainable gardening and biodiversity, Darla’s insights offer practical inspiration for those ready to expand beyond the familiar.

Darla Kroft is a gardener and educator with deep roots in rural Indiana, where she grew up helping to tend large family gardens and preserve seasonal harvests,. Her early career focused on Outdoor Education, teaching urban students about food origins and animal science, After working in corporate and academic settings she returned to gardening during the COVID pandemic, rediscovering her passion for growing food, Today, Darla farms at a local cooperative, Her work bridges hands-on growing with education helping owners reconnect with historically important but now forgotten culinary plants . She can be reached at gardenforager@greengardeningforaging,com

Agenda:

6:30 p.m. Membership Check-In

7:00 p.m. - Presentation by Darla Kroft

Note: The presentation is open to the public

If you have already registered for the 2025 DIG IN! Extension Master Gardeners Zoom series you will have received an email with the Zoom link. This presentation will be recorded and sent to everyone who has registered in case you are not able to attend the live session. If you receive this email, but do not receive the recording, that is because your email provider is blocking the recording emails. Please be patient—it may take a week or so to complete closed captioning for the recording. Please add gregers7@msu.edu and juddbars@msu.edu to your safe senders/address book. 

This series may be used to fulfill your EMG continuing education hours for 2025. Don’t forget to record those hours before November 30th! You will find the link below for tomorrow’s Zoom webinar.

You are invited to a Zoom webinar!

When: July 8, 2025 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic:  DIG IN 2025: Kelly McClelland – MSUE Community Food Systems Educator 

Growing Together: Strategies, Structures, and Impact of Community Gardens  

Michigan is currently on the front lines of the scarlet lily beetle invasion, which began in Massachusetts in 1992 and spread to Ontario in 1993. A successful biological control program in Canada and New England introduced three parasitoid species that lay eggs in lily beetle larvae, effectively managing this destructive pest. This presentation will cover the biology and life cycle of the scarlet lily beetle, its preference for specific lily varieties, and the ongoing efforts to introduce these biocontrol parasitoids to Michigan to combat the infestation.

Cost: FREE! All certified EMGs and Trainees must register one time to have access to the entire series. Do not share the recording links with non-registrants and/or non-EMGs.

Education Hours - Each session will count as 1 EMG Continuing Education hour.    

How to Connect: The day prior to each event, registrants will receive an email message which will contain the virtual event link and Zoom instructions. (Be sure to check your Inbox and Spam folders for this email.)

Technology Requirements: Below are recommendations for the optimal interactive online learning experience:
   *  A computer, laptop or tablet with the latest version of your browser
   *  A reliable, internet connection - broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE)
   *  Webcam or HD webcam - built-in or USP plug-in
   *  Speakers and a microphone - built-in or USB plug-in

First time Zoom users: Never used Zoom before? No worries. Registrants will be emailed an overview of how to get started, complete with screen shots. Plus, there’s a help line to contact if you encounter any difficulties.

Since the 1800s, the United States has been dealing with invasive species. Some of these you may have heard of (think zebra mussels, sea lamprey, or Phragmites), while others may seem completely ordinary in our landscape but actually threaten our native ecosystems. Join us to learn about invasive species in our landscape, the work that is being done to manage them, and how you can get involved.

Cost: FREE! All certified EMGs and Trainees must register one time to have access to the entire series. Do not share the recording links with non-registrants and/or non-EMGs.

Education Hours - Each session will count as 1 EMG Continuing Education hour.    

How to Connect: The day prior to each event, registrants will receive an email message which will contain the virtual event link and Zoom instructions. (Be sure to check your Inbox and Spam folders for this email.)

Technology Requirements: Below are recommendations for the optimal interactive online learning experience:
   *  A computer, laptop or tablet with the latest version of your browser
   *  A reliable, internet connection - broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE)
   *  Webcam or HD webcam - built-in or USP plug-in
   *  Speakers and a microphone - built-in or USB plug-in

First time Zoom users: Never used Zoom before? No worries. Registrants will be emailed an overview of how to get started, complete with screen shots. Plus, there’s a help line to contact if you encounter any difficulties.

Learn about the range of native “woodies” you can introduce to your garden, including trees, shrubs and vines ranging from deciduous to evergreen species and including annual vines as well as perennial plants. This amazing variety of native woodies is not only beautiful, but “plays well with others” while providing key habitat for native fauna.

Formally educated as a Art Historian and Archaeologist, Cheryl has parlayed her varied training and experience into a career as a professional gardener, artist, writer and educator. She has volunteered in various capacities with numerous organizations in the area. Cheryl penned the first article on native plants in Michigan Gardener in 2012. She offers private group garden tours, a clematis pruning workshop, tree and wildflower walks, as well as a variety of pottery workshops. Cheryl, her garden and her pottery were featured in Detroit News’ “Homestyle” section in July 2023.

Membership CheckIn at 6:30 p.m.

Presentation to follow at 7:00 p.m.

Presentation is open to the public.

https://www.blackcatpottery.com/

If you have already registered for the 2025 DIG IN! Extension Master Gardeners Zoom series you will have received an email with the Zoom link. This presentation will be recorded and sent to everyone who has registered in case you are not able to attend the live session. If you receive this email, but do not receive the recording, that is because your email provider is blocking the recording emails. Please be patient—it may take a week or so to complete closed captioning for the recording. Please add gregers7@msu.edu and juddbars@msu.edu to your safe senders/address book. 

This series may be used to fulfill your EMG continuing education hours for 2025. Don’t forget to record those hours before November 30th! You will find the link below for tomorrow’s Zoom webinar.

You are invited to a Zoom webinar!

When: Mar 11, 2025 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic:  DIG IN 2025: Reconnecting native bees, land management, and humans

Lilacs are beloved flowering shrubs (or occasionally trees!) in Michigan’s landscapes. Deanna Hedlund, MSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Educator, will discuss the history of these storied plants and she’ll point us towards some garden-worthy selections for today’s landscape, including tried-and-true classics, as well as modern offerings.

Brighten up your winter during the MSU Extension Smart Gardening Conference in Grand Rapids on Saturday, March 1, 2025! Held in tandem with the West Michigan Home and Garden Show, our day will be filled with excellent presenters!

The award-winning horticultural educator and former television host of an Emmy® award-winning gardening show, Bryce Lane will kick off our conference with his inspiring talk, The Craft of Gardening, about the power of plants to change your point of view!

This year’s lineup also features speakers from two of the Midwest’s most beautiful public gardens! The Director of Plant Collections at Chicago Botanical Garden, Adam Dooling, will give us an inside look at recent garden innovations, including exceptional plants, groundbreaking projects, and the exciting work shaping the future of horticulture. Then, Jamie Frye, the Associate Curator of Living Collections at Newfields, will take us on a vibrant adventure through their Spring Blooms exhibition, a living masterpiece featuring over fifty acres and three buildings of stunning vernal displays.

We are always excited to learn about the latest and greatest plant introductions! In her talk, Natalie Carmolli from Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs, will highlight hardworking shrubs that shine, featuring beautiful and smart plants that can combine form and function in our gardens.

Attendees can look forward to our Smart Gardening complimentary gift bag and a conference registration name-badge that provides free access to the West Michigan Home and Garden Show all weekend long! You will be thrilled with both the home and garden show vendors and our special selection of Smart Gardening Conference vendors. 

Register at:  https://events.anr.msu.edu/GR2025SmartGardeningConf/

Free to the first 50 MSU EMGs who register - only $5 for everyone else; counts towards MSU EMG continuing education hours

Horticulture Trivia, Feb 26th at 7 PM. Join MSU Extension for the final of our Winter '24-'25 monthly trivia series about gardening. This is a chance to test your knowledge about all things plants, insects, and garden related in Michigan. There will be 30 multiple choice question/answers during this live event and a prize awarded to the top two scorers with an additional prize for a randomly selected participant. Trivia night is open to gardening enthusiasts, trivia lovers, Extension Master Gardeners, or anyone else who wants to play. Prizes for top 2 finishers and a randomly selected participant.

Register at: https://events.anr.msu.edu/Feb2025trivia/

Free, registration required; exclusive to MSU EMGs; counts towards MSU EMG continuing education hours

Dig In, the FREE continuing education series designed exclusively for MSU Extension Master Gardeners will take place once a month on a Tuesday evening from 6-7 PM. 

February 11: Sharron 'Ronnie' Miller – MSU PhD Candidate Pollination Ecology Lab
Reconnecting Native Bees, Land Management, and Humans

Ronnie Miller, a PhD candidate in MSU's Department of Entomology, will discuss her current research examining bumble bee communities in human-altered landscapes across southern Michigan. She'll discuss the relationship between bees and the many plants that sustain and enrich our lives with their beauty, edible offerings, and healing medicines, along with why we should offer our support back to these amazing creatures.

Don’t wait—register today and grow your knowledge with Dig In!

 Online via Zoom - (recordings will be available for registrants two weeks after airing)

Using native plants in your home garden can help address many of the top challenges in the Great Lakes watershed including habitat loss, stormwater flooding and excess nutrients. Learn how Michigan Sea Grant works with partners throughout the state to support conservation of Great Lakes resources as well as how you and your home garden can help.

If you have already registered for the 2025 DIG IN! Extension Master Gardeners Zoom series you will have received an email with the Zoom link. This presentation will be recorded and sent to everyone who has registered in case you are not able to attend the live session. If you receive this email, but do not receive the recording, that is because your email provider is blocking the recording emails. Please be patient—it may take a week or so to complete closed captioning for the recording. Please add gregers7@msu.edu and juddbars@msu.edu to your safe senders/address book. 

This series may be used to fulfill your EMG continuing education hours for 2025. Don’t forget to record those hours before November 30th! You will find the link below for tomorrow’s Zoom webinar.

You are invited to a Zoom webinar!

When: Jan 14, 2025 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic:  DIG IN 2025: Gardening in the Great Lakes Watershed – Presenter: Erica Clites – MSU Extension Michigan Sea Grant Educator

Via Zoom.

Link will be sent via email to the Board members

Via Zoom.

Link will be sent via email to the Board members

Built in 1928, Graye’s Greenhouse is a much loved landmark in the Plymouth community. But as the world changes, how does a decidedly old school business keep up? Rachel look forward to telling the story of the greenhouse, what makes it special, and what its up against in the modern age of the big box plants. Rachel will share with us the importance of sound propogation and cultivation practices, and how this can affect the quality of plants we will be tempted to bring home.

Rachel has loved Graye’s Greenhouse since childhood, and purchased the greenhouse in 2019. She has a background in education and farming. She has worked in Tuscon, Arizona, Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan

Agenda:

Membership check-in at 6:30 p.m.

Presentation to follow at 7:00 p.m.

The Presentation is open to the public

Via Zoom

Brambles (raspberries adn blackerries) are among the best fruits for beginners to try in their fruit garden - better than the expensive berries that you can buy in the market, and easier to grow, smaller, and quicker to come into bearing than fruit trees. With a little planning and luck, you can have fresh berries from your garden every day from late June until late October. This talk will cover the essentials of growing raspberries and blackberries in southeastern Michigan, including choosing and preparing a site for a berry patch, selecting suitable varieties of raspberries and blackberries, basic care of the plants (including pruning and fertilizing), and common pestes and what to do about them.

Dave Strayer is an Ann Arbor resident who has been growing backyard fruit in Michigan and upstate New York for than 35 years, long enough to have encountered pests and problems, and has tried a bunch of different growing techniques and cultivars.

Membership Check-In at 6:30 p.m.

Presentation to follow at 7:00 p.m.

Presentation is open to the public.

Via Zoom

How You Can Create a Beautiful Backyard Habitat by Rosina Newton

Rosina will share several delightful ways you can provide habitat for your non-human neighbors right in your own yard - and why! In this presentation, you will learn at least one thing you can do to provide food and shelter for beneficial insects, pollinators (such as butterflies and bumblebees), songbirds, and more. And you don’t need to buy birdseed or a birdbath! You can choose from the simplest first step or, when you’re ready, begin to develop a long-range plan for a beautiful habitat wonderland in your yard that will bring life, loveliness, and enchantment year-round to you, your family, and all your neighbors - human and otherwise.

BIO:

Rosina Newton is a horticulturist with over 35 years’ experience. Highlights include working at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Texas, with Central Park Conservancy in New York, MSU Tollgate Farm in Novi, and now Friends of the Rouge. At FOTR, she is coordinating volunteer events where everyone can contribute to a cleaner Rouge River, and the Rain Gardens to the Rescue community program. As a lifelong student and educator, she enjoys bringing her horticultural experience to audiences everywhere.

Friends of The Rouge

www.therouge.org

Membership check-in c 6:30 pm Presentation to follow at 7:00 pm mgwwc.org Presentation is open to the public

Lawrence Sobson of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program will be presenting on tree planting standards and their maintenance. He will talk about invasive plants, and what factors can determine what an invasive plant is. He will discuss which species to plant, and which species to avoid. We will learn why thoughtful planning is good for the community. Lawrence has been with the Michigan DNR for two years working as the Partnership Coordinator providing technical assistance to communities across the state. He has prior experience with Michigan State University’s arboretum, with habitat design in the Upper Peninsula, and has worked as a utility forester for DTE. He is an ISA Certified Arborist and has a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University in Forestry

Membership check-in c 6:30 pm Presentation to follow at 7:00 pm mgwwc.org Presentation is open to the public

Please consider volunteering to work this event if you’re in need of hours.

Interested members and/or inquiries can be sent to mgwwc@gmail.com.

Hope to see you there!

Agenda:

Membership check-in at 6:30 p.m. followed by presentation at 7:00 p.m.

Presentation is open to the public.

Randy will share with us the joys and the challenges of beekeeping. he will explain to us the difficulty of over-wintering the bees. He will talk about the threat of declining space for bees to seek food, and effects of the unpredictable Michigan weather. Randy will also talk to us about ways gardeners can help to encourage the health and number of honeybees. We will learn the importance of planting for pollinators.

Randy List has been a member of the Southeastern Michigan BeeKepers Asscoiation since 2019. His interest was piqued quite by accident. Randy was helping at his son’s apple orchard. Naturally honey bees were attracted to the fruit, which led to Randy becoming interested in studying the boney bee behavior. He and his son continue to work together raising honey bees and producing honey. Randy also enjoys teaching others about honey bees at Tollgate Farm and Education Center in Novi.

Learn more at www.canr.msu.edu/tollgate

John Blair will you along on his journey to both restore his land to original native prairie and also the creation of magnificent pollinator gardens on his rural property in Brooklyn. He will also cover the restoration of his wooded savanna and how is bringing three natural ponds back to life after being buried by farmers decades ago. Through John’s beautiful photos, you will get to see this wonderful transformation taking place, from hayfields back to lush native prairie habitat, much like what was originally there two hundred years ago!

Bio:
When John Blair retired from his automotive engineering job, he knew he would need something interesting to do with his time. He found it when he attended a presentation in the winter of 2012 by butterfly expert Brenda Sattler on making a butterfly garden with native plants as the focal point. John got busy that spring creating his own butterfly garden at his Westland home that over the next seven summers grew to over 5000 square feet in size with 130 species of native plants and 38 different species of butterfly visitors. In 2019, having filled all his available gardening space, John and his wife Sheri moved to a new home in rural Brooklyn, Michigan with about 9 acres of land that he is using to make even more butterfly and pollinator habitat through restoring large tracts of land to original prairie with native plants, creating a gigantic butterfly and pollinator habitat! John enjoys giving his inspirational talks to help others get started with their own pollinator habitats using native plants, which is something that means very much to him!

John’s garden has appeared in Fine Gardening magazine, Michigan Gardener, the Detroit Free Press and the Garden Answer YouTube channel. Over the last eight years, John has given his “How to Make a Butterly Garde” and Prairie Restoration talks to county Master Gardener organizations, Michigan State University, Greenfield village, numerous Michigan garden clubs, church groups and Nature clubs through southeast and mid-Michigan.

*Not a member of MGWWC? Join here:
MGWWC.org

Interested in listening to John Blair speak on this topic but don’t want to be a member? You can attend the event via Zoom for $5 . Please click here to pay for the event via Paypal.

This meeting will be hybrid (In Person at the library and via Zoom. The link will be sent via email.

Via Zoom

You’ve heard of starting seeds indoors to get a jump on Spring, but it’s also possible to start seeds outdoors in winter! Mother Nature does it all the time, and so can you. Find out how to mimic nature to sow outside—you don’t need grow lights, you’re not limited by indoor space restrictions, and your seedlings will be hardened-off and ready to plant
once they sprout in spring. Learn what plants to sow, what containers to use, how to care for the seeds, and how and when to transplant the seedlings.

Bio:
Monica Milla is a Master Gardener, master composter, and master rain gardener. She serves as Vice President of the Washtenaw Master Gardener Association and is on theGarden Committee at Washtenaw Community College, where she also teaches personal enrichment gardening classes.
She has served on the City of Ann Arbor. Elizabeth Dean Fund Committee and co-chaired the Garden Committee at her workplace, which grows produce for donation to
Food Gatherers.
Monica’s garden adventures started 30 years ago with a single container tomato. She can’t narrow down a favorite plant, but buckthorn is her sworn garden enemy!

*Not a member of MGWWC? Join here:
MGWWC.org

Meeting via Zoom. The link will be sent via email.