Amy Fortin - Your Personal Gardener

07/29/2023

All native perennials planted last fall from 3 inch pots…..about 40 in this space. And I have lost count of how many butterflies I have seen on them this Summer. Plant them and they will come 😉!

05/19/2023

05/12/2023

Native forb - Golden Ragwort ‘Packera aurea’, first to bloom in my native garden bed I planted late last Summer. The fresh short, Compact basal leaves were evergreen all winter! A great plant for a ground cover or under deciduous trees and slopes. Likes part sun/ part shade and a little moisture. Looks beautiful in mass in a woodland setting.

Wildlife Value: Golden ragwort is a source of nectar and pollen for a variety of pollinators in spring. Twenty species of butterflies, including skippers, use the blooms of this perennial. Sweat bees, cuckoo bees, carpenter bees, and various halictid bees are attracted, too.

05/06/2023

If you live in SE Michigan you will see arborvitae’s that are drastically splayed because of a recent ice storm. Here is mine after I took about 3-4 ft off the central leader and about 2 ft of the rest. Don’t be afraid to do it!

05/06/2023

The most beautiful crabapple is in bloom! Don’t know the variety. I’m sure it’s not in any nurseries since it’s not as disease resistant as others, but it has bloomed every other year for the 33 years we’ve been in our home. I’m going to guess it’s anywhere from 50-70 yrs old.

03/20/2023

FIrst Helebores in my garden that are blooming! More on the way 🥰!! I didn’t take the leaves out in the Fall and hoping that made a difference in these early fresh blooms. Other years they have been torched by winter burn.

11/04/2022

Some Fall gems that are still going strong. Read my captions for more details.

10/18/2022

Planted these purple carrot seeds July 30th in a 16” plastic self watering container from Target. I did but thin them out since wanted to experiment to see how they would produce. The bunnies and deer were eating the ones I planted in the ground. Thankfully they haven’t touched these!! I’m sure I’ll get some bigger carrots as I harvest more of the little ones. So far I’m pleased with the results. Would try it again in the Spring.

09/16/2022

A garden …

09/14/2022

A newly planted NATIVE perennial garden. Each plant has an ecological purpose to either attract, feed or host pollinators and butterflies. A 4x15 bed with 40 quart size plants that are all Michigan Genotypes. Which basically means they have all evolved and adapted here in Michigan. They require no extra attention other then watered in for the year. No fertilizer mulch, or water after established either! Most retail nurseries have only a slim selection. If you are interested in learning more PM me. I’ll be posting more updates on this page.

09/14/2022

Always love to see growth! Early June- Mid September and still going strong!

07/16/2022

Left: Day one planting - Right: one month later
Still more growth to go, but happy with the progress! The client requested red flowers and instead of choosing one variety, I chose four. Makes a defined shape more interesting.