Ferns and Fireflies

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The plants have arrived and my garden assistants are on duty. Over 200 native plugs, gallon shrubs, and ferns are staged...
05/14/2026

The plants have arrived and my garden assistants are on duty.

Over 200 native plugs, gallon shrubs, and ferns are staged and ready for installation at a client garden in Bloomfield Hills - a whole-property native planting designed to support local wildlife, provide four seasons of interest, and look beautiful doing it.

The property has a mix of prairie and woodland conditions, each calling for its own palette of plants. Sun-loving prairie species like Spotted Bee Balm and Rough Blazing Star for the front beds, and shade-adapted woodland species like Goldie’s Fern, Wild Ginger, and Sweet Joe Pye W**d for the shadier areas at the back.

Planting starts soon. The assistants approve.

Species:
Monarda punctata, Liatris aspera, Dryopteris goldiana, Asarum canadense, Eutrochium purpureum, Viburnum acerifolium, Diervilla lonicera

05/02/2026

This is why we design our native gardens with deer pressure in mind. I lost count at 12! Love them but need to make sure they leave some habitat for the other creatures that live here while plants are getting established.

A full property planting plan and a rain garden restock on Earth Day, and still made time to walk the gardens.American P...
04/23/2026

A full property planting plan and a rain garden restock on Earth Day, and still made time to walk the gardens.

American Painted Lady on her host plant, Pussytoes. Jacob’s Ladder and Early Meadow Rue and already in bloom. Woodland phlox, foam flower, prairie smoke getting started.

Spotted today:
Pussytoes (Antennaria sp.)
American painted lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium reptans)
Early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum)
Woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata)
Foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum)

The garden is waking up!Over the last few weeks, our woodland beds have been quietly coming to life. Virginia Bluebells ...
04/16/2026

The garden is waking up!

Over the last few weeks, our woodland beds have been quietly coming to life. Virginia Bluebells blushing pink before opening into lavender - one of my favorites. Bloodroot unfurling its single white flower from a curled leaf. Dutchman’s Breeches dancing above feathery foliage. Wood Poppy glowing gold. Spring Beauty threading through the leaf litter. And Spicebush, one of the earliest blooming native shrubs, dotting bare branches with tiny yellow sparks.

This is exactly what we mean when we talk about gardens that are both beautiful and hardworking. Spring ephemerals bloom, feed the first pollinators of the season, and gently disappear below ground by summer. Some even rely on ants to carry their seeds through the forest, part of an intricate web of relationships that has been unfolding long before our gardens existed. They return each year on their own schedule. And in those few fleeting weeks, early native bees and queen bumblebees emerging from overwintering depend on these blooms when almost nothing else is flowering.

They ask very little and give back so much. If you’d love to bring spring ephemerals into your yard and aren’t sure where to start, we’d love to help.

Pictured: Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

DutchmansBreeches WoodPoppy Spicebush NativeGarden HomegrownNationalPark Michigan WildOnes PollinatorGarden FernsAndFireflies

The garden is waking up. Over the last few weeks, our woodland beds have been quietly coming to life. Virginia Bluebells...
04/16/2026

The garden is waking up.

Over the last few weeks, our woodland beds have been quietly coming to life. Virginia Bluebells blushing pink before opening into lavender - one of my favorites. Bloodroot unfurling its single white flower from a curled leaf. Dutchman’s Breeches dancing above feathery foliage. Wood Poppy glowing gold. Spring Beauty threading through the leaf litter. And Spicebush, one of the earliest blooming native shrubs, dotting bare branches with tiny yellow sparks.

This is exactly what we mean when we talk about gardens that are both beautiful and hardworking. Spring ephemerals bloom, feed the first pollinators of the season, and gently disappear below ground by summer. Some even rely on ants to carry their seeds through the forest, part of an intricate web of relationships that has been unfolding long before our gardens existed. They return each year on their own schedule. And in those few fleeting weeks, early native bees and queen bumblebees emerging from overwintering depend on these blooms when almost nothing else is flowering.

They ask very little and give back so much. If you’d love to bring spring ephemerals into your yard and aren’t sure where to start, we’d love to help.

Pictured: Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

Stopped by this Bloomfield Hills pollinator garden this week to reinforce the deer fencing and check in on what’s coming...
04/06/2026

Stopped by this Bloomfield Hills pollinator garden this week to reinforce the deer fencing and check in on what’s coming up. Young gardens sometimes need a little extra protection when you live in an area with high deer pressure.

Good news: things are moving. Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), and Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) are all emerging right on schedule.

The fence comes down once the plants can hold their own. For now, we protect what we planted.

🌿 Pollinator Garden + Natural Birdfeeder, Bloomfield Hills
Full project: fernsandfireflies.com/recent-projects/project-one-f5w4d-cbh5e-t89fm

Spring is here! Spring Beauty, Wood Poppy, and Virginia Bluebells are popping up at Ferns and Fireflies and we couldn’t ...
03/27/2026

Spring is here! Spring Beauty, Wood Poppy, and Virginia Bluebells are popping up at Ferns and Fireflies and we couldn’t be more excited.

Now is a great time to protect your young native garden as the season takes off. Reach out if you need some help!

We’re especially looking forward to watching our Maidenhair Ferns unfurl behind these beautiful fiddlehead garden ornaments from

Who needs Mums when you could have a native Aster hedge that will return every year and make more?!Species:Sky Blue Aste...
09/30/2025

Who needs Mums when you could have a native Aster hedge that will return every year and make more?!

Species:
Sky Blue Aster, Symphyotrichum oolentangiense

New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Heart-leaved Aster, Symphyotrichum cordifolium

Tall Thimbleweed, Anemone virginiana

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Bloomfield Hills, MI

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