Revery

05/01/2026

Fresh blooms, in a cultivated native woodland garden.

Iris cristata, grown by Sally Garrod with Wild Ginger Woodlands (WGW)

Trillium grandiflorum, grown by Vern Stevens with Designs By Nature

Mertensia virginica, sweet Miss Virginia Bluebells. Source: WGW

Phlox divaricata, can’t recall where we got this species. One of the aforementioned growers. I promise to record better going forward. It’s part of the plant’s story!

Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood. From a local wholesale nursery

Carex eburnea, Ivory Sedge, grown by Tammy Lundeen with She’s Gone Wild

Stone bird bath, carved by local artist and land steward extraordinaire, David Versluis

Stones provided and installed by the fine craftspeople at Roots Wild

04/25/2026

A great collaborative effort to heal the land took place yesterday. People from St. Francis Sculpture Garden, Aquinas College, Dominican Sisters, the neighborhood and Wild Ones River City came together for a land stewardship workday in the woods with the Coldbrook Creek in the St. Francis Sculpture Garden at Marywood.

Lea Sevigney, from joined and led us in her wonderful way! She encouraged us to join the world wide bioblitz that is happening RIGHT NOW!
in the app iNaturalist.

More opportunities to join land stewardship activities to come! Excited to work alongside the land managers at Marywood this coming season.
joyfulwildcrafting

08/20/2025

As a Wild Ones River City-Grand Rapids Area Chapter educational program this past Monday evening we heard all about the history of this "Little Prairie in the Big City" from Sister Lucille Janowiak. Her recognition and gratitude of volunteers over these last couple of decades interwoven within the history of the land, the Dominican Sisters faith-driven call to action, events and educational workshops, committees, documentation and more was captivating.

I am pretty sure we could've heard a pin drop in the sanctuary. Witnessing such reverence and respect for a well-deserved champion like Sr Lucille (in one place, at one time) happens so rarely, I know I will never forget it. If you happened to miss it -- fear not! More chances to learn that history as we work together caring for the beautiful prairie off Fulton Street in Grand Rapids.

Want to participate in stewardship activities? Here are some upcoming work dates:

Tomorrow, Thursday 8/21
Thurs 9/11
Thurs 9/25
All are from 9am-11am

Saturday, 10/4 morning and afternoon, as we join forces with the Kent Conservation District Strike Team to get after shrubs and trees that have more than taken root in the prairie. More details to come.

WHAT TO BRING: Hats, gloves, water bottles, long sleeves and pants are highly recommended. If you can bring a spade or shovel, it would be helpful (though not necessary). We want to dig out some first year Teasel plants and some non-native Lupine that did a good job disguising itself as a part of the prairie community of plants!

Dominican Sisters Grand Rapids

07/11/2025

7.11.25 Tour of the gardens, prairie, pond and more after an excellent soil health program from the West Michigan Conservation Network. Panelists from MSU, MAEP Ottawa County Conservation District and local compost superstar, Wormies.

WWC exposes each.and.every single student in the Lowell Area School District to regenerative agriculture, creating habitat with native plants and so much more. Environmental (place-based) education for kindergarten through 5th on a regular basis. In the summer months Junior master gardeners grow food, cook with it and even sell at the local farmers market. Amazing and unique to have such experiences.

Open to the public to see trails, demonstration gardens, including both a Lepidoptera and phenology trail!


🐝

07/08/2025

This Thursday, July 10th - Wild Ones River City Walkabout at a long time client’s yard near Riverside Park, Grand Rapids.

Wild Ones River City-Grand Rapids Area Chapter offers walk-about garden tours as a perk to members. Consider joining and attend this one this week! See link in comments.

Fun to see what’s in bloom and the progression towards complete bloom. The nuisances you can only notice when up close and walking within a garden, is what makes these home garden tours fun. This site is all about outdoor rooms we’ve created with landscape beds and structures, but the native plants steal the show, as intended!

Help me try and capture the green metallic bee with neon yellow orange pollen saddlebags! I was too mesmerized to actually record it while it visited a New Jersey Tea yesterday. Maybe it will show up for us!

TIME: 5-7pm

Address: 2726 Riverside Dr NE
Grand Rapids, MI

06/28/2025

Have valued local university extension programs, such as this, as they provide rich education and public outreach.

Recently saw a red native lady beetle and an orange non-native one mating, hadn’t ever seen that. Asked the UW extension if this is common, and what the hybrid species is called. Will share what they have to say, for others who may have also had the same question.

There is often a comparison between Multicolored Asian lady beetles and other lady beetle species, labeling them as "bad" versus "good." However, the good news is that all lady beetles—also known as lady bugs or lady birds—generally share similar diets. They feed on common garden pests such as aphids, scales, mites, and thrips, among others. While Multicolored Asian lady beetles may occasionally bite, overwinter in homes, or spoil wine, they are still considered beneficial insects in the garden.

06/27/2025

6.25.25 Marywood - Habitat Garden Planting Party. Honoring and enhancing the existing food web that the Swamp White Oak fosters.

Successful planting party at Marywood yesterday! Despite heat and humidity a group of motivated gardeners installed some beautiful and healthy native plants.

Sisters, neighbors, my own personal gardening buddies, and new Friends of Mary’s Woods, Prairie & Gardens got to know one another and learn about which native plants are getting incorporated in this habitat garden beneath a beautiful Swamp White Oak.

A clever name author and educator Heather Holms coined to describe this kind of planting is “Soft Landing(s)”. .

The oak attracts hundreds of different moths and butterflies who lay eggs on the leathery oak leaves so their babies (caterpillars) can eat to their hearts content. While some of those caterpillars (cats! ) get eaten by birds - who need to feed their young ones hundreds/thousands of them - many caterpillars remain and must seek shelter beneath the canopy of the oak as part of their lifecycle.

Having a dense planting at the base of the tree, using a variety of groundcovers like sedges and wildflowers, which create a refuge for the caterpillars to begin their journey towards becoming a moth or butterfly in the safety of the foliage. Oftentimes that means overwintering there, this is crux of why we advocate for keeping last years planting up until night time temperatures in spring reach ~50 degrees (consistently). Too soon, and you jeopardize these (and many other) important creatures.

The story of regenerating soil health in this location is so worth telling. I’ll try and do soon, but one aspect of it is this: the bindweed that took 4-5 hrs to *properly* remove so we could plant here yesterday, actually contributed to loosening a once extraordinarily compacted & lifeless soil. Weeds and pioneer plant species like clover have purpose, and can add value to the soil…observe nature first, then try to ride the wave it presents us.

provided by: and .by.nature_

06/19/2025

Singing in the rain and admiring this rainscape project in Grand Rapids!

Best time to watch them in-action, of course, is when the raindrops are falling :)

06/09/2025

Very serious and aggressive invasive called Lesser Celandine, Ficaria verna. This was taken in mid-April along the Coldbrook Creek in Grand Rapids, MI.

Shared these photos from my phone here for myself to copy and paste on my computer, I do this quick image transfer regularly but using my personal FB acct, where I make audience Only Me. Was not an option for this account.

Saw colleagues from the MI Dept of Natural Resources yesterday morning at my house, as they wanted to check on the invasive jumping worm populations we have been dealing with for 8 years. Significantly less than ever (hint: do not use bark mulch…esp if provided by contractor that has it in yard on ground, these worms love the moisture and food source bottom of bark mulch piles provide).

I mentioned how extensive the Lesser Celandine in this location is, and sent email with these photos as a follow up. It’s on the “watch list”, meaning it’s of high priority to document locations and prevent from spreading, try to eradicate, etc.

05/24/2025

5.24.25 Woodland Gardens at our home in the wilderness. Blooms of mid-spring.

It’s been a nice long, not rushed spring, unlike most of the past seasons have been with their rush towards hotter temperatures.

Nature here has granted us a big pause button, like the snooze we all appreciate just a little more time with a dream. Here, in this garden, the cooler temps keep the blooms a little longer. Granting the visiting pollinators as well as human admirers more opportunity to sip/seek out the floral rewards.