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Rescuing Wildflowers |
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 Trudging through mud, rain, sleet or snow with
heavy coats, gloves and boots…no, it isn’t the fearless members of the
U.S. Post Office. It is dedicated Cranbrook volunteers trying to save as
many (sometimes rare) Michigan wildflowers before construction bulldozers
bury them forever. Saida Malarney, of Bloomfield Hills, the passionate
20-year veteran with co-chair Rhonda Thede of Detroit along with
forty-five devoted volunteers make up this zealous group devoted to
supporting Cranbrook Gardens though the rescue and sales of these
beautiful Michigan wildflowers.Formed in 1975, the Wildflower Rescue Program is dedicated to saving Michigan Wildflowers from SE Michigan construction sites, along with beautifying Cranbrook, providing plants for the spring sale, educating the public about native wildflowers and acting as a consultant to community gardens and nature centers and donating to them when possible. This program is a branch of the 1971 Cranbrook House and Garden Auxiliary that was established to care for the declining gardens of the historic Cranbrook House, built in 1908 and owned by George Booth, Newspaper Publisher and Ellen Scripps Booth. The rescued flowers may be planted in Cranbrook gardens (like the Bog Garden, Clara’s Walk and the Entrance Path), donated to worthy gardens, but most are sold in a two-day annual event taking place the Tuesday and Wednesday after Mother’s Day, This year it will be May 16 and 17, mark your calendar.  Picture nearly 3,500 pots of robust plants (most with multiple plants per
pot) of up to 74 species of Michigan wildflowers available for purchase
under first come-first served rules, (there is no reserving of plants
ahead of time) like the rare Rue Anemone (Anemonella Thallictroides). You
have to get in line and get a ticket to receive a Lady Slipper Orchid,
very rare and always in short supply. Judging by the line up of early
arrivals with empty red wagons in the meadow adjacent to the wildflower
area it is well worth it. Not to tell stories, but somebody at the head of
the line was skipping work for this event! The sale is the result of many
weeks of volunteer planning, scouting, digging, potting, watering and
labeling to bring the increasingly hard to find flowers to the general
public and raise money for the gardens.Planning for the Rescue Long term relationships with ecology minded developers such as Sherr Development, Robertson Brothers, Silverman Company, J. D. Dinan Company, Singh Development Company and many more, make the planning easier. “Some of the developers call us when they have a possible site and the Independence Township Clerks Office let’s us know when permits are pulled. Also, the Michigan Department of Transportation has been very helpful in letting us know about their projects,” stated Malarney. Additionally, Malarney receives calls from the gardening public that see developer’s signs in areas typically rich with wildflowers. When a site has been identified, forms must be signed to provide permission for digging the flowers, access to the land and to cover insurance and liability concerns. Schedules have to be consulted and verified, because the bulldozers wait for nobody and the rescuers only dig for a three to four week window in late April and early May. “Some of our best sites are Novi, Rochester, Wixom and South Lyons,” Malarney continues, “The development used to be headed north, now it is also heading west.”  A Day in the Life of a Rescuer and an ObserverVolunteers meet between 9-9:30 am at Cranbrook gardens to discover the dig site, carpool and to get instructions from one of the day chairmen (Gail Bacon, Jeanne Graham, Sue Johnston, Gail Lentz, Nancy Schaefer, Fonzie Smeltekop, Ellen Watt and Saida Malarney). They load up waxed boxes, personal tools, drinking water and snacks and off they head to the woods. South Lyon was the destination for this day with Saida Malarney as day chairman. Day Chairman are also responsible for carrying the needed paperwork to prove permission for the dig, are the most knowledgeable for plant identification and record details of the days rescue such as, volunteers, temperature, weather, location and plants rescued, for possible return visits. The drive was quite a distance but worth it. Part of the area had already been cleared leaving a naked, scarred landscape of sand and mud (it was lightly raining). Saida handed out waxed boxes and instructed everyone to fill at least one box with Trillium (their biggest seller) and to stay within site of each other. Up went jacket hoods, on went warm gloves (it was in the 30s and poison ivy can be a problem since it is hard to identify in the spring) and off trekked the dedicated search and rescue team.  This was the first year for digging at this amazing location. Hard to
believe anyone would bulldoze this area thick with charming native
flowers. Anna Szczotka, second year digger and volunteer on this mission
said, “I like the idea of saving native plants, it is such a shame this
will all be plowed under.” We discussed the fact that after homeowners
move in they try to buy and replant what had been there naturally. What a
waste! The small window of time the rescuers have isn’t enough to make a dent in the scores of flowers that will be destroyed. The site was so thick with wildflowers (and I am an amateur in identifying the many kinds), I ended up tiptoeing through the forest so I wouldn’t step on anything! Imagine huge colonies of Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense) and sprinkled all over with graceful Lady Ferns (Athyrium felix-femina), True Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum), silvery Hepatic americana and the rare and tiny Rue Anemone (Anemonella thallictroides)! Trillium bloomed even on this cold, rainy and sometimes snowy day. Volunteers dig for about an hour…it is hard work! To save space in boxes, plants are placed flat with as little soil as possible. After the digging there is a great reward. Volunteers are permitted a few minutes to dig a few for themselves filling their own bags or containers. The motto, Saida reminded us is, “Dig for Cranbrook first, then the last few minutes for yourselves.” Ann Howell of Rochester, a retired RN digging since 1995 and a volunteer on this rescue said of volunteering, “I love the digging and finding plants. I’ve made great friends from diverse backgrounds.” “Diggers are special,” claims Lanie Tobin, digging since the 80s, “I like being in the woods, the neatest thing I ever found was a Turtlehead (Chelone glabra).” Ever smiling Fonzie Smeltokop, a Ford Shipping Checker has been digging for five years. Smeltokop said, “I like to rescue plants that other people don’t even know about. It is special to preserve nature and broaden my knowledge of plants.” Speaking of a broad knowledge of plants, just ask Malarney for any plant identification and you will get common name, Latin name, spelling, if you need it and how to care for the plant! Malarney calls herself a “flower seminar junkie”. She travels the country to learn more about wildflowers, sometimes accompanied by one of the volunteers. Packing up involved leaving the woods as undisturbed as possible (ironic since bulldozers will soon destroy the landscape) then back to Cranbrook to pot up all the plants, water and label. The group uses ten yards of compost and topsoil mixed together during a season and black plastic (some recycled) pots. Malarney would love to find a way to get more recycled pots (they need 3,500 of various sizes each year) and a generous donor or discount on soil. Potting time is a fun time to chat about the rescue of the day. Some volunteers that do not dig join in for the potting session. May 2005 Plant Sale People in line were getting excited, you could feel the anticipation. Everyone wanted to know what special plants were available (since it varies every year). Tickets were handed out for Lady Slippers, there were fifteen available. Some lucky folks further down the line got a ticket because some passed since they had gotten them in previous years. Wagons were ready and waiting for the ringing bell signifying the opening of the sale. Ring! Gardeners hurried up the path like racers out of a gate into a see of blooming plants, ground covers, trees and lacy ferns. All things considered they remained pretty civil and polite. After all there were enough plants for all of the early shoppers. Volunteers helped write up the public’s choices then directed the purchasers towards the check-out lines. Everything went smoothly unless you accidentally got in the way of someone heading for a plant with narrow-eyed determination on their face. If you didn’t bring a wagon, there was transportation to the parking lot across the street. Contacting Cranbrook If you wish to volunteer to dig or pot rescued plants phone the Garden Auxiliary volunteer line at 248-645-3147. If you would like to report a possible development where there are native wildflowers, have pots or soil to donate or sell at a discount or want to know more about the plant sale…contact the Cranbook House and Garden Auxiliary Office at 248-645-3149. More information can also be found on their website http://www.cranbrook.edu/housegardens/H_G-home.html. Happy spring gardening to everyone! |
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