Dear Master Gardeners and all interested area gardeners:
(Attached is a PDF file with a photo of Julia and her garden. If you plan to attend, please note that we ask you to R.S.V.P. to Beth Brown, information included in the text below).
We would like to invite you to our first annual MGSOC Spring Fling, hosted by the Master Gardener Society of Oakland County, Inc.
On Wednesday, May 22, 2019, MGSOC is partnering with Piechnik’s Garden Gate, 1095 N. Rochester Road, Oakland, MI 48363 (just north of Rochester) for a very special spring gardening extravaganza! From 5:30-8 p.m., Piechnik’s will host Oakland County Master Gardeners and other interested local gardeners for an open house featuring hors d’oeuvres, desserts, beverages, and raffle prizes. Special that evening is 25% off your entire order for anything in their store (except bagged soil) for the entire night. In addition, you will receive a coupon for 25% off your entire order for another visit through the following Monday.
At this event, Julia Hofley, one of our area’s most inspiring educators and garden writers, will provide a half-hour education presentation followed by a Q&A of perennials, noted below. (For Master Gardeners – VMS Topic: Beautification: Public Areas).
6:30 p.m. – Drama in the Shade! My Love Affair with Ferns and Other Shady Companions
After 10 years of gardening together in their 1-acre yard, Julia and Eric Hofley finally took the hill! It is about a quarter of an acre in size and is located under 8 mighty oak trees. They replaced the lawn with stone wall terraces and went with a switchback path that leads up to a secret garden lookout when you get to the top. The garden beds hold beloved and carefully acquired collections of hardy ferns, bergenia, primula, cyclamen, daffodils, columbine, brunnera, hostas, carex, heuchera and heucherella, pulmonaria, azaleas, rhododendrons, conifers … and many more shade-loving plants. This new garden has given the perfect home to our shady plant collections with the ideal opportunity for viewing up close as you meander up the hillside along the primrose path lined with 300+ year-old Belgian blocks reclaimed from the original streets of old Detroit.
Join Julia for the story of these garden-worthy collections and why she loves them so, satisfying the drama she craves in the garden and making a textural and colorful quilt gracing our hillside and turning it into garden theatre through the seasons.
Following the presentation, she will be available in the perennial department for questions and answers to help you build your own shady garden theatre with a ferny focus.
Biography of Julia Hofley
This freelance garden writer contributes to Michigan Gardener magazine, Fine Gardening magazine and assorted trade publications. She speaks to both trade and public gardening audiences each year and writes garden book reviews, articles on new annuals, perennials and houseplants, garden travelogues and gardening in animal-browsing country, among other topics.
She is a member of the Michigan Regional Lily Society (MRLS), Hardy Plant Society (HPS), North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS), American Conifer Society (ACS) and Garden Communicators International (GARDENCOMM).
Building a collector’s garden for 13 years with her husband has been both a labor of love and a test of endurance as they live in the heart of an active animal browsing community in Michigan and have learned to garden successfully in spite of this.
Today, Julia enjoys traveling around the world meeting gardeners and experiencing their gardens with her husband, Eric Hofley, owner and publisher of Michigan Gardener magazine. Sharing these experiences and inspiration with her audiences in articles, travelogues and tours combines her interests in travel, gardening and history and her garden reflects that.
Also at our event, Denise Brown and the Fundraising Team will be selling Master Gardener merchandise. They have tons of amazing new colors and styles of your favorite clothing!
Piechnik’s Greenhouse (pronounced picnics) started out small in 1984, with 1000 square feet on McCumsey Road in Clio, growing hanging baskets and flats of flowers for the Flint City Market. By 2014, they had grown to over 75,000 square feet at our original location, and added a second store and greenhouse, Piechnik’s Garden Gate, on North Rochester Road in Oakland Township. They have everything you need to make your yard, garden, deck or porch picture perfect!
Are you looking for spectacular hanging baskets and vibrant porch pots already planted for sun or shade? Or flats of annuals, pots of perennials, trees and shrubs? We have it all, and lots of friendly, knowledgable staff. And don’t miss our garden decor showrooms at both locations! Pottery and wind chimes, bird baths and fountains, fairy gardens, art, holiday decor and so much more are all on display, not to mention the region’s largest selection of gazing globes.
Piechnik’s in Clio, and Piechnik’s Garden Gate in Oakland Township, are proud to serve communities and businesses throughout Oakland, Macomb and Genesee counties. Visit us today and we will be happy to help you transform your outdoor living space! Please visit their website for more information about their business. http://piechniks.com
Please join us – there is no charge for this event! Master Gardeners, please wear your name badge. If you are a Master Gardener and not a member of our Society, you will be able to join that evening. You and your guests are welcome. We ask that anyone planning to attend RSVP via e-mail to Bethany Brown so that we may plan for food and seating. Beth’s e-mail address is: [email protected] and please respond no later than Friday, May 17, 2019.