Category Archives: Miracles of Nature

Unexpected results or events not fully understood.

Wild Strawberry Sense of Humor

Everyone loves wild strawberries. It’s a universal fruit with universal appeal. The flavor is always rich in gold. They are impossible to resist. Here grows a small perennial plant that effortlessly skips along the ground rooting as it goes through … Continue reading

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Diversity Rises in the Forest: Wild Black Cherry

I did not grow the wild black cherry at my farm.  It grew by itself. Today it self-seeds freely under my tree crops. It is a native tree found from Guatemala to Canada. This huge range has great diversity. Almost … Continue reading

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Cactus Town

I saw it first on a walk with my daughter near a sidewalk. As we rounded the corner, a cardboard sign alerted us saying it was  “Free’. There it hung on a bamboo stake neatly tied by a small piece … Continue reading

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Peach Nirvana: Peaches from Pits

The very first peach I had ever seen growing on a tree was from a backyard gardener next to my family home in central Michigan. Peaches were not common there because of the late frosts and cold winters. My neighbor … Continue reading

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Peaches From Pits

One of my local customers told me about a peach in his front yard that had a lot of fruit on that he did not want. It was horrible tasting he said and filled with worms. Perfect. I was very … Continue reading

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Diversity Explored: The European Chestnut

When I was first introduced to the European chestnut, I found it as a shrubby and stunted tree barely able to cope with Michigan’s cold winters. It was on top of a dune overlooking Lake Michigan near Grand Traverse Bay. … Continue reading

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The Timber Apple: An Opposite Value Rises in the Forest

All fruit trees contain within them their original blueprint of the forest environment that they were originally found. There are apricots, plums and apples throughout the world that are part of the forests around them in some way. When these … Continue reading

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It Happens : Growth.

2024 was a year of surprises. Here are a few from my farm where anything is possible.

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Diversity Explored: Serviceberry

At the time of my early nursery life in the 1980’s I was well aware of this beautiful flowering ornamental plant with delicious fruit. Sometimes in the nursery profession, you would not want to use the word serviceberry. It made … Continue reading

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Diversity Discovered: The Atlantic White Cedar

It is always a surprise to me that a wetland tree found only in swamps, back waters of streams and lake fronts will grow outside of it’s specific low oxygen and high moisture location into the front of the average … Continue reading

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