Garden at Hoverfly Meadow

Garden at Hoverfly Meadow Private garden in Northern Michigan - sharing garden photos and experiences seasonally

08/21/2026

The final results of the seeds I started in native bins 14, 15 and 17 - results are okay in these pots but not great. I'm grouping them together because I started a lot less species in these because these included some fussier ones and I wanted to give them better odds of making it.

List below:

Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly W**d 4 plants
Mirabilis nyctaginea Wild Four O'Clock Uppotted 11 on 7/27/2026
Zizia aptera Heart-leaf Golden Alexanders No germination
Lespedeza capitata Round-Headed Bush Clover 2 plants, planted in front bed
Lobelia spicata Pale Spiked Lobelia No germination - couldn't find
Pedicularis canadensis Wood Betony No germination
Pycnanthemum muticum Clustered Mountain Mint around 15 plants
Sida hermaphrodita Virginia Fanpetals No germination
Solidago rigida Stiff Goldenrod around 8 plants under olig name and 2 under solidago rigida name
Silphium integrifolium Rosin W**d 2 planted in yard, 1 in pot
Agalinis purpurea Purple False Foxglove 2 plants planted in yard
Agalinis tenuifolia Slender False Foxglove 1 pot
Pedicularis lanceolata Marsh Betony No germination

I believe this bin partially tipped as some pots had a lot less soil than they started out with. Thus the concern that my Agalinis may be all one species instead of both species. This was a lesson I learned this year about not planting similar looking species seeds in the same bin.

08/21/2026

The final results of the seeds I started in native bin 12 and 13 - really good results in these bins, nothing to retry and definitely enough to establish populations in my yard of these plants.

List below:
Chamaenerion angustifolium Fireweed multiple full pots
Desmodium canadense Showy Tick Trefoil up potted 24 on 7/27/2026
Epilobium glandulosum Northern Willow Herb multiple full pots
Silene stellata Starry Campion multiple full pots
Dioscorea villosa Wild Yam 3 plants
Solidago caesia Blue-stemmed Goldenrod multiple full pots
Solidago juncea Early Goldenrod multiple full pots
Solidago nemoralis Old Field Goldenrod multiple full pots
Solidago speciosa Showy Goldenrod multiple full pots

08/21/2026

I believe that for overall plant quantity, this was the least successful bin. Out of 9 species, I only had germination from 4 species and not many plants of those species. The failures in Pycnanthemum and Sympyotrichum are the most surprising as usually those germinate fine.

Asclepias hirtella Tall Green Milkweed No germination
Dalea purpurea Purple Prairie Clover 1 plant
Dodecatheon meadia Shooting Star No germination
Echinacea pallida Pale Purple Coneflower 5 plants
Eutrochium fistulosum Hollow Joe Pye W**d 2 plants
Fragraria virginia Wild Strawberry No germination
Pycnanthemum incanum Hoary Mountain Mint No germination
Symphyotrichum praealtum Willow Aster 2-4 plants
Symphyotrichum sericeum Silky Aster No germination

This was definitely a barely break even bed as it was around $27 in seed to end up with 12 plants. While that is still a better deal than buying plugs, there's a lot more effort involved.

To pad out this disappointing video, I decided to add some randoms that didn't have bins. Some of these were in my veggie bins and some were just out in my wire frame.
Ruellia humilis - white form - a nice full pot. I love these little guys, very sturdy and if you transplant in time they can bloom the first year.

Baptisia hybrids- from seeds collected from various cultivars. I'm really hoping for blooms next year because a tiny one I planted last year did manage a few flowers this year, but we'll see. Usually it's more like 2 years.

Asclepias purpurescans - These sprout easily and grow easily - though slugs really love them. The hard part is getting them to live long enough to bloom. Cross your fingers for me because I've been transplanting and so far only the ones in my big flower pots look happy. No idea how I'll overwinter them like that.

Phytolacca americana ‘variegata’ - ended up with 7 of these, really excited about them.

Oenothera biennis - maybe or similar species. This is from collected seed- probably biennis but some small chance it's something else as several similar looking species are in my area. Not sure where I'm planting this pile of them, but I'll figure it out.

Salix discolor - this one from cutting. You need both male and female plants to have the cute catkins - but only my male cutting took so I have to try again to get a female plant growing.

08/19/2026

Native plant bins 10 and 11 winter sowing results.

Winter sowing results for native bins 10 and 11. Several to try again, but plenty to up pot and plant out. It was another good seed starting attempt.

List below:
The final results of the seeds I started in native bins 10 and 11. Like the other bins, some to redo, not my best bin. Definitely a lot less I need to start this year.

Scientific Name Common Name NOTES:
Anaphalis margaritacea Pearly Everlasting Germinated 4/20/2026 - but died maybe
Cirsium muticum Swamp Thistle 4 plants
Doellingeria umbellata Flat-topped Aster Germinated 4/20/2026 - only 1 left
Verbena stricta Hoary Vervain several but all tiny
Allium stellatum Prairie Onion No germination
Amsonia tabernaemontana Eastern Bluestar Divided and up potted 7/27 - 11 plants
Elymus hystrix Bottlebrush Grass Germinated 4/20/2026
Hydrophyllum virginianum Virginia Waterleaf No germination
Leersia oryzoides Rice Cut Grass Germinated 4/20/2026
Lilium philadelphicum Prairie Lily No germination
Silene nivea Snowy Campion No germination

08/18/2026

Winter sowing results for native bin 1. Some to try again, but plenty to up pot and plant out. It was another good seed starting attempt.

List below:
The final results of the seeds I started in native bin 1. Like the other bins, some to redo, but not horrible considering some of these were challenging seeds. Definitely a lot less I need to start this year.

Scientific Name Common Name NOTES:
Amorpha canescens Lead Plant 6 pots
Arnoglossum atriplicifolium Pale Indian Plantain No germination
Asclepias speciosa Showy Milkweed planted in front rose bed - 6 pots
Asclepias viridis Green Spider Milkweed 3 plants
Coreopsis palmata Prairie Coreopsis Germinated 4/20/2026 - 6 pots
Delphinium exaltatum Tall Larkspur 2 plants
Eryngium yuccifolium Rattlesnake Master Planted in front bed - no others
Eupatorium perfoliatum Boneset No germination
Eutrochium maculatum Joe Pye W**d No germination
Gentiana andrewsii Bottle Gentian No germination
Heliopsis helianthoides Early Sunflower Germinated 4/20/2026- just a few planted in front rose bed
Liatris punctata Dotted Blazing Star No germination
Lupinus perennis Wild Lupine Germinated 4/20/2026- just a couple left in pots, 1 looks good in yard - side door raised bed
Parthenium integrifolium Wild Quinine Germinated in seed cage - 4 tiny plants
Physostegia virginiana Obedient Plant No germination
Pycnanthemum virginianum Mountain Mint 6 pots
Senna hebecarpa Wild Senna 3 plants
Symphyotrichum laeve Smooth Blue Aster Germinated 4/20/2026 - 6 plants
Symphyotrichum oolentangiense Sky Blue Aster Germinated 4/20/2026- just one
Vernonia fasciculata Common Ironweed Germinated 4/20/2026 Believe just 6 of these up potted also in native bin 6

08/17/2026

Veggie garden update, lots of peas, beets, tomatoes, basil and maybe some artichokes.

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Traverse City, MI

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