THE KIDS STUFF

 

 

Strange but true!

Michigan has a State Sand. In 1990 Kalkaska Sand was chosen as the state soil.

Michigan grows more flowers than any other state.

The smallest hummingbird in the world, the Cuban bee hummingbird, is 2 1/4" long-about the size of a bumble bee.

Trees and plants are used to make paper, medicines and packages.

 

 


 
  

Butterfly gardening has become one of the most popular hobbies today. What could bring more joy than a beautiful butterfly fluttering around your garden?! Here are some tips to make your garden especially butterfly-friendly.

Your first step should be to find out which butterflies are in your area. You can do this by spending some time outdoors with your field guide to see which species are around. You can also check our checklists here.

Plant your butterfly garden in a sunny location (5-6 hours each day), but sheltered from the winds. Butterflies need the sun to warm themselves, but they won't want to feed in an area where they are constantly fighting the wind to stay on the plants. It is also a good idea to place a few flat stones in your sunny location so the butterflies can take a break while warming up.

Butterflies need water just like we do. Keep a mud puddle damp in a sunny location, or fill a bucket with sand and enough water to make the sand moist.

DO NOT USE PESTICIDES IN YOUR GARDEN!

Butterflies use two different types of plants - those that provide nectar for the adults to eat (nectar plant), and those that provide food for their offspring (host plant). It is best to find out which plant species are native to your area and plant those rather than exotic species.

Below are a list of the more common plants.

Nectar Plants -

Aster                                   Phlox

Azaleas                              Blazing Stars

Joe-pye-weeds                Pickerelweed

Bergemots                        Purple Cornflower

Milkweeds                         Cardinal Flower

Black-eyed Susan           Sunflowers

Sweet Pepperbush         Coreopsis


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make your backyard bird friendly!

Native wildflowers are a great way to start to attract birds.  They love the seeds that these plants produce.  From late summer through winter, many flowers have dried stalks that remain standing to disperse seeds.  Native wildflowers will typically attract insects, which in turn attract insect eating birds like warblers and flycatchers.

Try planting these flowers:

Asters, Sunflowers, Goldenrods, Black eyed Susans, Purple Cornflowers, Blazing Star, Coreopsis, Globe Thistle, Joe-pye-weed, Wild strawberry.  Shrubs that will help you birds are: Serviceberry, Chokeberry, Dogwoods, Viburnums, Michigan Holly and Speckled Alder.

 

 Word Search


   W o r d   S e a rc h   

Find the following words in the puzzle.

P

L

A

S

K

F

L

O

W

E

R

S

N

M

L

A

N

D

S

C

A

P

E

N

I

N

U

B

W

A

T

E

R

G

A

R

E

D

B

T

R

U

E

G

R

T

I

O

M

O

D

I

R

T

S

T

Z

A

E

E

M

R

S

S

S

S

O

O

E

T

V

W

E

A

R

U

W

E

A

E

U

U

R

E

G

Q

U

X

Y

U

I

S

S

A

M

O

Y

R

P

L

A

N

T

S

T

B

W

S

A

F

U

F

D

I

T

V

P

L

S

L

U

E

W

Z

Y

L

I

N

O

S

P

N

O

O

U

Q

Z

S

B

Y

G

S

B

V

E

P

P

B

V

C

O

T

R

M

G

F

U

D

S

A

M

J

P

I

I

A

N

E

I

Q

R

O

T

T

O

S

L

O

N

R

N

M

N

A

M

I

S

E

C

O

P

Y

I

E

G

E

G

N

U

S

H

O

V

E

L

G

A

M

S

A

                                        PRINT THIS PAGE TO COMPLETE THE WORD FIND

 

 

 

 

 

W o r d   S e a rc h

BUTTERFLY  

ROSES

FLOWERS                     WATER

SOIL                             NURSERY
LANDSCAPE                 TREE
AGRICULTURE             WEEDS

GARDEN                        DIRT                     

PESTS                           VINE

SHOVEL                         COMPOST

SUN                               PLANTS

DIGGING                       DISEASE

 

 


 

 

Home