Matthaei Botanical Gardens : All posts

A2CT's Junior Theatre to present 'Anne of Green Gables' at Matthaei

Cydney Heed, Amelia Hatcher-Kay, Julia Graham star in A2CT's Junior Theatre production of "Anne of Green Gables."

Photo by David Widmayer

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Buy a Mother's Day gift and help support the Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Flowers might seem like a cliche Mother's Day gift, but really, landscaping is expensive. Help a lady out. Buy her a hanging basket or two at the Mother’s Day Weekend Sale & Fundraiser at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

Ann Arbor Orchid Festival to highlight one of nature's most amazing flowers

The incredible orchid. It's beautiful, fragile and a wonder of evolution. Anyone who has seen "Adaptation," knows they have changed to make pollination easier, whether it be by mimicking bees or shooting pollen at passing insects. Celebrate these amazing flowers at the Ann Arbor Orchid Festival at Matthaei Botanical Gardens this weekend.

Matthaei Botanical Garden's voodoo lily to bloom by Monday

Visitors to Matthaei Botanical Gardens in the next few days may get a very unpleasant scent accompanied by a beautifully unique-looking plant. The voodoo lily is about to bloom, and when it does, it gives off the smell of rotting flesh. It is located in the temperate house of the gardens' conservatory.

"It has bloomed here before and really caused quite a stir," said Joe Mooney, who does marketing and communications for Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

A voodoo lilly, also known as an Amorphophallus konjac, is about to bloom in the conservatory at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. This is the photo of one that bloomed there several years ago.

Courtesy photo

Mooney says the temperature impacts when the voodoo lily blooms.

"It should open its flower between now and Monday," he said. "It has the most amazing smell and is an incredibly beautiful flower with a deep purple robe wrapped around it."

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Get a jump start on your garden with the help of Matthaei Gardens

Never mind our crazy Michigan weather; spring is here. For real. So grow where you're planted and grow what you've planted from the Annual Herb Seed Giveaway & Growing Herbs from Seeds event at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

food & grocery: Feast! exhibit at Matthaei Botanical Gardens

See how your food grows in the conservatory at Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Kim Bayer | AnnArbor.com Contributor

Black pepper, pineapple, rice, grapefruit, chocolate, tequila, figs, and cinnamon are a few of the food plants currently on display in the Matthaei Botanical Gardens' conservatory exhibit called Feast! The conservatory is especially lovely right now, with a poinsettia tree, blooming orchids, fairy villages, and a koi pond. If you're looking for a family-oriented activity (that includes a free trip to the tropics) over the holidays, you can visit the Feast! "cross-cultural culinary tour of plants around the world" until Jan. 6 and walk the outdoor trails from sunrise to sunset any time.

Newly installed parking meters lead to membership surge at U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Deborah Stocks pays for parking for the first time at the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor on Friday.

Kellie Woodhouse | AnnArbor.com

The Garden Faerie

Home & Garden: Find what you need for your garden at local plant sales

Plant sales are a great way to get something new for your garden and support your favorite local organizations.

Monica Milla | Contributor

If you're looking to add some plants to your garden this year, stop by one of the many plant sales in our area, starting this Friday.

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Wild Swan Theater announces Chocolate Crush fundraiser

Wild Swan Theater, Ann Arbor’s professional theater for families, will host its 5th annual “Chocolate Crush” fundraiser on Saturday, February 5th at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Michigan’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens Conservatory, located at 1800 North Dixboro Road. Ann Arbor’s premier chocolatiers and bakers, including Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory, Schakolad Chocolate Factory, Mindo Chocolate, Cupcake Station, and Bab’s Underground Lounge will present exquisite creations for Wild Swan’s supporters.

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UMS' "Susurrus" is far from your typical stroll

Playwright David Leddy's "Susurrus" is now on offer at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

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'Susurrus' makes the natural world its stage at Matthaei Botanical Gardens

David Leddy

Generally, if you’re a contemporary playwright, you play an active role in the premiere production of a work, and then you send the script out into the larger world, where theater companies will (hopefully) pick it up and run with it, making it their own.

But unconventional theater pieces — like David Leddy’s “Susurrus,” presented to open the University Musical Society's season at Matthaei Botanical Gardens — often can and do make more extensive demands on a playwright.

It's a beautiful time to tour local gardens at upcoming home and garden walks

photo by Fabio Busonero

Lie to Your Cats About Santa

The inside buzz on the Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers

Honey Bees | Photo courtesy of Maggie Smith

Winn Harless caught 24 swarms of bees last year.

“Three in one day!” he growls.

He fields phone calls from frantic homeowners with swarms clinging to trees, fences and patio furniture. Harless, who’s in his 60s or 70s, jumps in his pickup and races to the scene dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt, which he tucks tightly into his pants. 

At the scene he lays down a white sheet and a portable hive, then uses a bucket on a long metal pole to dislodge honeycomb and thousands of bees. The process takes a little while. Harless estimates that most of his swarms weigh upwards of four pounds. That’s around 18,000 bees.

“It’s tough to get people to take pictures for me,” he tells a meeting of the Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers in a classroom at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

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Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's Junior Theatre presents "The Secret Garden"

Richard Graham, Quentin Faro, Caroline Logue star in A2CT's Junior Theatre production of "The Secret Garden," opening May 13.

Ann Arbor Civic Theatre’s Junior Theatre presents an original adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children’s book, "The Secret Garden," directed and adapted by Jacqueline Courteau, May 13-16.

Author Toby Hemenway to lead workshops at Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Ann Arbor's Matthaei Botanical Gardens has announced upcoming workshops to be led by author Toby Hemenway on May 22 and 23. The two day-long workshops will be on "Designing and Installing a Food Forest" and "Permaculture Solutions for City and Suburb." Hemenway will also be giving a lecture titled "How Permaculture Can Save Humanity and the Earth, but not Civilization" at the Ann Arbor District Library on May 21.

Laurie Anderson, Propeller among UMS 2010-11 theater season

The University Musical Society, the performing-arts presenting group at the University of Michigan, today announced 5 productions making up its 2010-11 theater season.

Laurie Anderson

The season includes acclaimed performance artist/musician Laurie Anderson in a 2-night offering of her work "Delusion"; the acclaimed Druid Theater Company presenting Martin McDonagh’s "The Cripple of Inishman"; two works by the all-male Shakespeare troupe Propeller; and "Susurrus," a highlight of last year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performed at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. (The other productions will be at the Power Center.)

Something to crow about: Loop de Coop tour highlights Ann Arbor's backyard chickens

Matt Grocoff holds one of his backyard chickens as he comes around the chicken coop, made from a reclaimed playhouse used years ago by neighborhood children. Grocoff has four chickens, all of them rare breeds: a Buff Orpington, two Araucanas and a Buff Brahma.

Janet Miller | for AnnArbor.com

MiSo Solar House at Matthaei Botanical Gardens Looks to the Future

The futuristic looking MiSo (Michigan Solar) house on display at Matthaei Botanical Gardens has an aluminum skin and is wrapped in solar panels. It produces more energy than it uses.

Janet Miller | For AnnArbor.com

Children's Garden opens at U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens

From 1-4 p.m. Sunday, the U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens hosted the grand opening of the Gaffield Children's Garden. Within the new garden, children and adults alike can enjoy a sensory garden with things to touch, taste, hear, see and smell; a butterfly garden; a natural builders' garden, and more. In addition, some of the staffers at the gardens. put on skits for the kids and adults to enjoy during the free event.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens is located at 1800 N. Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor, MI. Admission to the Gaffield Children's Garden and outdoor Botanical Gardens is free. For more information, phone (734) 647-7600.

Teresa Shaw lives and writes in Ann Arbor. Contact her at teresawrites (at) yahoo (dot) com or visit her blog, Think Inside the Icebox.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens unveils children’s garden on Sunday

Make the most of your end-of-summer weekends and join in the fun this Sunday at the Gaffield Children’s Garden at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. From 1 to 4 p.m., celebrate the official grand opening of this unique space for fun, learning and discovery that allows kids the opportunity to connect with nature in a playful way.

The garden features dozens of "special" spaces including a “sense-ational garden”; a natural builders garden; a habitat garden for exploring and imagining the homes of wild animals; a butterfly garden for attracting and encouraging butterflies; secret spaces for children to find and create their own places in the garden; and much more.

The grand opening celebration will also include three children's theater performances, and music and activities throughout the afternoon! Free to all with no registration required. For more information, call 734-647-7600 or visit the event web site.

Tammy Mayrend is a Search Marketing professional who blogs on local activities for families at annarbormom.com.

Photo by Flickr user A2Gemma.