Orchid fun with auction of books, plants, and other items. Review of top American Orchid Society awards; lunch provided by judges. Everyone welcome! 1 om:  monthly Great Lakes Judging Center judging. Visitors are welcome to observe. Sponsored by Great Lakes Judging (Orchids). Free.

Local nursery owner Drew Lathin talks about ways that home gardeners can use native plants to create beautiful and ecologically restorative landscapes for residential, commercial, and public spaces that support wildlife, reduce resource inputs, and create healthy outdoor living spaces. Sponsored by Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers. Free.

Sally Oey, University of Michigan professor of astronomy, describes the benefits of darkness for us and our fellow beings, as well as how we can navigate our nighttime lives with less escaped light. Presented by Sierra Club Huron Valley. Free.

Jamie Cornelius, assistant professor of biology at Eastern Michigan University, presents her research on these unusual birds, who raise their young in the challenging conditions of northern winters. Jamie and her family spent six weeks on snowshoes in winter in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, tracking radio-tagged red crossbills. Presented by Washtenaw Audubon Society. Free.  

Create your own seasonal Ikebana arrangement with help from a certified instructor. Please notify a2ikebana@gmail.com of your interest to attend two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.  You will then receive an evite to attend.  Due to popularity of the classes, the class size is limited to 25 and Ikebana International members are given priority.  We usually have room for 5 - 7 guests and welcome beginners.  Payment can only be by cash or check. $20 fee covers flowers and…

Accredited American Orchid Society Judge Dennis Seffernick gives a PowerPoint program of the latest AOS awards. Orchid judging at 1. Visitors welcome to observe. Presented by Great Lakes Judging Society (Orchids). Free.

Indiana nursery owner Esther Benedict focuses on small plants, including dwarf woody plants, and the varied uses of small plants in modern gardening. Participants in this evening’s program will learn helpful things for their own gardening from Esther’s experiences growing treasures. Presented by Great Lakes Chapter, North American Rock Garden Society. Free.

University of Michigan Herbarium Curator Tony Reznicek discusses the forests and grasslands of much of Patagonia (South America), with a focus on the more important species and some of its interesting habitats and remarkable plants. Michigan Botanical Club. Free.

Long-time Lansing-area beekeeper Steve Tillman talks about beekeeping Down Under. Program also includes a mini-workshop on building and using a Styrofoam nuc. Presented by Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers. Free.

Orchids that are dormant in the winter allow some down time for working on the rest of your collection or taking a winter vacation. Speaker Leo Schordje talks about orchids that go dormant in the winter. Ann Arbor Orchid Society. Free.

Cara Shillington, professor of biology at Eastern Michigan University, discusses her research, which includes observations of spider behavior in cold and heat, what they eat, how they move and how they reproduce. Program includes an opportunity to directly observe some specimens. Presented by Sierra Club Huron Valley. Free.

Join Allen Chartier for a program on his study of hummingbirds in Michigan and the Great Lakes area. Allen founded the Great Lakes HummerNet in 2001. Sightings of these birds are reported to Allen by volunteers, and Allen also catches and bands birds. Besides ruby-throated hummingbirds, the 15 vagrant hummingbird species are also studied. Learn how you can participate in this study, and how to attract and feed hummingbirds. Allen birds all over the world, and conducts seasonal bird banding…

Create your own seasonal Ikebana arrangement with help from a certified instructor. Please notify a2ikebana@gmail.com of your interest to attend two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.  You will then receive an evite to attend.  Due to popularity of the classes, the class size is limited to 25 and Ikebana International members are given priority.  We usually have room for 5 - 7 guests and welcome beginners.  Payment can only be by cash or check. $20 fee covers flowers and…

Start you summer herbs early. Group President Madolyn Kaminski also offers tips on seed starting. Presented by Herb Study Group. Free.

Michigan Garden Clubs President Carol Brodbeck discusses the gardening efforts of the Michigan and National Garden Clubs including the project “Michigan Pollinator Gardens.” Part of Ann Arbor Garden Club’s Hands-on Home Gardening series. Presented by Ann Arbor Garden Club. Free.

A presentation by Earl Hoffman, a life-time member of Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association (SEMBA), and an Eastern Apicultural Society Master beekeeper.  He grew up helping his father keep bees on a 40 acre farm in Ceresco, MI.   Earl worked with SEMBA to start their bee school, and taught with Ed Nowack for years before Earl took over as lead instructor. Earl works to keep up on cutting edge honeybee research and product development.  Earl owns a company that helped create a microbial feed…

Matt Demmon, director of native landscapes division at Plantwise, discusses ways of thinking about creating plant communities and how planting design and new models of landscape maintenance can help us create resilient, beautiful plantings that have the best chance of fulfilling the stormwater and ecosystem functions we are trying to create. Presented by Michigan Botanical Club Huron Valley. Free.

Keith Berven, professor at Oakland University, has been monitoring variations in numbers of wood frogs for the past 32 years in an attempt to understand the factors that lead to year-to-year fluctuation in their numbers. He will discuss the relative importance of density-dependent factors, and parasites on the frogs. Presented by Sierra Club Huron Valley. Free.

Join Len Sander for a program on bird watching in Israel. Israel is a heavily traveled migration route for birds moving twice a year between Africa and the Eurasian landmass. Len has photographed many interesting species at Eilat, one of the world’s busiest migration spots, as well as in other habitats in the country. Len Sander is a retired U-M physics professor, birder, and photographer. Presented by Washtenaw Audubon Society.      

Create your own seasonal Ikebana arrangement with help from a certified instructor. Please notify a2ikebana@gmail.com of your interest to attend two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.  You will then receive an evite to attend.  Due to popularity of the classes, the class size is limited to 25 and Ikebana International members are given priority.  We usually have room for 5 - 7 guests and welcome beginners.  Payment can only be by cash or check. $20 fee covers flowers and…

Group President Madolyn Kaminski also offers tips on growing your own herbs for cooking. Presented by Herb Study Group. Free.

North American Rock Garden Society Vice President Don LaFond gives a presentation on propagating plants by seed, cuttings, and dividing. Part of Ann Arbor Garden Club’s Hands-on Home Gardening series. Presented by Ann Arbor Garden Club. Free.

Two programs presented in one day by Ger van den Beuken, one of Europe’s most eminent experts on the cultivation of choice alpine plants. Program I (11-12:30): The Cultivation and Propagation of the Genus Saxifraga (includes Porphyrion, Saxifraga and Ligulatae Saxifrages). Program II (1:30-3): Cushion Plants. Presented by Great Lakes Chapter, North American Rock Garden Society. Free. (Note: Program breaks for one hour from 12:30-1:30.)

Epiphytic orchids grow in trees, lithophytic orchids grow on rocks. Chris Steel demonstrates how, using plastic mounts, mounting orchids is a great natural way to grow them. Presented by Ann Arbor Orchid Society. Free.

Presenter Bob Smith displays and discusses colorful photographs of spring ephemerals (perennial woodland wildflowers that bloom and set seed quickly), while Robert Ayotte highlights the systematics and site preferences for each species. This is a primer for upcoming field trips. Presented by Michigan Botanical Club Huron Valley. Free.

PFAS, perfluorinated compounds, is an umbrella term for some 5,000 chemical compounds that have been manufactured and used in consumer products since 1960. Stephen Brown, Ph.D., chemist and co-chair of the Sierra Club Huron Valley conservation committee, provides a non-technical review of aspects of concern about PFAS. Presented by Sierra Club Huron Valley. Free.

Create your own seasonal Ikebana arrangement with help from a certified instructor. Please notify a2ikebana@gmail.com of your interest to attend two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.  You will then receive an evite to attend.  Due to popularity of the classes, the class size is limited to 25 and Ikebana International members are given priority.  We usually have room for 5 - 7 guests and welcome beginners.  Payment can only be by cash or check. $20 fee covers flowers and…

Accredited AOS judge Dave Miller familiarizes us with the anatomy and descriptions of orchids and other plants. Orchid judging at 1. Visitors welcome to observe. Presented by Great Lakes Judging Society (Orchids). Free.