Michigan Bulb: Honest Business and Product Review

Michigan Bulb company has been in business for 60 years and as a kid, I recall seeing their shade and sun garden collection in the circular in the Sunday paper and my Dad always said it was a good price for so many plants.  Then they came out with a mail-order catalog and a profitable online business.  

I think we all know of Michiganbulb.com because of their great sales and deals; buy $40.00 in plants and get $20.00 off.  

As a gardener who can resist a sale like that?  I could not resist the great savings on plants and when I checked out the online catalog I liked that I was not overpaying for the plants.  I thought what the heck I am going to buy from Michigan Bulb and hope that they deliver quality plants to my door.

Michigan Bulbs' motto is: “For more than 60 years, we've been providing the best plants at the best prices.”

Hands down they do have the best prices I will agree with that, but their plants are small and you will have to take care of them during their first year so that they will survive occasionally there is a mix-up in your order and you will get other clients' plants.

The order that I placed was a total mix-up as I received plants I did not order and the shipping box was damaged when received which meant the coneflowers that I had ordered were not in the best condition.

Coneflowers received from Michigan Bulb

Damaged shipping box

18-inch Dick Clark rose/did not order

The good thing is that they have excellent customer service and if you are not happy with your purchase for whatever reason they will replace your order with an in-house certificate or give you a refund that is paid to your form of payment or send out replacement plants. Whatever you want.  

Suburban Raccoon Visits Yard and Garden

For the last couple of days, I  have noticed that the mulch in my garden has been pulled away from the plants and in some cases, it is all pulled away from the plants and is in a large grouping like a mountain of mulch.  At first, I thought neighborhood kids were playing a joke on me, but I was wrong because tonight at dusk I learned that a suburban raccoon was visiting my garden.

Raccoons playing in the grass

My husband thought the little raccoon was cute because he seemed to be playing peek-a-boo behind the fountain grass in the ornamental grass garden.  But the thing about raccoons is they are very social animals and if there is one there will soon be more.   That is exactly what happened next, the kits came out of the hallowed tree and came to play in our patio fountain and our garden fish pond; washing their paws and putting leaves in the water.  Such cute behavior but not good for the pond filter.

Suburban Raccoon drinking from the garden fish pond

Raccoons are adorable but I do not want them to think my yard and garden are their hangout. That is when I knew that I had to set up raccoon boundaries so that they knew that playing in my garden was not acceptable behavior.

Planted an Herb Garden Today

Here in USDA growing zone 6 the threat of spring frost has past and now it is safe to garden. So I took advantage of the warm and sunny day and planted an herb garden.

Last week when  I did my garden checklist I noted that the harsh winter and killed many of my herbs and that I needed to replace many.  I was fortunate to have a friend with a nursery in town as she provided me with a discount.  Lucky me I was able to buy 11 herbs in three-inch pots for $3.00 each.


I found some new herbs for my garden and this year I will be growing
Mojito mint, I grow many varieties of mint and think it is a delicious plant for aromatics and for culinary uses.  In fact last year I made an invigorating soap from peppermint leaves.  So I am excited to be growing the new Motito mint.  

Another new herb this year is Kew Red Lavender for growing in full sun.  This aromatic herb looks exciting as it is covered with vibrant pink flowers with gray-green spikes.  I like that the lavender is drought-tolerant because my summers do get dreadfully hot. I am thinking that this lavender herb would make a nice bath soap and also a wonderful potpourri.

I am so happy that winter is finally over and that gardening season has begun.

Shopped Online for Garden Replacement Plants

Now that my garden has grown in I am aware of the plants and flowering shrubs  that did not survive the bitter cold winter.   Today I made a list of what I needed and shopped online for the replacement flowers for my gardens.

I needed to replace my daisy gardens and bought at Michiganbulb.com a mixture of Green Envy coneflower, Black-Eyed Susans, Every blooming purple coneflower and crazy Shasta daisies. These flowers will be planted in my wildflower garden back by my serviceberry shrubs. 

Daisy garden with coneflowers

Also from Michiganbulb.com I was able to replace the bee balm.  I bought 12 plants that were on sale.  The bee balm will bloom in early summer and continue to bloom until fall.  This plant is fast growing, perfect for borders that are close to dog kennel. The entire plant; leaves and flowers have potent mint fragrance plus it grows to 3 feet with similar spread. 

As for shrubs the oak leaf hydrangea was replaced with an elderberry black lace sambucus. This shrub will produce pretty flower blooms in the spring followed by edible fruit in the late summer. I am glad I was able to find the plants at greenwoodnursery.com as they were exactly what I was looking for as all will attract wildlife to my yard

Now all I need is some red cardinal flowers for the moist soil around the pond where nothing else will grow. 

Cottage Garden

I am looking forward to my replacement plant deliveries and look forward to spedign time in the garden.  I am so happy the winter season is over and I am  looking forward to an enjoyable summer season.

Note:  I was able to buy many plants with a coupon that I had gotten from Michigan Bulb and thus saved greatly.  Had I shopped locally I would have paid more.  When I receive the  plants I will post again to let you know the quality of plants and will share photographs.

Attribution: Cottage garden with bench: http://mrg.bz/OrmYmE

Aerated: Late Spring Lawn Care

Normally the lawn is my husband’s job but this year it has become my job.  Today when I look out at the lawn I viewed a few green patches, but other than that the lawn looks like there is a lot of thatch build up around the roots.   I decided to aerate the lawn to punch holes into the soil so that oxygen, hydration and fertilizer can get to the grass roots.

There are a couple ways to aerate your lawn, for small yards you can wear aerator sandals and walk across your lawn in the same way in which you would mow your lawn. 

I personally like the lawn aerator rake because it gets rid of the excess thatch and also loosens the soil around the grass roots.

 For larger yards you may want to look into buying Agri-Fab spike aerator push.  This aerator looks like a push mower however the blades will loosen the soil up to 2.5 inches.  Then there are self-propelled units that you can hook up behind your lawn tractor.  These aerating attachments are great especially for the homeowner with large lawns.

Clean up after you aerate your lawn with a rake, then plant grass seed or fertilize your lawn.

Other Lawn Care Posts by Sgolis

Autumn Lawn Care Tips

Buffalo Grass for No Mow Lawn

Lawn Care Tips: Crabgrass

Learn more about thatching and aerating your lawn by viewing this video: