Friday, May 23- Sunday, May 27 (Memorial Weekend)
Wildflower Rescue Plant Sale

The 15th Annual Plant Sale on the Village Green in Leland is coming! Last fall and this spring our Wildflower Rescue Committee spent hours digging, potting and moving native wildflowers out of the path of impending development. Now is your chance to purchase unusual natives like ferns, jack-in-the-pulpit and trillium, along with a huge selection of nursery perennials. Hours: Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p..m. Sunday noon to 3 p.m. All proceeds help maintain the Conservancy's Leland Village Green. For more info on helping to rescue wildflowers or if you know of a site where wildflowers might be saved, or are planning to excavate your own property, contact co-chairs Joanie Woods, 256-7154 or Patty Shea, 256-9249.

Two things can happen when a patch of trillium or lady slippers sits in the path of a new home site. They can get bulldozed under—or, with the help of alert property owners, they can be transplanted to new sites. Some rescued plants are moved to Conservancy property sites, when appropriate. Others are potted up and sold at the annual Spring Plant Sale at the Leland Village Green to help fund the Conservancy’s mission. Want to help our Wildflower Rescue Committee with some or all of it? All you need is a strong back and a love of the outdoors. To get involved, call Patty Shea, 213-256-9249 or Joanie Woods, 213-256-7154. If you can’t help but know of a site slated for the bulldozer or have property you plan to build on, also contact Patty or Joanie. The Wildflower Rescuers are pictured above: photo courtesy of Keith Burnham and the Leland Report (www.lelandreport.com).

The Wildflower Rescue Mission

Wildflower Rescue is an arm of the Leelanau Conservancy.  The Group was started in the fall of 1999 with the purpose of saving native plants from destruction.  We have worked since that time not only to save the plants, but to educate the public about the value of the plants to the forest and as part of ecosystems.

Wildflower Rescue saves primarily woodland, or shade plants that are found in hardwood forest. Any plants protected by Michigan Law are legally dug with permission of the property owner. We do not dig rare or endangered plants and all plants are inspected by the State Ag Dept. for disease.  We go into a site before the roads are constructed, the driveway built or building site dug and take the plants.  The property owner’s wishes are respected and plants that will not be destroyed are left on site, in tact.  We dig in the spring and fall, which are the best times for plant survival.  The group usually digs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the morning, for about an hour, but we can work around equipment and work demands as necessary.  We always go as a group and only after receiving a signed permission agreement with the property owner, which releases the owner from any liability.  We have worked with private individuals, The Road Commission, local excavators and builders, developer Jack Armstrong, The Leelanau Club at Bahle Farms, and Cedar Valley Ridge.

Many rescued plants have been donated to public gardens such as The Old Settlers Park in Glen Arbor, The Leland Children’s Center, The Old Art Building in Leland, Munson Hospice House in Traverse City, and The Leland Village Green.  The rest of the plants are potted and sold to raise money for the maintenance of the Leland Village Green.