With all this winter white and early spring brown, why not "Dream in Green" (and many other colors)?! We're opening one-hour blocks of time for folks who want one-on-one help with native plant selection, calculations, and layout for their landscapes!  Martha Holzheuer, landscape architect, ecologist, and owner of Nature Niche, will help answer your questions and help you make decisions regarding your native planting efforts. 

If you are new to native plants and have not attended Martha's presentation about designing with them, please take an hour to review a version of this talk she gave for the City of Midland Community Gardeners ahead of your appointment.  She'll have the resources mentioned handy, but it will be useful to understand the basics of native plant design beforehand.

Martha will be opening timeslots as her schedule allows.  If you are interested, please register for an hour here, provide your email, and Martha will reach out to schedule your appointment at the store.  If you think you'll need more than an hour or want an onsite assessment at your property, please contact Martha directly at [email protected] to specifically schedule what you need.  Local onsite assessments are typically conducted Tuesdays and Thursdays from June through October.

The design office hours will occur at our retail location at 2004 W. Wackerly St. Midland, MI. Please bring site photos, aerial photos, and/or sketches (paper and digital versions welcome) of your intended planting areas and your site-specific questions.  We'll have trace paper and access to Google Earth handy for drafting planting layouts and making measurements.  We're looking forward to helping you select site-appropriate native species that will thrive and help you meet your wildlife habitat and aesthetic landscape goals!

Martha is the owner of Nature Niche, a nature-focused gift and supply store on the north side of Midland.  She spent ~15 years working as a landscape ecologist and an environmental consultant, specializing in threatened and endangered species protection and permitting, native plant design, invasive species management, wildlife habitat enhancement, and ecological restoration.  Before that, she taught woody plants field labs while securing dual Masters Degrees in Terrestrial (Forest) Ecology and Landscape Architecture at the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  She's a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner, Professional Landscape Architect registered in Michigan, Certified Ecologist, and Certified Arborist and serves as a board member for the Society for Ecological Restoration Midwest-Great Lakes Chapter and Michigan Wetlands Association.  She loves botanizing and gardening with native plants, nature photography and art, helping people learn about and connect with nature, strategizing to protect rare species, gift giving, and making people happy.

Cost per hour is $75.  To schedule, please visit our website to pay online or ask at our checkout counter. To cancel, please call the store at 989-423-1477.