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Looking to spruce up your garden or your yard? Two area communities have plant sales this weekend!

Cedar's Perennial Plant Sale is Saturday, May 25 from 9 AM - 3 PM. Hundreds of perennial and wildflower plants are ready for planting in your garden. Beautify your home with plants that attract butterflies and birds. Prices start at $2.00 with over 500 plants and 50 varieties. This is their major fundraiser of the year to support 265 days per year of free, educational, healthy and intergenerational fun.

The Annual Plant Sale on the Village Green in Leland is on tap for Memorial Day Weekend as well! Now is your chance to purchase native ferns, trillium, and more along with a selection of native trees and shrubs provided by locally owned Four Season Nursery, who will be on hand to answer questions about going native.

Sale runs Friday, May 24th and Saturday May 25th; hours 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. All proceeds help maintain the Village Green and assist with other Conservancy projects. The Wildflower Rescue Committee continually seeks new sites on which to dig. If you are building a home, driveway, addition, or know of someone who is, please contact the WRC so they may have a chance to remove these precious wildflowers before the excavators arrive! Contact Patty Shea: 256-9249 or Joanie Woods: 256-7154.

Photo credit: 20090429_0107_copy(Blood Root) by jsorbieus

Ken Scott shot this photo of Plant Masters of Suttons Bay getting ready for the holidays. Many of these go to organizations in Leelanau who use them as a fundraiser - did you get yours?

Lots more in Ken's Suttons Bay slideshow.

The TC Ticker reports that a fifth-generation of the Carlson family has purchased Fishtown's anchor business, Carlson's Fisheries.

Sources tell The Ticker that Bill Carlson, who has operated the historic fishery in Fishtown since the late 1960s, and his wife, Jennifer, have sold Fishtown's flagship – Carlson's fishery – to Bill’s nephew, Nels Carlson, and his business partner Joe Campo.

The new enterprise will continue to operate out of the iconic fishery shanty. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Fishtown has had continual commercial fishing activity since the second half of the 19th century… and the Carlsons have been an ongoing part of this history in Leland since 1905, when they built a shanty on the north side of the river,” says Amanda Holmes, executive director of the Fishtown Preservation Society (FPS), a nonprofit organization which took over ownership of the historic fishing village in 2006 to preserve its heritage.

Holmes says the sale sets an “optimistic tone” for the future. “We do not want to think about what it would mean if this sale had not gone through, except to say that those who have been involved in Fishtown over the years have had to adjust and adapt – and Fishtown has survived,” Holmes says.

Read on at the Ticker for more including a photo of the Carlsons at the purchase. Photo credit: carlson's fisheres by oldbrushes.

Here's a short video of the crew at Carlson's cleaning a mess of whitefish (fish guts warning!) that includes Bill Carlson and (I'm pretty sure) Nels as the first guy on the left.

Volunteers for Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear will make their fourth trek to North Manitou Island this Friday, August 17th to spend 10 days working on the Katie Shepard Hotel on “Cottage Row”. The goal is to restore the hotel for use once again as a boarding house for overnight- rustic accommodations.

Volunteers must sign up for a minimum of two nights, three days work. Space is limited and registration is required. Click here for all the details!

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore page on North Manitou Island Village explains that the Katie Shepard Hotel aka “The Beeches” was built in 1895 for Mrs. William Shepard for their daughter Katherine, who was popularly known on the island as “Miss Katie.” She opened the house as a hotel known as The Beeches around the time the Newhalls began logging around 1908 when they discontinued meal service at the dining hall at the northern end of Cottage Row.

Miss Katie operated the hotel and dining room until poor health forced her to discontinue the business in the early 1930s.

Irises are in bloom all over Leelanau, so we thought it was a great time to dust of this feature on the Centennial Iris Farm on M-72 by Cherie Spaulding!

Heading west toward Empire in mid-June, it is easy to see how the iris flower was named for the Greek goddesss of rainbows; and it would be no mystery to imagine what possessed Vincent van Gogh to lug his easel into the field, in his attempt to capture this exotic flower's beauty. Atop undulating hills busied by a bold palette of blooms, the Iris Farm on M-72 adds color and life to Leelanau's rich agrarian landscape.

In the midst of bloom, the sea of iris rarely goes unnoticed, but the land itself may be overlooked. This sandy, gravel soil upon which William Black's family settled has survived decades of growing. Seventeen years ago, this fifth generation Leelanau farmer decided to no longer fight against the elements, and instead choose to embrace the offerings of his land. The family noticed that the iris plants blooming around the farm thrived...and an idea began to grow.

The iris flower appeared well suited for Black's land. The family decided to convert their fruit land to flowers. Over the nearly two decades since, the farm has become home to over 700 different iris and 300 day lily varieties--plants that thrive in sandy soil conditions. Of course, the flowers attract more than bees, and a wide-range of visitors tromp the fields regularly. The farm caters to several distinct groups, including, gardeners searching for specialized blooms, painters and photographers; customers seeking cut flowers and even tour bus groups. Visitors are able to see a stunning array of showy flowers in a wide spectrum of colors; all can observe iris blooms to purchase and plant in their gardens at home.

While it is true that in peak season, the Iris Farm stands as a sort of feast for the eyes--a delicious rainbow of petals, meandering along the hillside--long after the colors fade ideas continue to blossom. To find such an abundance of plant varietals, the family spends some of the winter months traveling the country, attending conventions and seeking new hybrids for their unusual colors and qualities. The Farm acquires breeds from destinations as far off as Australia. One highlight of their farm this season is the 24 varieties of black irises, sought for both their elusive beauty, velvety touch and rich fragrance. The iris hybrid varieties extend into the thousands; Black said that determining a favorite is not an easy decision. "I feel like a kid in a candy store," he admitted.

When I asked Mr. Black what aspect of iris farming he enjoyed the most, he shared that part of the benefit to living in Leelanau County is the richness and beauty of the outdoors. Though growing flowers can be labor intensive, working in the fresh air, under an open sky, is one of the perks. And personally, I think "being outdoors" is a job benefit one cannot easily quantify.

The irises will be in bloom by mid-June and the lily season continues in mid-July. Do not miss the chance to explore the farm for yourself. The Iris Farm is located at 5385 E Traverse Hwy, Traverse City, MI 49684. The phone contact is 231-947-9040.

Photoa: "Iris Farm (check it out bigger!) and Mr. Sun by Andrew McFarlane

Here's a new background for you to help you keep up with the crazy March weather! Just click to download from Flickr.

More backgrounds from Leelanau.com! (also see our Backgrounds page)

Here's a great video by Andrea Maio with naturalist Susan Fawcett about the work of SEEDS Youth Conservation Corps this summer on South Manitou Island. The Youth Conservation Corps is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s New Deal and works to help them build "green collar" job skills.

You an also see a video of their work on barn preservation on the Island.

SEEDS Youth Corps/South Manitou Island from andrea claire maio on Vimeo.

Let me be the first to say "I doubt it," but in anticipation of a new burst of energy here, I'm rolling out a fresh post to replace the Turning the Page on Sugar Loaf post with its nearly 400 comments.

This week's Leelanau Enterprise reports that Sugar Loaf owner Kate Wickstrom met with Glen Dempsey, head of the Leelanau County Construction Authority. Dempsey intends to work with Wickstrom towards bringing the long-shuttered resort into compliance with county building codes.

Probably the highlight of the article - other than confirmation that Wickstrom now intends to sell the property - is Cleveland Township supervisor Rick Stein's statement to the township board that Sugar Loaf stands a "pretty good chance of being condemned if things don't happen there pretty quickly."

Thoughts? Comments? Post them below!

The photo is by Karl Kitchen and was posted to the Friends of Sugar Loaf Facebook group.

While I think the headline New Hope for Sugar Loaf? has been used two or twenty times before, this story from last week's Ticker has some positive news. They report:

The Leelanau County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (LCBRA) recently made a small but meaningful move in the hiring of AKT Peerless. The Saginaw-based consulting firm’s mission: to market and make use of a $1 million dollar revolving loan fund granted to LCBRA by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Roughly 80 percent of the fund would be available to developers to help with up-front and long-term environmental clean-up costs in the county, a tantalizing incentive LCBRA hopes will make redeveloping the resort more attractive to potential developers.

But what exactly needs to be cleaned up? And how much will it cost?

Leelanau County Planning Director Trudy Galla tells The Ticker that the project wouldn’t be easy – or cheap: “The buildings are falling into disrepair … There are issues with mold, water intrusion and a bit of asbestos. There was also a septic backup in one of the buildings. It looks like the Tennis Barn will need to come down, and there are old underground storage tanks that need to be removed.”

Photo by Karl Kitchen from the Friends of Sugar Loaf group on Facebook - see more of the condition of the resort in his Sugar Loaf - April 2010 Album on Facebook!

TV 9&10 News has a great video feature on Leelanau County's various fruit crops where they talk with strawberry farmer Steve Bardenhagen, MSU Hort Station Coordinator Nikki Rothwell and others about the state of the fruit crops.

While farmers (and honeybees) struggled through a cold wet spring, no hard frost was a plus. It sounds like we'll have strawberry shortcake for the 4th and everyone is pulling for the hot temps from recent days to continue!

Photo credit: A Bloomin' Good Time! by Trish P. - K1000 Gal