Hidden Lake Gardens

Mom and I took to the road again. Mom's friend Sue joined us on this expedition to Michigan, where we spent two days touring several gardens that I'd not seen before, as well as a garden center I'd wanted to visit for quite some time.

Our first stop was at Hidden Lakes Gardens, near Tipton, Michigan, and part of Michigan State University, although it's located 40 miles from the school. The Gardens are in a very rural setting, which is key to their beauty. As the name suggests, there is a lake and a small pond and some of those rolling hills that we flatlanders find so appealing.

The Pond

Originally purchased in 1926 by Adrian businessman, Harry Fee, it was Mr. Fee's dream to own property with a lake. Some time after the acquisition of the property, he constructed a road around the lake and landscaped the property to enhance the beautiful views. He later opened it to the public so they could enjoy it too, and donated it to Michigan State University in 1945, wanting the property to also be used also for educational purposes.

Swans on Hidden Lake

The original 200 acres has grown to over 750, which now includes a 250-acre arboretum. Located within the arboretum is a collection of over 300 dwarf and rare conifers, donated to the gardens by Justin Harper, from his personal collection in E. Moline, Illinois, in 1981.

Abies koreana 'Blue Cones'

Native Plants Garden

A conservatory was built in 1961 and houses a collection of houseplants and other non-native exotic plants. There are three rooms in the conservatory: Temperate, Arid and Tropical.

Clivia miniata

Bougainvillea behind sculpture


Scuttellaria costaricana

Blooms on Cocoa Tree (Theobroma cacao)

The bonsai collection is just outside the conservatory and was acquired through a series of donations.



The perennial gardens are official All-America Selections Display Gardens near the visitor's center and are located on a hill overlooking the pond.

Lysimachia punctata 'Alexander'

Yarrow (Achillea)

Hosta Hillside was originally Mr. Fee's rock garden, which overlooks Hidden Lake and contains over 800 hosta varieties. It was designated an Official American Hosta Society Display Garden in 1995, only the second garden in the nation to receive the distinction.

Mom and Sue stroll through the hostas on Hosta Hillside



Hosta Hillside overlooks Hidden Lake


Mom and Sue enjoy some wild raspberries, growing in the woods across from Hosta Hillside

As we were driving through the grounds on our way out, these Great Spangled Fritillaries caught our eye and I stopped the van to take their picture. I don't know if the butterflies enhanced the beauty of the flowers or the other way around.

Great Spangled Fritillary on Asclepias tuberosa

Next: Michigan State University in East Lansing.

Pass the Peas, Please

I've been picking peas for about a week. This year is the first we've grown peas in quite some time. In fact, I remember very distinctly the last time we grew peas.

We were sitting on the deck out back, and I was shelling peas and talking about what my next car would be. I had always wanted a Volkswagen Beetle but they stopped selling them in the US in 1977. Then for the 1998 model year, they redesigned it and started selling them in the US again. I liked the New Beetle as well as the old classic style.

I was shelling away - it takes an insanely large amount of pea pods to produce an insanely small number of peas - and I jokingly said to Romie, "Hey! I know what you can get me for our anniversary next year! A New Beetle!" He didn't roll his eyes or make some sarcastic remark, he just said, "What color would you want?" We would be celebrating our 25th and I was hoping for a silver Beetle.

At that time, you had to put your name on a waiting list along with a $250 deposit (to show you were serious, I guess) and your car requirements (silver, automatic transmission, leather seats, sun roof, CD player). With silver being the second most requested color (yellow was number one), we were told it could be a year or more before they were able to get one with my specifications. Back then, they were a hot item.

Waiting that long was fine, because I didn't have to have a car right away. But it was just a few short months and my car was here. We picked it up on 9-9-99 and it was an early anniversary present, since our 25th wasn't until August 1, 2000.

And that leads us back to the peas...

When I planted them this spring, it made me remember that last time we grew them and how I got my car - ten years ago. That's a long time to not grow peas and the longest we've ever had any one car. The Beetle is doing fine and I plan to drive it for many more years.

We plan to grow peas for many more years, too. I'd forgotten just how good fresh peas from the garden really are.

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Interesting fact about peas: Peas are one of those cool plants that returns nitrogen to the soil (called nitrogen fixation). They have nodules on their roots that contain bacteria that converts the nitrogen in the air into organic nitrogen in the soil. Beans do this, too.