Master Gardener Society of Oakland County, MI

Bowers Farm

This is your background information about the farm and volunteering at the farm from Team leader— Wayne Lapinski,  wayne@mgsoc.org

Bowers Farm is located on Square Lake Road between Adams and Squirrel Roads in Bloomfield Hills Township. The 94 acre farm was donated to the Bloomfield Hill School District and since it is school property no smoking or drinking is allowed on the premises. In addition, no herbicides, insecticides or pesticides are to be used on the communal, vegetable or perennial gardens. The emphasis of the farm is educational activities for all age groups, group tours and 4-H clubs. The property make up includes: a 100 year old red barn, caretaker cottage, Barton Farm House, log cabin built in 2009 by the Historical Society, 80 community garden plots (25’ by 25’), storage facilities for farming equipment, horse barn with accommodations for riding equipment, duck pen, chicken & turkey pen, birthing building, rabbit hutches, feeding corral for sheep, goats and lamas, horse corral for feeding, grazing pasture, large pond, Gazebo, 5 acre corn maze, large vegetable garden whose produce is sold via a farmers market atmosphere in the lower parking lot, staff & classroom building, perennial gardens and many farm animals. A new entrance to the farm was completed the summer of 2009 on Square Lake Road giving additional parking spots at the lower parking level while the upper parking lot still maintains designated parking spots.

The Bower Farm Gardens opens the third Saturday in April and is usually tied in with the first of two ‘Open Barn’ weekends which signals the start of a new season. The first Saturday in November end the season and the gardens are closed the remainder of the year.

You do not have to be a Master Gardener to garden at Bowers Farm. Volunteers can garden Monday through Saturday from dawn to dusk, no Sundays or Holiday weekends. Rain cancels the work days. Group work day announcements are made via the ‘Oakland Gardener’ published on Thursdays (Carole’s list) evey week. Work time slot, designated activities and a list of suggested tools to bring are included. Other means of communication is through ‘Roots & Shoots’ a monthly publication by the MGSOOC, the society website (www.MGSOC.org) and sometimes group emails will be sent out by myself if a special event is taking place. Saturdays and Wednesdays I am available. You may come out then or on your own during the week day or evening whatever works best for you. Wear your name badge so the farm staff knows you belong. Each person is required to keep track of their own hours (time you arrive to the time you leave). Dress attire should be in layers, work boots, gloves, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent, snacks and most important water. Week day volunteers are needed to water the gardens when rain is not in the forecast. You can email me for suggestions regarding what to do on the days that I am not available.

There are 18 perennial gardens and 4 Plant A Row (PAR) gardens. A wide variety of trees, shrubs and perennial plants makes for a restful setting. Two benches for contemplation and winding wood chip paths around the gardens give a peaceful serenity. The emphasis on Heritage Plants helps to convey the Historical nature of the site. All gardens have posted sign naming that particular garden such as: Hardy, Herb, Fragrance, Sensory, Rain, Shade, Hummingbird, Drought, Butterfly/Bird, Time/Thyme, Rose and Companion etc. All vegetables harvested from the PAR gardens are donated to a local food bank for distribution to the needy. This past summer 403# were given to ‘Open Door Outreach Center Inc’ on Cooley Lake Road in Waterford, Michigan. Items raised were Squash(Butternut, Spaghetti, Bush, Yellow, Hubbard), Zucchini, Onions, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Melons, Green Peppers and Egg Plant.

Garden Maintenance includes: keeping the perennials free from weeds, trimming foliage as needed, maintaining shrubs shape i.e. round, cylindrical etc, deadheading to keep the gardens looking fresh, mulching paths with wood chips to keep the weeds down, mulching the gardens with compost, replacing dead, dying or diseased plants/shrubs, identifying all items in each garden with name tags Latin name first followed by common name, staking plants to maintain path clearance, adding native plants wherever possible, dividing and transplanting when and where appropriate. PAR gardens requires more diligence since Spring preparation is required as well as planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, delivering and then putting the gardens to rest for Winter. Crops must be rotated and yields calculated at seasons end. Fall means Spring bulb planting, bulb removal for winter storage i.e. Canna and preparing all the gardens for winter.

Watering the gardens is time consuming since the system is varied. The in ground sprinkler system is only in place for the Hardy and Butterfly/Bird gardens. The rest of the gardens are not irrigated. The red handled pump located at the front of the Gazebo garden is available for obtaining water. To operate, lift the handle to start and pull down to stop the water. The curled hose next to the pump can reach the remaining gardens the nozzle is adjustable for fine spray is required. A water spigot is located to the right of the staff/classroom front door.

Wheelbarrows can be found in the ‘wheelbarrow corral’ go up and across the ramp, past the horse corral and barn then turn right. The restrooms will be on your left, continue straight towards the storage barn, the corral is just to the left. Please return wheelbarrow back to the corral when finished and either turn them up side down or on their side so rain water does not accumulate in them.

The compost bins are located next to the horse corral. The first bin is for wood chips, the second is for compost and the third is for items to compost. All shrub/tree trimmings, large stalks and woody materials stack to the right of the third bin.

The purpose of the Bowers Farm Garden Team is to support, reflect and enhance the educational mission of the farm by maintaining our designated garden areas, assist at ‘Open Barn’ activities as needed and promote the Master Gardener program.

Look beyond the obvious weeding, watering and pruning. There are opportunities available for anyone, anytime, no matter what your schedule or physical condition. Please join us as your availability permits, we have lot’s of fun, make new friends and learn from each other.