The Doehne Wildflower Meadow: Blaze Before Blooms Tucked between the spruce-topped hills and wooded outcroppings of the Sculpture Park lies the Doehne Wildflower Meadow, named in honor of Harry and Elin Doehne. This diverse planting, about three-quarters of an acre, features a mixture of native Michigan grasses and wildflowers and is home to Scarlatti, a sculpture by Mark di Suvero. Harry and Elin Doehne were wildflower farmers, interested in preserving part of Michigan’s natural heritage by growing and distributing seeds of native wildflowers that would have been found here prior to the arrival of European settlers. The Doehnes’ shared passion for these plants started in 1987, when Elin attended a wildflower conference at Michigan State University. There she learned the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) needed a source of native Michigan wildflower seed for the many highway and freeway projects around the state. The Doehnes lived on a 100-acre strawberry farm in Portland and, in 1988, dedicated several acres to wildflower production. Their Michigan Wildflower Farm had begun.
To view a video of our most recent controlled burn visit bit.ly/FMGburn.
The Doehne Wildflower Meadow was installed almost 20 years ago, in fall 2002, a primary feature of the Sculpture Park that opened this same year. The original planting included several types of coneflowers, black-eyed Susan, spiderwort, coreopsis, white wild indigo, asters, butterfly weed, little bluestem, rattlesnake master, and prairie dropseed as well as several other native grasses and forbs, or broadleaf perennials. Most plants were started from seed. Small plants called “plugs” were planted around the perimeter of the meadow and included those species that did not germinate as easily from seed. In total, over 35 unique plant varieties may now be observed in this diverse space, along with the abundance of wildlife this meadow supports—birds, caterpillars, butterflies, moths, bees, rabbits and more. 14
Content Horticulture
John VanderHaagen
