GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

DETAILS
Date: February 17-20

Observe birds and report your findings. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a free, fun, and easy way to engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird population.
Stay at Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa “Best in Indiana” after you walk the Indiana Dunes. songbirdprairie.com 

Near Chicago, Songbird Prairie is located in Valparaiso, Indiana and is the destination spa in the Great Lakes Region of the Midwest. Songbird Prairie offers a menu of massages, reflexology, botanical body treatments and facials to enhance your health and wellness. With a combined 75 years of experience, our therapists will leave you in a state of complete relaxation. Songbird Prairie’s variety of services offers customized treatments designed to manage stress levels by balancing your nervous system. Songbird Prairie is both private and has serene surroundings located on six acres of woodlands and prairie.
Songbird Spa therapists use the finest quality products, which are botanically based, gentle products proven to provide the ultimate sensual experience. Using essential oils and aromas, we customize spa services adding to your physiological and psychological wellness.

Songbird Spa services will lead you to a blissful state of mind. Our customized massages begin with an aroma sensory journey and include, but are not limited to Swedish, Lomi-lomi, Deep Tissue, Reflexology and Mom2B Massage. Our treatments will relieve tension and stress throughout the body and promote emotional calm, removing toxins from the body, improving sleep and elevating your immune system. Thoroughly trained professionals will consult with each guest to match their health and energy goals with the most beneficial treatment.
From $99.00 Couples massage $198

 Breakfast with the birds
Our made to order omelet is moist and sprinkled with cheese, and served with crispy bacon and home baked biscuit.

 Garnishes very from day lilies to crab apples to all the fresh herbs picked fresh from our garden.

Enjoy breakfast with the birds as you try to name them all
from the tiniest hummingbird to the largest owl or hawk!
Well the turkey vulture is probably the largest but they certainly don't come to the feeders!

Dinner at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

Salmon and Shrimp entree

Enjoy Dinner at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Grilled Salmon and Shrimp with rice and asparagus are sure to please that seafood lover. Or you may be a meat lover,  bacon wrapped filet or macadamia encrusted white fish, whatever you choose for your entrees, our chef will expertly prepare and serve you! Dinner for two  is $150.00 in the comfort of the Inn. No buttoning up your overcoat when the wind is free... We'll take good care of you! 219-759-4274 Then saunter up to your guestroom and relax with couples massage and slip into the whirlpool with thymes bath salts then wrap yoursleves into our comfy robes. We can have a bottle of sparkling beverage waiting for you to celebrate the two of you!  Your chocolate truffles at bedside will satisfy the chocolate lover with smooth fudgy center and candy nest on top. Drift off to sleep and awaken to the smell of Costa Rican special blend of full bodied coffee, sure to please even the most fastidious connoisseur.

MidwestLiving.com writes about Songbird Prairie

Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

174 N. 600 West

Valparaiso Indiana 46385

United States

(219) 759-4274

(877) 766-4273

http://www.songbirdprairie.com

Editor's Review

A woodsy couple's retreat, Songbird Prairie is an elegant Federal-style, all-suite B&B serving a gourmet, garden-fresh breakfast almost too pretty to eat.

Lovebirds like to nest in the luxury suites at Songbird Prairie B&B located an hour from Chicago and 90 minutes from Indianapolis. The romantic inn run by Barbara Rivera and her husband, Efrain, caters to couples seeking a pampered getaway in a quiet country setting. Tucked in the woods, Songbird Prairie's five posh suites (each with fireplace, rain shower and Jacuzzi) promise romantic pillow talk. Barbara greets all guests. Although just 6 miles west of downtown Valparaiso's shops and restaurants, Songbird Prairie seems out in the countryside surrounded by corn fields and forest. Walking paths meander through the inn's 6 wooded acres (bug spray and birding binoculars provided). Weekdays, rooms start at $109 and include a mini-breakfast, making Songbird Prairie a lovely alternative to big-box properties for business travelers flying solo. Weekend rates start at $199 and include a gourmet, multicourse breakfast of Barbara's specialties: glazed poached pear; puffy French toast souffle’ and "Bananas Barbara," a layered sweet version of bananas Foster topped with candied orange peels she makes. Each course served on a still-life work of art composed of seasonal, fresh flowers and leaves Barbara picks from her garden and presses between two glass plates. Guests dine in the second-floor, treetop porch where birds feed next to the windows. An expert birder, Barbara can identify a bird by its chirp even though she's in the Provence-style kitchen cooking for guests as she can hear their peeps and chirps through the microphones that pipe in the sounds. She whips up weekend breakfast for the public, $20, and weekday afternoon tea, $23 (reservations required). Midwestliving.com

Come to see the King of Pop: Popcorn that is!

POPCORN FESTIVAL IN VALPARAISO

September 8^th 2012

Times newspaper readers for the last 13 years have named the “Best Festival of the Region” by far the Popcorn Festival of Valparaiso. Come to see the new statue of the "King of Pop"! Popcorn that is. Who better to salute than a Valparaiso native who became a household name with the Orville Redenbacher brand name of popcorn?

With its beginnings in 1979, now there are over 200 arts & crafts booths, 30 food booths, games, the five-mile Popcorn Panic, and the nation’s First Popcorn Parade are only the beginning of the excitement of this incredible festival.

It all began in 1979, when the idea to bring a festival to the city popped up in the minds of the Valparaiso city leadership. Who better to salute than a Valparaiso native who became a household name with his very own brand of popcorn!

Reserve your two night stay now and receive complimentary popcorn treats. From $199-$249 per night 877-766-4273

http://www.valparaisoevents.com/popcorn%20festival/

Romantic Bluebird Suite

Stay in the romantic Bluebird Suite for your next anniversary, birthday, or any celebration! Order a cheese and cracker tray to await you in your room while you prepare for your couples massage in our spa or in summer in our screened area, then fall into bed to relax or slip into the whirlpool before going to dinner. Or why not order dinner right here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast? You may choose your own selections for a custom tasted dinner. Watch a movie from our extensive collection while enjoying complementary popcorn, Orville's of course. Awaken in the morning to fresh coffee brewing and enjoy your breakfast in the sunroom while you enjoy the antics and operas of our feathered friends. To reserve go to the rooms and rates page on the web site songbirdprairie.com or call 877-766-4273 877SONGBRD

Birders Delight at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

Visit Songbird Prairie and have breakfast watching the orioles drink nectar from oranges and eat grape jelly!

© Gerhard Hofmann

The Baltimore oriole is perhaps the most famous neotropical migratory bird. Its brilliant orange and black plumage is reminiscent of the crest of Lord Baltimore, an important figure in Maryland's history, and the bird has become the mascot of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

Oroile's journey begins in the tropics, from Mexico to northern South America, where Baltimore orioles spend most of the year. Here they inhabit lush, tropical forests and feed on nectar, pollen, fruit, and insects. They especially favor coffee and cacao (the plant that chocolate comes from) plantations where these crops are grown in the traditional manner, the coffee and cacao shrubs flourishing under a shady canopy of natural forest trees.

Pairs of males and females form flocks of about 10 individuals, although sometimes as many as 30 or 40 are in a single flock.  Baltimore orioles are often the most common migratory bird in these agricultural forests except for maybe the warbler family. The birds favor the tops of trees, especially those in the genus Inga, where they forage among the numerous blossoms for nectar and pollen. Orioles have a special tongue, which resembles a brush, for lapping up nectar.

Shade grown coffee plantation, winter habitat of the Baltimore oriole.

By April, most Baltimore orioles have begun the journey north to their breeding grounds in North America, which span most of the eastern United States and into southern Canada. Here they eschew the dense forests that so many other migratory birds favor, instead preferring open forests such as those along rivers and even in city parks.

Their nests are unmistakeable in that females build an unusual grassy hanging nest that is suspended like a sack from the end of a branch. The shape of the nest may help deter predators from eating the eggs or young because the eggs and young are hidden from view and the entrance to the nest is difficult to access. The nest is often built in an elm, sycamore, or cottonwood tree. In the video clip below you can see a nest.

Because these orioles spend much of their time in the tops of trees, they are often heard before they are seen. The male has a lovely warbling song and both males and females utter a variety of chatters and short call notes.

• The female lays 4 to 5 eggs in late spring or early summer and incubates them alone. Then, both the male and the female feed the young. Pairs make only one nesting attempt per year. And by August or early September, most orioles are on their way back to the neotropics.

Sometimes orioles can be enticed to visit our backyards.

Oriole at hummingbird feeder (left), and halved banana (right)

Orioles sometimes visit feeders put out for hummingbirds, and are also attracted to fruit such as bananas and oranges. Visit Songbird Prairie to view these beauties!

http://www.qwiki.com/q/#!/Indigo_Bunting



How would you like to see a fireball of citrus orange and black, the Baltimore oriole next to the breathtaking tropical blue of the male Indigo Bunting? Look no further, come to northwest Indiana to Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast and as you enjoy your three course hot breakfast, you will see the colorful birds serenade and entertain you.

Appearing all black against the light, the male indigo bunting properly lit is an unforgettable sight. A persistent late-season singer, he sings a jingly song comprised of paired notes that are often described as: Fire! Fire! Where! Where! Here! Here! Put it out! Put it out! Much of what we know about celestial navigation in songbirds derives from work with captive buntings at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but you don't have travel far from downtown Chicago to see the Indigo. Just 45 minutes southeast to the country of Valparaiso, IN home of Valparaiso University.

The male indigo bunting is so breathtaking with its tropical blue and silvery bill. The females and immatures are a warm cocoa brown overall. This bunting has a habit of twitching its tail to the side, and its spit note is characteristic. Males change their blue feathers for brown in autumn, which makes for some interestingly mottled specimens. They molt again on the wintering grounds in Central and northern South America and return in spring, blue once more. This species is common on roadsides and disturbed areas there "trashy" vegetation flourishes. Power lines cuts, old fields, landfills, railroads, and hedgerows ring with the songs of indigo buntings, especially as summer reaches its fullest. That is where you will find them right here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast.

The indigo bunting takes insects when they are available, especially to feed its nestlings. Weed seeds are its mainstay, and thistle from the feeders, supplemented by berries and small fruits. It forages on or near the ground, as well as in low shrubs and trees. Watch for them in autumn, bending grass stems and flickering their tails side to side as they forage in weedy patches here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast. Indigo buntings have a rather loose definition of monogamy, with extra pair copulations being frequent. Males visit females in neighboring territories, and females visit males. Males vary in their tendency to feed young. Some are attentive parents where as other leave most of the chick rearing to their mates. The nest is bulky but compact, cup-shaped and constructed of bark strips, grasses and weed stems and skeletonized leaves, all bound with spider webs. It's often low in blackberry, sumac or other brushy vegetation. These birds nest quite late in the season, reflecting their dependence on late maturing weed seeds. Three to four eggs are incubated by the female for about 12 days, and the young leave the nest 8-14 days later. Early in the spring you may see them feasting on dandelion seeds. Later, black oil sunflower seeds and millet mixed prove attractive. They love coneflower, Mexican hat, cosmos, coreopsis and especially foxtail grasses. Come and enjoy the beauty of the indigo bunting here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast.

www.songbirdprairie.com 877-766-4273 219-759-4274

Mom's are special! May Special

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL

IS YOUR MOM A "RED HATTER" OR A "TOOL BELT DIVA?"

Whether she's a "Red Hatter" or a "Tool  Belt Diva", Plan a night reminiscing with Mom at Songbird Prairie Bed  and Breakfast. Remember those breakfasts in bed where you served her  burnt toast and cold tea? Let us serve you both our Three Course Hot  Breakfast in our sunroom where songbirds serenade and entertain.
Stay  at Songbird Prairie with your mom  in the Warbler or Purpefinch suite and make her a  bracelet of hand-blown glass beads and silver-plated metal beads which  are topped off with a touch of rhinestone bling. Bracelet is included in  package with beads of your choice up to $50.00 retail value
Starts  @ $249.00. Children 12 and over welcome. Can't make an overnight? Come  just for Breakfast or Afternoon tea (4 person minimum) Call for  reservations. 877-766-4273  219-759-4274

My favorite sounds at Songbird Prairie

Sauntering down the path, I listened to some of my favorite songbirds singing passionately to attract mates. Scarlet tanagers belting out their rough, two-syllable “chip-burr” notes, and rose-breasted grosbeaks singing sweetly like robins that had taken voice lessons. Black-throated green warblers sang a melodious five-syllable phrase that Bach or Beethoven would have copied, had he ever had the fortune to walk in an American forest. The chorus of yellow warblers, redstarts, towhees, (my favorite-drink-your-tea!) veeries and the incomparably beautiful and flute-like wood thrushes produced the music fitting an entry to a magical setting. And so I entered into my favorite meadow as a yellow throat flittered out of the bushes to grab a mayfly.

I took the shortcut, an overgrown trail now used only by deer. Along the way, like a royal carpet welcoming me, were star flowers, bluet, gay wings, bird’s-foot violets, jack-in-the-pulpits, bleeding hearts and lilies of the valley. I realized, as I paused to enjoy fully the spectacle of these wild and temporal beauties, that I was no longer in a rush to pass them by as I used to be many years back. Over the last 12 years we have enhanced the woods and left several acres “natural”. Come and stroll or sit for awhile at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast in Northwest Indiana. We are located 45 minutes southeast of Chicago near the Dunes National Lakeshore. www.songbirdprairie.com

A baby owl was drinking out of the birdbath. He is as wide as he is tall! Having these beautiful birds is really a Hoot! pun intended! We have another one which is larger and we call him big brother. Come to spend some time here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast, and you may see  a part of nature that you have never witnessed before. 877-766-4273 songbirdprairie.com

Songbird Prairie received two awards yesterday at the R.O.S.E. Awards Banquet held at the Allure Banquet Center in Laporte. The first was "Hotel of the Year", which is recognition of service excellence. Songbird Prairie has won this prestigious award 3 times in the last 12 years since they first started the yearly R.O.S.E. Awards. We at Songbird Prairie strive to give every guest the personal service they deserve, while respecting their privacy during their stay as guests in our home. Fireplaces, Whirlpools, fine linen, and our three course hot breakfast are sure to please even the most discriminating guest. As on site Innkeepers we offer personal concierge service by providing maps and local information to restaurants and attractions. Our 6 1/2 acres backs up to 450 acres of woodland, meadow and farmland. You can hear the moo of an occasional cow through our microphones in the sunroom. One guest wrote in the journal, I think I heard a cow bird? No that was a real cow!

Porter County offers travelers many unique attractions. The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is on the coast of the fifth largest freshwater lake in the world! Beyond the Beach you will discover sites where the rare Karner blue butterflies floats among wild lupine blossoms to ten thousand sandhill cranes gathered during fall migration. From quaint chef owned restaurants to Arboretums and wildlife sanctuaries, Beyond the beach trail is designed for several days of adventure. Come to visit Nature's Masterpiece at the Indiana Dunes and stay at Songbird Prairie where you will "fall in love with nature"

www.songbirdpraire.com 877-766-4273

Is your mom a Red Hatter or a tool belt Diva?

Moms are special
Whether she’s a “Red Hatter” or a “Tool Belt Diva”, Plan a night reminiscing with Mom at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast. Remember those breakfasts in bed where you served her burnt toast and cold tea? Let us serve you both our Three Course Hot Breakfast in our sunroom where songbirds serenade and entertain.

Stay at Songbird Prairie with your mom during the month of May and make her a bracelet of hand-blown glass beads and silver-plated metal beads which are topped off with a touch of rhinestone bling. Bracelet is included in package with beads of your choice up to $50.00 retail value

Starts @ $219.00. Children 12 and over welcome. Can’t make an overnight? Come just for Breakfast or Afternoon tea (4 person minimum) Call for reservations. Special for the Month of May.

www.songbirdprairie.com 877/766/4273 

Choose a bracelet for your mom during the month of May!

Plan a getaway this spring at Songbird Prairie

As I walk our 6 1/2 acre property I am always so joyous to see the first snowdrop breaking through the remaining bits of snow.

I enjoy breathing in the freshness of the spring air. I can feel the sunshine on my face and it makes me smile. The breezes are starting to feel warm and the birds are singing their treetop operas for the wooing of their mates.  I walk by the water and I smell the earth, mossy and humid as the water ripples over the rocks. Oops I stepped to close to the water and my boot is filled in the goo of mud. The suctions keeps it tight. What an adventure! The first few wildflowers are popping through the grass. I call them belly flowers because you have to get down low to see the tiny seedlings. Spring is just a "feel good" time!  

                                         

 I await the daffodils and the apple and plum trees that blossom in the middle to late April. Oh hurry spring. Plan your stay now, the birds will be nesting soon in the boxes and building their nests in the woodlands. Migration brings so many species to the Dunes National Lakeshore. Our property is right in their path. Our property has many Bur, white and Black oaks over 300 years old. Many woodpeckers make them their home. Pileated, Red-bellied, Hairy, Downy, Red-headed, Ladderback, Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are a few that call Songbird Prairie home. Now speaking of prairie, we have many meadow birds which sing as you hike the winding trails of the oak savannah grassland. Don't forget the butterflies fluttering from flower to flower in the garden. They seem to dance in mid-air! It is magical to see them in their natural habitat, which Songbird Prairie is a certified natural habitat. Come and enjoy your time away. 877-766-4273

Visit the Quilt Gardens and stay at Songbird Prairie

Make your reservation now for your stay and plan your trip to visit the quilt gardens. 18 super-sized quilt inspired gardens from May 30 to Oct 1. Songbird Prairie is just a short 45 minute day trip away to Amish country. Why not take along a picnic lunch to enjoy as you stroll the gardens. You won't want to miss even one!

The quilt gardens tour is a free, self-guided tour that takes visitors to 16 locations throughout Elkhart County. Gardens range in size from about 80′ by 80′ and can include more than 80,000 blooms. Along the way you will find 16 large-format murals painted in patch-work quilt designs on the sides of buildings. Get more information on the Quilt Gardens Tour, including directions and maps at quiltgardenstour.com

When you return back to the Inn, you may relax in a Ultra Bain whirlpool with chromotherapy after your day visiting the quilt gardens. This northern Indiana getaway will charm you with their gardens and native prairie also. 



Bring your glass of lemonade and relax while watching and hearing many species of birds and small animals. We provide the binoculars and guide-book. You can just sit back, relax and watch the sun set. www.songbirdprairie.com 877-766-4273

A Better Way to Stay Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

Oct 28, 2010

A Better Way to Stay
A Grassroots Campaign for the B&B Industry

September-October Updates
PAII has coined the phrase “The Better Way to Stay”. This campaign is phenomenal and it is poised to launch with a website dedicated to showing the industry all the components of the campaign.  This temporary site will soon be taken down and BetterWaytoStay.com will become a resource room for innkeepers to learn about the campaign, its supporters and its tools.  Look forward to learning about the launch of this site any day now.  

Many travelers are finding out that B&B’s give such personal service that even the finest hotels are not able to accommodate! The relaxation that comes from staying two or more days at a B&B cannot be matched at a hotel.  Owners of B&B’s care for you like friends, yet give you privacy at the same time.  Many have acreage with places to walk, talk and reconnect. Find your perfect place and make a reservation today. www.songbirdprairie.com 877.766.4273 Read our reviews and find a Better Way to Stay!

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Sandhill Cranes migration and stay at Songbird Prairie

Explore the Jasper Pulaski sandhill preserve where you will see and hear thousands of sandhill cranes. Then return from your adventure to a Whirlpool/Fireplace guestroom where you can review your pictures and videos and upload to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare! Then awaken to your plated three course hot breakfast in the sunroom where you will hear and see songbirds as they entertain and serenade through our outdoor microphones.. Stay two days and visit the nature center at the Dunes National Lakeshore.

 Beyond the Beach Discovery Trail Now is the time! The first official count for the fall sandhill crane migration from DNR is 5,846! Cranes began arriving in September. They will continue to arrive and build to a peak population in late November of 20,000 or more. http://www.beyondthebeachdiscoverytrail.com/BeyondBeach_searchdetail.asp?SiteNumber=50

 

Beyond The Beach

www.beyondthebeachdiscoverytrail.com

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Oprah Winfrey opening Bed & Breakfast in Hawaii

Imagine waking up to Oprah serving you breakfast in Hawaii when she retires! The TV talk show host — whose The Oprah Winfrey Show is in its last season — is renovating a 12-bedroom inn on the island of Maui to become a “low-key, rustic retreat.” Several online tabloids have announced this and unfortunately Oprah hasn’t returned any of my calls so I can not confirm the story. But you can go to this website: http://www.showbizspy.com/article/213445/oprah-winfrey-to-open-bed-and-breakfast.html or maybe you have someone on the inside who will verify the story and can share with us.

From Showbizspy.com

OPRAH Winfrey is reportedly planning to build her own bed and breakfast in Hawaii!

The TV talk show host — whose The Oprah Winfrey Show is in its last season — is renovating a 12-bedroom inn on the island of Maui that will be low-key, rustic retreat.

“Oprah’s planning on having a high-end bed and breakfast for her friends and wealthy customers who like the quiet of the Mai countryside ,” a source told American tabloid the National Enquirer.

“It will be a place for people to rest and reflect.

“Oprah plans to personally play hostess on the ranch when she is on the island.”

Stay at Songbird Prairie and visit these gardens and plant sales this summer

Places to Go and Things to Do Summer 2010

Saturday, May 1

 Native Plant Sale, Wild Ones Garden Club – Gibson Woods, 6201 Parish Ave., Hammond, 219-844-3188

 

LaPorte County Master Gardeners Symposium – 8:30 am- 3 pm, Best Western Hotel, 444 Pine Lake Ave., LaPorte, $28 in advance $33 at door, includes lunch 219-324-9407

 

Rise and Shine Seminar,   8:30 am, $5, Gardens on the Prairie   “A Plant Preview for 2010 and Garden Maintenance. 3242 W. 169^th St. Lowell, IN   219-690-0911

 

Friday, May 7

Spring Bird Migration Hike, 8 am, Wild Ones Garden Club, see over 300 species, registration is required, 6201 Parish Ave, Hammond 219-844-3188

 

Saturday, May 8

Lake County Master Gardeners Plant Sale, 8 am – 2 pm Plants are selected to maximize drought tolerance, disease resistance and deer and slug resistance. Master Gardeners will be on hand, pre-orders picked up. Lake County Fairgrounds, Fine Arts Building, closes at 4 pm, Crown Point, 219-755-3251

 

Lowell Garden Club Plant sale, 9 am – 3 pm, Olde Towne Square Park 219-696-8282 or 219-696-6464   www.lowellgardenclub.com

 

Portage Plant sale 9 am – noon, Woodland Park, Willowcreek Road,   Portage   219-762-1732 or 219-762-0861

 

Wednesday, May 12

Rain Gardens, 7 pm, Master Gardener, Dolly Foster, provides information and tips on how to utilize and set up Rain Gardens, Munster Library, 219-836-8450

 

Saturday, May 15

Miller Plant Sale,   9 am – noon, Miller Beach Home and Lumber Center, 875 Lake St. & Rt. 20, also selling garden books, tools, baked goods and knick knacks, 219-938-6880 www.millergardenclub.net

 

Build an Annual Container Workshop, 8:30 am, $30, Garden on the Prairie, 3242 W. 169^th St., Lowell 219-690-0911    www.gardensontheprairie.com

 

International Friendship Gardens, Opening Day and Plant Sale, Mothers in free all weekend, 2055 U.S. Hwy 12, Michigan City, free admission to plant sale, master gardeners on hand. 219-879-3564 or 219-878-9885   www.friendshipgardens.org  

 

 

 

Tuesday, May 18

New Plants to Try, Central Library, 7 pm, 1919 W. 81^st Ave., Merrillville, sponsored by Lake County Library, Master gardener, Zann Wilson. Pre-register

 

Thursday, May 20

Rose Gardening, 6:30 pm, Master Gardener, Wayne Barnes will talk; meet the 3^rd Thursday of every month at the Highland Branch Library, 2841 Jewett St.  Field trips are planned for June-August, call 219-838-2394

 

Friday, May 21

            Munster Plant Sale 8 am-1 pm, 1101 Oriel Dr., Munster   219-923-1255

 

Saturday, May 22

Rise and Shine Seminar, 8:30 am, $5, “DIY Paver Projects to Enhance your Home and Maintenance” at Garden on the Prairie, 3242 W. 169^th St., Lowell 219-69 0-0911, www.gardensontheprairie.com

 

Friday, May 28

Wildflowers Walks – 9am-2pm, Wild Ones Garden Club, see over 300 species, meet at parking lot kiosk, Gibson Woods, 6201 Parish Ave., Hammond,   219-844-3188

 

Saturday, June 5

Rise and Shine Seminar, “Behind the Scenes of garden Design, Planting & Maintenance”, 8:30 am, $5.00, “DIY Paver Projects to Enhance Your Home & Maintenance”, Gardens on the Prairie, 3242 W. 169^th St., Lowell, 219-690-0911

 

Sunday, June 6

Art in the Garden, $5 per person, Art Fair 10 am – 4 pm, Taltree Arboretum & Gardens, 450 West 100 North, Valparaiso, 219-462-0025, www.taltree.org/events

Wednesday, June 9

Shade Gardening, 7 pm, Master Gardener Daryl Dorton provides information and tips on how to grow a shade garden.  Munster Library  219-836-8450

 

Friday, June 11

Wildflower Walks, 9 am – 2 pm, Wild Ones Garden Club, see over 300 species, meet at parking lot kiosk, Gibson Woods, 6201 Parish Ave, Hammond, 219-844-3188 

 

Tuesday, June 15

Hydrangeas, 7 pm, Central Library, 1919 W. 81^st Ave., Merrillville, sponsored by Lake County Library in cooperation with Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service. Preregister at 219-769-3541 x317  www.lakeco.lib.in.us

 

Thursday, June 17

Lawn Care, 6:30 pm, Master Gardener, Jim Colias will talk about fertilizing, aerating and organic lawns. Highland Branch Library,  2841 Jewette St., meet the 3^rd Thursday of every month. Field trips are planned for June-August so call 219-838-2394.

 

Saturday, June 19

Rise and Shine Seminar, “Reclaiming Water in Landscapes,” 8:30 am, $5, “DIY Paver Projects to  Enhance Your Home and Maintenance”, Gardens on the Prairie, 3242 W. 169^th St., Lowell  219-690-0911

 

Friday & Saturday, June 25, 26

Crown Point Garden Club Garden Walk, Sat – 9am - 4 pm, Sun 12:30 pm – 5 pm, Crown Point, 219-663-0386 or 219 -663-7678

 

Saturday & Sunday, July 10, 11

Lakeside Garden Walk, Saturday, July 10, 11 am – 5 pm. Lakeside, MI, for more info see

 www.thelakesideassociation.org

 

            Lowell garden Walk Sat-9 am – 5 pm and Sun 11 am – 5 pm. Tickets are $8, children under 12 free.  Includes historical museum tour at Homestead Museum.  There are 7 gardens. For more info call 219-696-8282 or 219-696-6464   www.lowellgardenclub.com or  jsmutt@att.net

 

Sunday, Monday & Tuesday, July 11, 12, 13

Day Lily Days, Garden Open, 1:05 pm– 6:35 pm (eastern time), Twin Starz Gardens, 10072 North 650 East, New Carlisle  574-654-9124

Wednesday, July 14

Herb Garden, 7 pm, Master Gardener Karen Hix provides information and tips on how to grow and give herbs as gifts. Munster Library, 219-836-8450

 

Saturday & Sunday, July 17 & 18

Sat., July 17 Porter County Master Gardeners Garden Walk, 9am – 4 pmmaster gardeners will be on hand at each location to explain plantings. For more info www.pcgarden.info  219-465-3555 x26

 

Miller Garden Walk,  Sat & Sun 10 am – 3 pm both days, $8 in advance, $9 at the door, featuring 6 gardens.  Shuttle busses from the Aquatatorium at the National Lakeshore Park.  10 am – 3 pm, box lunches available at Miller Bakery Café, tickets at Ayres Realtors at 646 S. Lake St., combines with Miller Art Fair Miller Beach in Gary, IN  219093806880  www.millergardenclub.net

 

July 18-24

            LaPorte County Fair, LaPorte, IN

 

Heirloom Kitchen Garden, Master Gardeners plant and display a Heirloom Garden at Pioneer Land during the LaPorte County Fair.  219-324-9407

 

Tuesday, July 20

            Attracting Hummingbirds, Central Library, 7 pm, 1919 West 81^st Ave., Merrillville, IN, sponsored by Lake county Library in cooperation with Purdue University Cooperative Extenstion Service. Pre-register at 219-769-3541 x 317,  www.lakeco.lib.in.us

 

July 22 – August 1

            Porter County Fair, Valparaiso, IN

 

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, July 23, 24, 25

Living Watercolours Pond Tour, Fri 8-10pm, Sat 10 am – 5 pm, Sun noon – 5pm.  Visit 12 ponds and gardens in Northwest Indiana and Illinois Southern Suburbs.  www.illianagardenpond.org or

219-663-2365

 

August 6 – 15

            Lake County Fair, Crown Point, IN

 

 

 

 

Sunday, August 8

August Tea, Classic high tea, classic music. Gardens benefit, $25, International Friendship Gardens, 2055 U.S. Highway 12, Michigan City  219-870-3564 or 219-879-9885  www.friendshipgardens.org         

 

Monday, September 13

Plant Swap, bring your perennials and take perennials, 10 am Lake County Parks Greenhouse, 8305 Randolph St.,  Hobart    219-947-1958 or 219-769-PARK

 

TBA

 

Mid June  Whiting in Bloom, please call for dates 1-4pm, 6 homes, advance tickets $10, day of tour $12.  Tickets available at corner of 119^th & Calumet Ave., sponsored by Arts Alive   219-659-0292

 

Annual Fall Plant Sale, Portage Garden Club, 9 am – noon, Walgreen’s on Central Ave.,  Portage  219-762-1732 or 219-762-0861

 

 

Songbird Prairie says if the early-bird gets the worm, then the guest who plans ahead enjoys the hot deal!

Mother DaughterSpecial

Moms are special
Whether she’s a “Red Hatter” or a “Tool Belt Diva”, Plan a night reminiscing with Mom at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast. Remember those breakfasts in bed where you served her burnt toast and cold tea? Let us serve you both our Three Course Hot Breakfast in our sunroom where songbirds serenade and entertain.

Stay at Songbird Prairie with your mom during the month of May and make her a bracelet of hand-blown glass beads and silver-plated metal beads which are topped off with a touch of rhinestone bling. Bracelet is included ($17.50 value) in package with beads of your choice up to $50.00 retail value

Starts @ $219.00. Children 12 and over welcome. Can’t make an overnight? Come just for Breakfast or Afternoon tea (4 person minimum) Call for reservations.  Special for the Month of May.

www.songbirdprairie.com 877/766/4273 

 

 

Memorial Day Special

Make an early-bird reservation for Memorial Day Weekend and get a hot deal!! At Songbird Prairie the early-bird gets the worm !

Stay 2 nights in a luxurious whirlpool/fireplace suite and get the 3rd night 1/2 price or a certificate for a future free night's stay call 877.766.4273 www.songbirdprairie.com