Carolyn Thayer is a local landscape design business owner focuses on native plants. She will speak on Creating a Rain Garden with Native Plants at the March 5 meeting of the Master Gardener Association of Northwest Michigan. The meeting will be held at the Boardman River Nature Center, 1450 Cass Road. Refreshments will be served at 6 p.m. and the program will start at 6:30 p.m.

Carolyn Thayer has a Landscape Architecture degree from Michigan State University and is the owner of Designs in Bloom in Frankfort, Michigan. Thayer has been designing landscapes for over 20 years. Over time her practice has developed to focus on Michigan native pants, shoreline stewardship, and rain gardens. Her experience includes projects on both public and private lands. She is a founding member and past President of Plant It Wild and a Certified Shoreline Professional. When not designing in winter, you can find Thayer at Crystal Mountain teaching skiing.

“We’re are excited to hear Carolyn Thayer speak to us on how to construct a garden to collect rainwater and filter it back in to the environment,” says Michele Worden, President of the Master Gardener Association of Northwest Michigan. “Rain gardens are an essential tool in managing stormwater runoff, and using native plants is a beautiful and environmentally sound method.”