April Millsap Memorial Garden
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Dedicated July 13, 2015






Location

The garden is located a 1/2 mile South of Main Street in the Village of Armada. It is at the corner of Fulton and Depot Roads. It is also alongside the Macomb Orchard Trail, located in Macomb County, MI.

Use 73192 Fulton St, Armada, MI 48005 for GPS directions to get you close to the garden.
North Avenue becomes Fulton Street upon entering Armada.

Parking is close and convenient. Three spots are on the North side of the garden, along Depot Road. Several other spots are available just West of the garden, across Fulton Street, alongside the trail.

A Healing Garden


The April Millsap Memorial Garden is a place for everyone to visit, heal and enjoy. It was designed to reflect April's personality and her love of butterflies and flowering plants. The arbor invites you onto the stone and flower lined path where you can rest, reflect for a moment and enjoy the garden.

The garden was created for the healing process of April's family, friends, residents of the Village and Township of Armada and the community whose hearts have been touched by one of Armada's Angels. Additional items were worked into the design to provide a respite for those who use the trail to walk, run and bike.

Whatever your reason for visiting us, you will come to know April and our town.

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Mark Hackel, Macomb County Executive Photo credit: Anne Nicolazzo; click for more pics
Photo Story:  April's mother, Jennifer and April's boyfriend, Austin each released butterflies at the dedication. Austin's flew directly to the hand of Mark Hackle's niece. We knew April was with us that special day and was saying thank you to Mr. Hackel for his assistance with the garden.

The Bell

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During your visit, you are invited to ring the bell in remembrance of April. Go ahead and give the rope a pull. April's mother lives nearby and will hear.


The Little Library




April loved to read and write, especially poetry. A journal placed in the library allows you to read one of her poems, as well as leave a note for all to enjoy. April's mother, Jennifer, visits and enjoys reading notes left in the journal. We hope that you enjoy the books in the Little Library. Sit and read in the garden. If you would like, take a book home with you. Leave a book for children or adults on your next visit for someone else to enjoy.
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Making it happen

Under the direction of Advanced Master Gardener and Landscape Designer, Julie Risch, hundreds of people and businesses came together to make this garden a reality. Macomb County Executive, Mark Hackel, provided final approval and his team provided support throughout the project. After 10 months of planning, the initial installation took two days with more than 500 volunteer hours.

Not Just For Humans

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The garden was designed with drought tolerant plants, as well as native plants to attract a variety of pollinators.

The garden is certified as Wildlife Habitat #191186 through the National Wildlife Federation..

The garden is Monarch Waystation #10946 through Monarch Watch.


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The Million Pollinator Garden Challenge (MPGC), is the Network’s new campaign to register a million public and private gardens and landscapes to support pollinators. The diverse groups behind the campaign understand and agree that pollinators including honey bees, bumblebees, other native bees, butterflies, and others face complex threats. Some including the iconic migrant Monarch butterfly have steeply declined. More nectar and pollen sources provided by flowering plants and trees will help improve their health and numbers. Increasing the number of pollinator-friendly gardens and landscapes will support the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators across the country.


Keeping Michigan Beautiful
President's Plaque

 10/16/2015
A core group of garden volunteers went to the Keeping Michigan Beautiful awards ceremony in Frankenmuth, MI.  April's Garden received the highest score of all applicants, beating out multi-million dollar commercial projects! The garden received the President's Plaque. Garden Coordinator, Julie Risch, shared April's story with the attendees of the KMB Annual Conference. So many hearts were touched.
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Project Coordinator Julie Risch (L) and Jennifer Millsap (R) receive the President's Plaque from Keeping Michigan Beautiful President, James Keehan
The next day, before we planted 800 bulbs in the garden, April's mother, Jennifer shared the plaque with her father, Dennis - April's grandfather.
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Every step of the way, April has provided us with signs that she was with us. Today was no exception. On the ride up to Frankenmuth, spanning across I-69, was the brightest rainbow we have ever seen!
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D & E Landscaping, Richmond

Generously donated their services to water the garden TWICE a week, as well as fill our water tank
Thank you for this generous donation that has allowed the garden to flourish!
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Thank you D&E Landscaping for watering our garden ALL season!
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Donors

Through the generosity of many individuals and businesses who donated in kind labor, plants, money and many items, this garden became a reality. We cannot thank everyone enough.There were quite a number of nurseries and garden centers that donated all the plant material, please, patronize the businesses who supported April's garden. When you stop by, be sure to thank them for their support, too! Donors are listed below:

 Two of our donors, in particular, stood out with their extremely generous plant material donations.
We are humbled by your generosity! They are:
Thank YOU, River Street Flowerland of Kalamazoo for donating the plants for the Butterfly Gardens!
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Hardscape items

Custom Sign & Bench
Emmie Die & Engineering, Brown City
Aqua Systems Corporation, Brown City
MIT Powder Coating, Kent City

Benches
Ryan Boyd, Lenox

Chris Boyd, Lenox
Rob Anargyros, Lenox
Lowes


White Arbor
The Albertson Family, Riley
Lowes #1121, Grandville

Dog Statue
Sherry Eckhardt, Romeo

Lynn Siudym, Emmet

Birdhouses
Julie Risch, Kalamazoo,

Julie Shanks, Armada

Bell & Post
Jean Risch, Dryden
The Steel Shop, Chesterfield

Bike Rack
The Bike Depot, Roseville

Mulch
Dossin’s Landscaping, Armada

Cedar Arbor
Richard & Libby Dwyer, Oakland

Granite Marker
Darci Fennel, Macomb

Bike Repair Station
Richard Hardy, Armada

Field Stone
Mr. & Mrs. Hicks, Armada

Little Library
Kara Keinz, Algonac

Cat Statue
Jennifer Millsap, Armada

Concrete Benches
Tammy Zuniga, Grand Blanc

Others:

Julie Risch—Project Coordinator
Julie DePoorter—Donations Coordinator
Jennifer Millsap—Donations Assistant
Jean Persely—Media/Fundraiser Coordinator


UAW:

Local 2280—Utica
Local 228—Sterling Heights
Local 400—Utica

Thank you to so many people who generously gave of their time, talent and treasures to make this garden come to life! If we missed your name, know that it is an oversight, and we are truly grateful to you.
Thank YOU to Marine City Nursery in East China for donating all the shrubs in the garden! Weigela, Forsythia, and Hydrangeas will all bloom beautifully in April's Garden!
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Plants

Altermatt Farms, Macomb

American Tree H&G, Almont

Blake’s Farms, Almont

Bordine’s Nursery, Rochester

Brohl’s Flower Garden, Almont

Diegel’s Greenhouse, Shelby Twp

DTE Energy

Elya’s Village Gardens & Greenhouses, Macomb

Goike’s Gardens, Bruce

Haacks Farm Greenhouse, Columbus

Hessel’s Greenhouse, Shelby Twp

Julie’s Floral Design, Washington

Jusko’s Greenhouse, Richmond

Landscape Source, Macomb

Lynea Roszczewski, Armada

Marine City Nursery, East China

Meldrum Brother’s Nursery, New Baltimore

Joe Randazzo’s Nursery, Macomb

River Street Flowerland, Kalamazoo

Telly’s Greenhouse, Shelby Twp

Uhlianuks Greenhouses, Armada

Van Thommes Greenhouse, Chesterfield

Van’s Valley Farm Market, Washington

Wade Nursery, Macomb

Ray Weigend’s Nursery, Macomb

Supplies & Misc

Armada Area Chamber, Meals, Water
Armada Printwear, Armada, T-shirts
Blue Water Trucking, Romeo, Water
EMP Manufacturing, Chesterfield, Security Bolts
ESP Design Studio, Chesterfield, Garden Logo Design
Family Farm and Home, Richmond, Fertilizer
Foster Blue Water Oil, Richmond, Timbers 

Lumberjack St. Clair, Concrete, Lumber, Concrete Sleeves
Macomb County Roads Dept, Soil
Macomb County Master Gardener Association, Grant
Main’s Landscape Supply, Southfield, Concrete, Fabric, Edging
Pot O Gold, Macomb, Porta-john
Vinckier Foods, Armada, Cake, Water
Ray Wiegand’s Nursery, Macomb, Butterflies



Garden Ambassadors

We commend all of our partners and volunteers who went above and beyond. They are our Garden Ambassadors:

Rachel Lisecki (Macomb County Planning & Economic Development)

Rachel guided us through the regulations and ordinances which can be challenging to a design. She assisted us in developing a design that would comply with regulations.  Understanding our vision, Rachel assisted us with design revisions.  Rachel embodies what it means to be a public servant.

Barb Pert-Templeton (Macomb Daily)

Barb was first to share our story.   Since then, she has provided the community with updates through this journey. Barb’s journalistic professionalism during her on-going coverage of the garden is truly appreciated.

Ryan Boyd

Ryan has long been a support to Jennifer. With his cheerful demeanor and can-do attitude, he was eager to jump in and help with many tasks, digging and installing posts, obtaining equipment, building benches and bringing extra hands to work.

Rich Hardy and Sondra VanCamp

Rich and Sondra are friends and neighbors of Jennifer.  Helping out however they can, they exemplify the Spirit of Armada’s small town community.  During installation of the garden, they were on hand to work.  This meant that they were back and forth between customers at each of their businesses – Armada Armory and Armada Groom and Board.  Rich and Sondra made sure the volunteers were fed and watered, with the support of the Armada Area Chamber of Commerce.

Austin Albertson and the Albertson Family

Austin and his family have not only rolled up their sleeves during the garden installation, but have generously supported the garden by sponsoring the National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat signage, the Monarch Waystation signage, as well as the beautiful white arbor.

Macomb County (Executive’s Office - Mark Hackle, Albert Lorenzo, John Paul Rea, John Cwikla) (John Crumm, Roads Dept)

Macomb County (Executive’s Office - Mark Hackle, Albert Lorenzo, John Paul Rea, John Cwikla) (John Crumm, Roads Dept)– Through compassion driven leadership of the County Executive’s office, the community has come together to create this garden.  Our first meeting was to determine if the garden was plausible.  From that point on, their commitment to the success of the garden and flexibility in their oversight was paramount.  Their ability to collaborate with agencies, to come to a consensus among disparaging organizations, to remove barriers to meet everyone’s needs, as well as their ability to balance requirements of all entities, ensured the gardens success. Their leadership is what is expected of civic administrators.

Julie DePoorter

Julie became involved early on. She was willing to cold call on area businesses for donations, assistance and volunteers. She has assisted in maintaining the garden as well as participating in various fundraisers. Julie brought enthusiasm and emotion to the project and was a constant reminder of the emotional state of the community at large. We are grateful for the work and passion Julie DePoorter brought to this project.

Jean Persely

Jean was asked for 15 minutes of her time. It turned out to be hundreds of hours. Jean was the first local person who agreed to volunteer. Jean assisted with every aspect of the garden. She maintained contacts with community partners, volunteers and donators. As an Advanced Master Gardener her advice on plant material and community involvement proved critical. She brought a common sense approach to multi faceted problems. Jean Persely is a valuable member of the team.

Julie Risch
Our Garden's Queen Bee

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Julie Risch, Dedication Day, Photo Credit: Anne Nicolazzo Click on pic for more images
There are many titles for this big hearted woman:  Advanced Master Gardener, Landscape Designer, fearless leader – but she is also the Queen Bee to her many Worker Bees.

Julie reached out last August to discuss a garden for April.  Since then, she has spent hundreds of hours planning, coordinating, organizing, designing and redesigning the garden.  When she drove out from her Kalamazoo home to install the garden, not only was it the first time she had met April's mother, Jennifer, but the first time she saw the garden site in person.


Julie’s dedication, determination, perseverance and sense of humor through adversity, ensured the success of this memorial garden. We have no doubt that under her leadership, this garden will continue growing in memory of April.  
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