Daffodils

The daffodil is easily recognized for its bright yellow, abundantly growing blooms, in early spring. If just looking at these yellow flowers makes you smile and feel a glow inside, you are not alone. Daffodils are not only a well-recognized symbol of spring, but they also symbolize rebirth, new beginnings, hope and joy! They celebrate the arrival of spring and the end of winter.

Because they emerge from bulbs, with the warmth of spring, and after the cold of winter is over, they are powerful symbols of renewal and a fresh start. Because of their cheerful appearance, they do make us feel optimistic and happy and are known as a symbol of hope and joy. Because they have survived the long, cold winter, year after year, sometimes under snow and ice and other harsh conditions, they also represent resilience. And if that is not enough, their unique shape and vibrant yellow color are believed to inspire creativity and imagination.

In some cultures, daffodils bring good luck and prosperity. They are the birth flower for the month of March, and the flower for the 10th wedding anniversary. Because they are believed to instill hope, the American Cancer Association chose the humble daffodil as their official symbol in hoping for a cure. It is also a flower associated with Easter, representing not only renewal of life, but also the hope of eternal salvation.

Daffodils are easy to grow, and once planted they will usually come back, year after year; however, it is best to wait until fall, late September to early November, before the ground freezes, to plant them. Choose a sunny location, or partial shade, and dig a hole about six inches deep, placing the bulb pointy end up and bulbs about five to six inches apart. Water well, but be sure the soil is well-drained. Daffodils cannot survive in soggy conditions.

After the flowers are done blooming, cut back the stem, but leave the foliage to die back naturally. This will allow the bulb to store energy for next year’s blooms. When you plant your daffodil bulbs, plant a bunch of them, which symbolizes good luck and happiness, as a single daffodil symbolizes misfortune. Where it is often the custom to gift a single rose, do not extend the custom to the daffodil family.

The botanical name for the daffodil is narcissus. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a young man known for his beauty. He was tricked into falling in love with his own reflection while looking into a pond of water. The drooping flowers that characterize the daffodil are purported to represent Narcissus, this young man.

By Linda Morrison / Idaho County Free Press

Enjoy the over 1,800 we have planted by various sculptures.

Be sure to like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99/

MCEP Sculpture Walk – Sculpture of the Week 12

“The art of sculpture is to take something considered to be useless or broken and give it a new life and a chance to be a part of something bigger than it ever was. I take an inanimate congregation of objects and put them together in a way that gives them an actual presence that you can feel and touch. Not only can you touch these inanimate objects but they can touch you back. They visually speak to you, invoking real emotions. When this almost unexplainable connection is happening, the material thought to be useless or broken comes to life. That connection between you and my creations and the emotions that take place gives me much excitement and drives me to create with great passion.

To make an inanimate object touch, feel and speak is a gift that has been given to me. This gift has turned me into a pioneer of sorts, who dredges through industries pollution on a quest for steel. I find myself climbing amongst the ruble of a recently demolished high rise, and digging in the garbage for fragments of a recent fabrication, or in a junk yard dragging off parts of an old dinosaur that time has forgotten. I believe in things discarded lies the seeds of infinite possibilities. My mind is constantly studying and categorizing all the objects that I am collecting. I visualize the objects floating in the air waiting for their chance to twist and dive into the sculptures not yet born, that constantly swim in my mind. As I clean the earth, all the objects I collect will be recycled and no longer destined to be trapped for eternity in a landfill forever labeled as garbage. I also firmly believe it is my duties as an artist to create art with archival longevity and superior quality as I single handily sculpt the future of the twenty first century.”

Check out his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/james.oleson.376/

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are plenty of sunny, spring days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send  a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in  October 2025 – 2026.  If you have a friend who may want to join us, ask them and if yes, send us their name, address, phone number and email (if they have one).  We are always looking for additional friends to help bring art and beauty to our community.

Be sure to like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99/

The Bee Reader sculpture at the evolving MCEP Pollinator Park was installed in July of 2024.  It will be open to extend gifts of small paperback books for young readers and mature readers. Each month the Bee Reader will have two paperback books available. One geared for younger readers and one for mature readers. Please come and check it out. Each month’s selection will be available on the MCEP website with the book’s description.  If for some reason the books are not there just call us at 586 783 6008 and we will replenish the stock.

April Bee Reader Books

Creative Haven Norman Rockwell Classics from The Saturday Evening Post Coloring Book, By Norman Rockwell and Sara Jackson

“I absolutely love, love, love this adult coloring book! Each design is printed on quality paper, so you don’t have to worry about colors bleeding through or the paper tearing while you’re working on your artwork design. I love how detailed each image is and trust me, you’ll be pretty impressed too!” —The Classy Chics
“A wonderful way to reminisce and remember simpler times, while celebrating Rockwell’s work, and Americana generally.” — Sharing Craft Ideas

Thirty-one illustrations by Norman Rockwell appear in all their heartwarming glory in this classic and collectible coloring book. Handpicked from the hundreds of covers that the American legend created for The Saturday Evening Post, these ready-to-color pictures recapture the bliss of bygone days. Pages are perforated and printed on one side only for easy removal and display. Specially designed for experienced colorists, Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post Classics and other Creative Haven® adult coloring books offer an escape to a world of inspiration and artistic fulfillment. Each title is also an effective and fun-filled way to relax and reduce stress.

My First Book About Outer Space, By Patricia J. Wynne and Donald M. Silver

“Entertaining, easy-to-understand captions explain crater formation, constellations, weightlessness, space junk, and other fascinating subjects.” — Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin
Where do we live among the galaxies, what did people think before they could study the sky with telescopes, and what happened to Pluto? Thirty-nine illustrations to color answer these and other questions about our Solar System and beyond. Entertaining, easy-to-understand captions explain crater formation, constellations, weightlessness, space junk, and other fascinating subjects. Suitable for ages 8–12. Winner of the 2015 Moonbeam Children’s Book Silver Award.

This is the second of three sculptures by this artist in our collection.  Jonathan Bowling grew up on a small farm in Kentucky, where the Appalachian Mountains melt into the rolling hills of the Bluegrass. His first sculptural efforts were the simple games of childhood–fieldstone castles, a bridle of hay twine, a driftwood armada. As a teenager in the late eighties, Bowling lived in Belgium, where he had access to the museums of Western Europe. On his return to the states, he attended the University of Kentucky where he received his BFA in sculpture and a BA in art history. In 1996 he moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to pursue an MFA in sculpture at East Carolina University in 1999. He has been working out of Greenville ever since. Bowling has showed extensively in the Eastern United States, which has resulted in a number of long-term lease agreements and sales to municipalities and private collectors.

For the past 12 years I have been focused on public art, largely farm

animals. These pieces are made with the intention of staying outdoors in a public

area without the need for extensive maintenance. The materials I use are often

from the turn of the last century, which I feel is appropriate for depicting animals

so intertwined with our agrarian past. Repurposed steel provides a sound

structure which allows me to work on a scale that lends itself to public spaces.

Check out more of his work at: https://jonathanbowling.com and on https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.s.bowling

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are plenty of sunny, winter days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send  a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in  October 2025 – 2026 and be sure to like us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99

Crocus

The first flowers of the spring are in bloom at the Bonior Tree sculpture and the Peacock Garden at the Post Office. Please enjoy the first flowers of spring even though they are small the crocus can endure the changes of weather easily. They are not a native plant but one we all enjoy.  They do not invade our gardens or land but are welcomed but all as the first hint of spring.

Crocus (/ˈkroʊkəs/; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain underground, that bear relatively large white, yellow, orange or purple flowers and then become dormant after flowering. Many are cultivated for their flowers, appearing in autumn, winter, or spring. The flowers close at night and in overcast weather conditions. The crocus has been known throughout recorded history, mainly as the source of saffron. Saffron is obtained from the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, an autumn-blooming species. It is valued as a spice and dyestuff and is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Iran is the center of saffron production. Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub, and meadows from sea level to alpine tundra from the Mediterranean, through North Africa, central and southern Europe, the islands of the Aegean, the Middle East and across Central Asia to Xinjiang in western China. Crocuses may be propagated from seed or from daughter cormels formed on the corm, that eventually produce mature plants. They arrived in Europe from Turkey in the 16th century and became valued as an ornamental flowering plant.

10. Berea Horse

By Jonathan Bowling

Location:  Shadyside Park

Jonathan Bowling grew up on a small farm in Kentucky, where the Appalachian Mountains melt into the rolling hills of the Bluegrass. His first sculptural efforts were the simple games of childhood–fieldstone castles, a bridle of hay twine, a driftwood armada. As a teenager in the late eighties, Bowling lived in Belgium, where he had access to the museums of Western Europe. On his return to the states, he attended the University of Kentucky where he received his BFA in sculpture and a BA in art history. In 1996 he moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to pursue an MFA in sculpture at East Carolina University in 1999. He has been working out of Greenville ever since. Bowling has showed extensively in the Eastern United States, which has resulted in a number of long-term lease agreements and sales to municipalities and private collectors.

“For the past 12 years I have been focused on public art, largely farm

animals. These pieces are made with the intention of staying outdoors in a public

area without the need for extensive maintenance. The materials I use are often

from the turn of the last century, which I feel is appropriate for depicting animals

so intertwined with our agrarian past. Repurposed steel provides a sound

structure which allows me to work on a scale that lends itself to public spaces.”

Check out more of his work at: https://jonathanbowling.com and on https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.s.bowling

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are plenty of sunny, winter days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in October 2025 – 2026.

The final sculpture at Pollinator Park is the Bee Reader by the Nordin Brothers who are Macomb County natives. Their rendition of a bee is most inviting and provides surprises for those who will examine the sculpture. The welcoming smile of the bee once opened by you will produce small paperback books for the taking. These offerings change monthly and are a welcoming gift for young and adult readers. One book is offered each month in the young and adult category. The books celebrate the seasons of the year with puzzles, workbooks and small pollinating chapters. Check it out any season. The Bee Reader is always smiling at you and inviting you to read a little.

https://www.detroitdesigncenter.com/ and at https://www.facebook.com/nordinbrothers

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are plenty of sunny, winter days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in October 2025 – 2026.

by Israel & Erik Nordin
NW Corner of Inches St. and NB Gratiot 

The Bee Reader sculpture at the evolving MCEP Pollinator Park was installed in July of 2024.  It will be open to extend gifts of small paperback books for young readers and mature readers. Each month the Bee Reader will have two paperback books available. One geared for younger readers and one for mature readers. Please come and check it out. Each month’s selection will be available on the MCEP website with the book’s description.  If for some reason the books are not there just call us at 586 783 6008 and we will replenish the stock.

March Bee Reader Books

American Short Story Masterpieces, Edited by Clarence C. Strowbridge

As variegated as the American experience itself, this original treasury reflects the vibrant role of the short story in our national literature. Fourteen outstanding tales by famous American authors unfold in settings ranging from the decaying family mansion of Edgar Allan Poe’s dark psychological thriller, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” to the bustling modern apartment building of John Cheever’s domestic drama, “The Enormous Radio.” Moods and attitudes shift from the simmering menace of a lynch mob in William Faulkner’s “Dry September” to the gentle optimism of an elderly couple in Ring Lardner’s “The Golden Honeymoon.”

Other stories include “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, Katherine Anne Porter’s “He,” “A Wagner Matinee,” by Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” and “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane. Additional contributors include Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Henry James, Edith Wharton, and O. Henry. An affordable resource for classroom use, this anthology is also a fine companion for all who appreciate well-crafted tales.

Creative Haven Animal Mosaics Coloring Book, By Jessica Mazurkiewicz

Rendered in the multifaceted style of mosaic art, more than 30 detailed illustrations provide colorists with a wealth of imaginative possibilities. Full-page pictures include birds, squirrels, hippos, foxes, frogs, and a bevy of other creatures, wild and domestic. Pages are perforated and printed on one side only for easy removal and display. Specially designed for experienced colorists, Animal Mosaics and other Creative Haven® adult coloring books offer an escape to a world of inspiration and artistic fulfillment. Each title is also an effective and fun-filled way to relax and reduce stress.

8. Bee

By Kyle Burnett

Location NW Corner of Inches & NB Gratiot

The Bee is the third sculpture by Kyle Burnett at the MCEP Pollinator Park.  The Bee being a pollinator was a perfect addition to the park.  It too has a seat convenient for taking photographs.  Come and take a look at our pollinators.

Check out other work from Kyle Burnett at:

https://www.facebook.com/kyleburnettart

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens, and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are plenty of sunny, winter days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send  a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in  October 2025 – 2026.