Hello Amanda,

Unfortunately there are no MSU programs for garden planting assistance. Also, MSU Extension does not endorse any retailers or brands.

Here are some ideas to try:

Contact your local Senior Center to see if there are programs for help with home maintenance and yard maintenance.

Contact the Michigan State Seniors center- https://www.caregiverlist.com/Michigan/departmentonaging.aspx

Check with your local church or your local garden club, to see if they offer services. Your local garden club may offer you good references for helpers who they know to be reliable. To find garden clubs see this website-

https://migardenclubs.org/clubs/

There are ads for gardeners for hire in local publications like The Michigan Gardener. That publication has an advertising section and is available at most local libraries in the magazine section. 

Here at Extension, we can provide you with reliable and research-based publications and resources about plants, soil, testing, and planning a garden design. Here are some for you to take a look through.

Soil test:

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/soil-testing-returns-through-msu-extension

Design and plant selection:

https://www.canr.msu.edu/nativeplants/plant_facts/local_info/south_lower_peninsula

https://www.canr.msu.edu/nativeplants/plant_facts/

https://kenosha.extension.wisc.edu/files/2020/09/Choosing-the-right-landscape-plants-A3864-factors.pdf

https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/files/ncr556.pdf

When searching the internet for reliable information, stay with organizations who are committed to using research-based information. That is, sites that end in .edu .org or .gov.

To find these do a search ending in “site:edu” or “ site:org” etc. For example

“Native perennials for the Midwest site:edu”

I hope this gets you started with your design and plant selection. Please feel free to ask us more questions here about plant selection and care as you make your specific decisions on design and plants.