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Posted 7/17/06

Macomb Garden Walks - Wawrzyniak

In Photo: Carol Wawrzyniak and Karen D'Angelo
 

Macomb County Master Gardener, Karen D'Angelo,Lucille Day, Patty and Jerry DeMaire, Peggy and Natalee Neely attended a Garden Walk on Saturday July 8th Carol Wawrzyniak Class of 1996 was the Host Showing what you can do with the raised beds for Wheel Chair Gardening My front yard has become my focal point, with a large bed at the end of the drive, with raised beds, and my paved walk for my wheelchair access. I added a number of mini-roses last year to my yard. I have perennial beds in the back yard, also, and small fruit items, as well as a raised bed with mini-roses and clematis vines. I also have a wildlife theme throughout, with bird feeders, squirrel feeding boxes, and plantings that provide food for the wildlife...rose hips, crab apples, berries, mountain ash, Washington Hawthorne, raspberries to pick as I roll through and for my guest too. other shrubs with berries, etc.

Posted 7/25/06

Story of Lucille's Garden  I do some planning on winter snowy days indoors while looking at the latest photographs of my garden; I make notes for the coming spring of what to change or move. I like and choose carefree plants that have good foliage and long interest, my garden truly developed bit by bit without any grand scheme. I had the passion to be a gardener since childhood, when my garden consisted of many straight rows of Gladiolus, Marigolds, Zinnias and a beautiful stand of Hollyhocks. As a 4-H member, I entered the Gladiolus that I grew in our County Fair for exhibition.  Many, busy years passed with occasionally off and on trying new plants with out much success. About 12 years ago, I started digging, “reducing the turf” and yes I started one bed with the straight lines and 7 Perennials and that was all I had when I took the Master Gardener class in 1996. since then I collected hundred’s of perennials, almost 300 Hostas, a few grasses, many shrubs, and trees, and a few small Conifers Then I made one curve, then two and kept studying the photographs to do more, then I started stretching the beds and stretching - - -every week - - - year after year until- - - .last year in April, I re-shaped and defined all the existing beds. Am I done?  No, I will continue to enhance and add choice plants, in the  fall I found and planted a Skylands Spruce,  Drops of Gold Ilex, Mr. Green Jeans Chamaecyparis, Sky Pencil Holly a Fern Spray Gold Chamaecyparis, two more Forest Pansy Redbuds and another Thujopsis dolabrata.  Last year Natalee, noticed walking down my Primrose Lane that I have grouped together some names of plants like Cimicifuga 'Black Negligee' ‘Strip Tease’ ‘Cheese Cake’ ‘Gaiety’ ‘Banyai’s Dancing Girl’ Hostas.  In my Inspirational Area, I have ‘Guardian Angel’ ‘Serendipity’ 'Blue Heaven’ Hostas. This is a nice sitting area where I can see what’s growing, what needs changing and where I can relax and meditate with the sound of the birds singing and the stillness.   We would love to have you come and spend the day in the “Day Garden”  have some refreshments . . . sit a spell and watch the Hummingbirds,  the Woodchucks and rabbits go by, but you won't see the deer they come in the night in herds and munch away on all of Lucille's favorite fragrant plants, something new in 2006.

* Pictured - Mary Dye