July 13, 2016 at 4:22 p.m.
Nurturing Nature: Garden Walk and Ice Cream Social set for July 16
Nurturing Nature: Garden Walk and Ice Cream Social set for July 16
By Michael Strasburg-
Many residents, captured in the perpetual presence of this natural beauty, decide to carve out their own pocket of the Northwoods to condense and foster the wonder and preciousness that is our northern brand of nature. There is a word for this meditative, respectful practice: It's called gardening.
On Saturday, July 16, six Northwoods homeowners and the Seasons of Life Hospice will open the gates to their gardens for the 13th annual Garden Walk and Ice Cream Social - ice cream served at Rock and River Garden - inviting guests on a tour of nature arranged by some of the area's finest gardeners.
Seasons of Life Hospice opened its doors in 2000. Soon after, a garden was planted to comfort residents and visitors alike. The garden serves two purposes. The first is to provide a quiet, comforting place for patients, families and staff.
The Seasons of Life Garden also serves as a place for remembrance. In the garden there is a walkway of bricks that people can purchase to remember their loved ones. A brick dedication is open to anyone in the community, it doesn't have to be a hospice death, because Seasons of Life recognizes that when a loved one dies, family and friends want to find a way to commemorate and remember them.
Financially, the Seasons of Life garden is sustained by the hospice's annual Garden Walk and Ice Cream Social, now in it's 13th year.
The garden walk features the gardens of six Northwoods homeowners, including a special bonus garden this year, and the Seasons of Life Garden.
Featured garden
While the garden walk is typically limited to the Minocqua, Arbor Vitae, Woodruff area, this year the organizers simply could not pass up a stunning little enclosure resting on the shores of Alma Lake in St. Germain.
The garden is maintained by Krystyna and Dave Main, who have cultivated the enchanting oasis over the course of 10 years.
When Krystyna moved to the property in 2005, she found that Dave had already outlined all the garden beds, and it was simply her turn to fill them out.
"I'm the hard-scaper she's the soft-scaper," Dave said.
Despite offering a fertile and diverse land, gardening in the Northwoods does have it's drawbacks - primarily the equally diverse wildlife.
"The first couple of years, the deer kept eating everything, no matter what you planted they would eat," Krystyna said.
In no time, Dave and Krystyna put up a fence around the lot to prevent deer from entering and the garden blossomed - doubly so.
"The stuff started coming up that I planted years before, so it was planted on top of each other," Krystyna said.
Some wildlife, however, is permitted.
"We have about 13 frogs. I take a headcount once in a while," Krystyna said.
Krystyna appreciates their amphibian company, and even fashioned a "frog vacancy sign" to welcome her little green friends. The frogs inhabit a little stream in the garden that cascades down toward the lake, providing the soothing sound of trickling water next to their patio.
"It's nice to sit on the deck and just listen to that," Krystyna said.
Krystyna's garden is also a certified monarch butterfly station, so it's not unlikely for visiters to witness gorgeous painted wings flittering and fluttering about.
"We plant all kinds of flowers for monarchs," Krystyna said. "So many companies take away their habitat along the roads, they clear off the milkweed then they have no food there."
The centerpiece of the garden is a 19th century lumber sled used for hauling logs.
"That's the signature piece of our landscaping," Dave said. "It came from a farm in southeastern Wisconsin, near my grandparents farm."
Dave recently recoated the sled with a sealant to protect it from dry rot and maintain the pristine, lived-in condition of the wood.
Dave's major contributions to the garden include a greenhouse, where he harvests herbs and vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, lettuce and radishes. The greenhouse features raised beds to make the garden work easier.
"I put it up two years ago and I'm really enjoying it," Dave said. "I use a watering system where it's a bucket within a bucket and I've really been pleased with the results so I've expanded it this year."
Dave's other hobby in the garden is beekeeping. The Mains have two hives of honey bees. Dave has been raising bees for five years.
"I've had some over winter, but they usually die off," he said. "This year the one has done really well, but I had to restock the second one. It's not a real inexpensive hobby - to restock a hive it's $130 to buy the bees."
During the garden walk tour, Dave will have a beekeeping display set up with the package that the bees are shipped in, the package the queen comes in and a few frames from a hive - hopefully with some honeycombs on them.
"Most people don't really know much about bees and the hive itself, so that should be a good 'show and tell' feature," Dave said.
The most peculiar part of the garden is a cactus growing near the Mains' garage.
"That cactus is very unusual for our northern climate," Dave said. "It always looks like it's not going to make it, like the winter is going to do it in. It's unbelievable, it comes back every year and it has some really nice yellow blossoms ... it's crazy, a cactus in Wisconsin."
After viewing the Mains' garden, it's evident that all the hard work put into maintaining the oasis is well worth it - especially since Krystyna doesn't even consider it "work."
"Gardening is really a relaxing thing," she said. "The only time I consider gardening work is in the spring when you have to clean it up and in the fall when you have to put it away - that's work. The rest of it in between, all the putzy little things, I don't consider that work - it's relaxing."
Michael Strasburg may be reached at mstrasburg@lakeland times.com.
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