By Lee B. Roberts
lroberts@journaltimes.com | Posted: Thursday, July 2, 2009 12:00 am
Just when you think you've seen all of Jean Mierow's gardens, a whole different world of flowers, trees, bushes and grasses unfolds before your eyes as your make your way down the backyard hill to what the Rochester gardener calls her "secret garden." This sprawling lower garden, which was no more than cornfield when Mierow moved in, features a variety of creatively planted areas all connected by a winding, walking path.
Mierow's garden is one of nine that are featured in the Burlington Area Garden Walk, set for July 12.
Developed over a period of about 10 years, the secret garden began with carefully selected trees and has grown to include a wide range of plants from crimson cloud hawthorne and weeping European larch to a beautiful patch of flowering lamb's ear, some tiger eye sumac and climbing hyacinth beans - just to name a few.
"I spent the first two years just watering trees and then started planting a little bit here and there," Mierow said.
As she went along, she added many of her own creations to the mix in the form of sculptural assemblages of objects that are dear to her. The handles from her late father's axes, for example, are hung artfully from a metal arm amid the plants; and the clutch from a 1988 Honda, which made it through 300,000 miles in style, has been transformed into a piece of art through Mierow's unique vision.
"I call it recycling memories," Mierow said. "Everything in the garden has some meaning to me."
She is also a big fan of recycling plants, in the sense that she often trades or shares plants with fellow gardeners and members of her family.
"Cheap or free was my motto when I started all of this," she said.
You'll also find plenty to enjoy on the front half of Mierow's property, where the gardener says she had some much-appreciated help from the Rustic Road nursery in designing the gardens.
Areas out here feature everything from spireas and potentillas to dogwood, poppies and gay feather.
And, even when she does consult with someone else about her landscaping, Mierow says she likes to do the planting herself, with the exception of the big trees. Much of her free time is spent tending the large gardens surrounding her home. "I love doing this and I just love being outdoors," she said.
Garden rooms
Down the road from Mierow's place is Tracy Hankwitz's garden, which is actually a collection of "garden rooms" throughout the 2-acre hillside lot. Hankwitz, who is the store manager at the Burlington Garden Center, has taken what was basically a bare canvas of a yard when she moved in and turned it into a mural of different garden scapes, each with its own theme.
On the open front lawn, for instance, there is a potager (kitchen) garden, where she grows a variety of vegetables, herbs and flowers.
"The concept of a potager garden is that everything grown there could end up on the kitchen table," Hankwitz said.
Also in front of the house is a shade garden, under the cover of a stand of large evergreens. The idea for this garden grew out of her husband Neil's frustration in trying to mow under the evergreens, Hankwitz said. Her solution is an interesting combination of plants, including unusual varieties such as Toad Lily and Turtle Head, as well as some of her most favorite flowering plants, hydrangeas.
"I've had fun finding different plants that will grow in the shade," Hankwitz said.
A new, still pond is also featured in this area. And, at the other end of the front yard she and Niel recently added another garden to fill the space where a swimming pool used to be. One of the unique things about this circular garden is its border, which is made from upside down, different colored glass bottles partially sunken into the ground. At the center is a graceful, abstract statue, which inspired Hankwitz's choice of ornamental grasses and recycled glass mulch to surround it.
"It's kind of a fun thing," she said.
The wooded hillside behind the house features everything from a peaceful, all-white flower garden to a variety of trees, bushes and mosses. And, don't miss the side yard where Hankwitz has created a miniature garden (like nature's doll house) and a chocolate garden, where all of the plants are somehow related to chocolate.
Together, the different areas create what Hankwitz likes to think of as one big musical composition or garden song. A music teacher, as well as a gardener, she sees each garden as having its own mood - like the movements in a musical composition. And, when all of those moods are combined with nature's music, in the form of a bird's song or the sounds of the wind in the trees, it is a composition her whole family can enjoy.
More to see
In addition to Jean's and Tracy's gardens, the Garden Walk will feature:
• Gwen's Garden, W305 Potter Road. Back to nature is the theme at this site where the barn is surrounded by a wonderful country garden, overlooking a stream. A haven for birds and butterflies, it is filled with grasses and flowers, as well as interesting plant combinations and a collection of birdhouses.
• Marcia's Garden, 29823 Pinewood Drive. Nestled in the hillside near Brown's Lake, this well-established garden is rich with large trees, shrubs and an array of perennials. Shade and sun areas are featured, along with an arbor and a vegetable patch.
• Julie's Garden, 3507 Fischer Drive. Color, color everywhere in this cottage style garden which features raised beds and a collection of garden art, as well as a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees.
• Susan's Garden, 116 W. Highland Avenue. A hidden gem of a garden, this city lot is packed with gorgeous plants that give it abundant texture and color. Each plant is perfectly located on this site, which features both sun and shade.
• Marty's Garden, 208 N. Kane St. In the heart of downtown Burlington, this cottage style garden has a decidedly country feel to it, with non-stop blooms and plenty of unique garden art.
• Legacy Garden, 232 N. Perkins Blvd. Visitors can tour this garden, created and maintained by the Burlington Area Garden Club, without a ticket.
• Wehmhoff Square Park (Library Park), East Washington and North Pine streets. Items that will be raffled off during the Garden Walk can be found here.