Are you like this young girl, fantasizing about your fantastic gardens, perusing seed catalogs and itching to dig in the dirt?
Once upon a time my backyard gardens were my pride and joy.
While the front and side gardens boasted baskets or hanging bags of colorful annuals, perennials ruled in my backyard, which was ablaze in beautiful blooms from late Spring until early Fall. My butterfly garden lured Swallowtails, Monarchs and Red Admirals. Bunnies, for the most part, were obedient, but we did battle when it came to my Bleeding Heart, which they demolished even before the string of dainty hearts began to swing merrily along the vine.
I spent a small fortune on Sluggo while slugging it out with slugs and when that product didn’t work as promised, I ordered “magic mushrooms” … no, not that kind, but soapstone shaped like mushrooms. You set these faux mushrooms around the yard, partially submerged in dirt or mulch. The mushroom “cap” was designed to be removed and the “stem” was a receptacle with a few holes near the “cap” … these soapstone mushrooms were supposedly slug magnets. If you didn’t know, slugs like yeast, so you filled the mushrooms with beer and ideally, the slugs would inch up the “stem” through the holes and fall into the beer where they drowned. I thought it was kinder than the recommended flat copper wire which would shock them as their wet and slimy bodies traveled over the metal. Yes me, the animal lover, put an asterisk to her love of critters when it came to those slimy slugs. The garden smelled like a German biergarten on hot and humid mornings … and still those little buggers lived on.
But paradise found eventually became paradise lost .…
At one time my backyard was certified by National Wildlife as I provided the necessary elements for wildlife to sustain and raise their families there, from butterfly houses, sunning rocks and puddling dishes, to bird feeders and birdbaths and yes, peanuts for the squirrels. I spent way too much time toiling in the garden even though I loved every minute of it.
Then a new neighbor moved in behind and left his dog outside 24/7/365 and we got rats. I had to have a pest control service come in and could no longer provide food or water in my backyard due to the poisonous bait. Sadly, I removed my butterfly paraphernalia as well. At least the plants and bushes could still provide shelter from the wind and cold, but the Polar Vortex in the Winter of 2013-2014 wiped out all my perennials, even the (supposedly) hardy Butterfly Bushes. Only the roses rallied back, but have never looked the same.
Today, I look around at remnants of my garden and deem it paradise lost, even more so after the fire from the downed wire last December 2nd, which burned one quarter of the back garden, leaving my lilac tree, bushes and clematis black and the mulch and grass scorched. While I always thought I would one day replace and repair Mother Nature’s damage, our increasing erratic weather gives me cause to pause and I believe any plans of making gardening a retirement pastime again will not happen.
But, that does not mean I can’t appreciate the beauty of flowers.
Last year I met with members of a local plein air painting group. I had heard about this group of artists who frequent the venues where I walk and write about. I met with them twice and was invited to join them to paint. I have not dabbled in painting, though I took sketching classes many moons ago, but I will join them when I am retired and feel confident enough in my painting abilities (hopefully in this decade). I have been following their painting schedule and when they visited the Emily Frank Gardens and Cultural Center in Trenton last June, I decided it would be a fun outing for me with the camera.
While I know a lot of flowers in a single post might be boring, I timed this post to coincide with the first day of Spring … a little boost of sorts for Readers from coast to coast and beyond who are Winter weary.
The official name of this venue is the Emily Bridge Frank Cultural Center. The farm was established in 1901 and was one of the first dairy farms in the area. Emily lived in the Victorian farmhouse from the time she was seven until her passing in 1972. She was a Detroit school teacher and antique collector, but her first love was her orchards and flowers.
Here is a photo of that farmhouse which is a/k/a the Trenton Cultural Center.
How about if I give you an abbreviated tour?
A huge red barn with one whimsical wall represents the Children’s Garden and the Farmhouse is where events are held with the beautiful gardens as a backdrop.
I first visited on June 18th and met with the “Garden Angels” i.e. the volunteers that tend to the massive flower gardens and veggie gardens behind the barn which are donated to a local food bank. In chattin’ it up that day, it was suggested I return in about six weeks when the flower gardens were at peak, so this was why I was here on July 31st. I have already done one post about the sunflower garden and a mischievous goldfinch who tried to evade me that day. You can click here if you’d like to read that post.
I did a Wordless Wednesday post about a sparrow and its whimsical home at the Children’s Garden after my June 18th visit. Here is that post.
So much beauty in one place … it was eye candy for flower lovers.
I winnowed down some 200 images from this July 31st visit when I sorted through my photos back in January. These were my favorites. This country-inspired arrangement is near the big red barn.
Paver bricks cut through the middle of the largest garden area …
These are some of the many flowers in the Gardens, nestled in between some fabulous yard art.
And, if ponds are your “thing” …
I will likely visit Emily Frank Gardens again, but my post will be a shorter recap – perhaps I’ll plan a September stop to see the sunflowers.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Wow – what a welcome to Spring. I use to toil in the soil to make my yard beautiful, but slugs also caused so many problems – not to mention mice and rats. Too much work for me anymore. I just go looks at the botanical gardens in Hot Springs if I want to enjoy flowers.
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That’s how I feel about it too Peggy. We had such a rainy Summer one year that I was constantly running outside and rescuing all the pots and planters and putting them under the back patio awning to keep them from getting soaked and ruined. I finally decided between my walking and the weather that “instead of annuals, I’ll buy silk flowers” so I did. I secure the flowers so they don’t blow away – no weeding, deadheading, pruning or watering … I started that the following year after I began my walking regimen and I had to replace some of them last year as they were starting to fade. They look very lifelike and I don’t worry about the weather. But my backyard is a mess right now, between the tree giving too much shade so not much grass, more mud, plus the damage from the downed wire and resulting fire.
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I use to help my mother fix her fake flowers in her flower bed every year. They did look life like.
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Yes, I’ve weighted them down so they can’t blow away – no muss, no fuss. The past few Summers hav been so hot and humid, they would have wilted before noon. I had Gerbera Daisies once and planted them in pots to put around the yard. Very cute flowers, but even under my small tree in the garden out front, it was wilted a few hours later, like it fainted.
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YAY, Linda – you made it to Spring and have sprung into it brilliantly with this post. Ah…so many beautiful things to see and appreciate, especially after enduring so many challenges this winter. Perhaps divine intervention knew that your garden gifts would become a walking, roving reporter to share across the blogosphere instead of just your own backyard. We’re blessed with your posts and all that you share about what’s out there to see! Happy SPRING!!!! 🌷🌸🌹🌺🌼💐🌻🌞😎
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Thank you – I’m glad you liked the photos … I wish it was July 31st right now, but then we’d be heading toward Fall, then Winter, so I’ll b content it is the first day of Spring. They are beautiful flowers and some nice and unusual yard art as well. I think it is better I admire and photograph the flowers instead of slaving over them. I am a block and a half away from the volunteer garden (where I always get shots of Swallowtails and Monarchs) and five miles away from Heritage Park with its Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, so both are free and no sweat and toiling.
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Yay – you have inspirational ideas to spring into spring with. Makes me smile!!
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I do – remember when I said I had plans for Christmas posts in my head back in October – I do for Spring as well … Summer is a little far off yet. 🙂
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😍🤗
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What a lovely & colour full
welcome spring. It excellent post so many beautiful things to see & so many challenge.
Beautiful all photos. I like, Linda!
God bless you!
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Hi rajkkhoja – I am happy you like the post and all the beautiful flowers and interesting yard art. We have only about three-four months to be able to enjoy all these beautiful flowers. It takes a while for them to get to this stage, then Autumn hurries in and all the beautiful flowers are gone until the following year … that is unfortunate.
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You are most welcome, Linda. Beautiful all flowers,. I love & like. Very interesting yard. Very nice you have to interest. Iam so happy to you.
Tack care! 👍
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Today felt like Spring should feel, but just Snowdrops out … they have made it through ice/snow/wind and still are perky! You will see Snowdrops in tomorrow’s post rajkkhoja.
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Thanks lot, Linda. Iam glad you too. 👍
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The butterfly café menu sign is so whimsical and fun! It warmed me up strolling along with you through this sunny garden with so many pretty flowers. Losing your own garden has been a bitter pill to swallow but it’s good to know there are places like this venue where you can enjoy the results of what other gardeners have created. The monarch butterfly is beautiful and those purple coneflowers are dazzling. I almost always see them past full bloom and not looking so great — you caught them at a perfect time. Happy Spring Equinox, Linda!!!
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Thank you Barbara – glad you liked this stroll through the beautiful gardens. They have more flower gardens near the barn and a beautiful Wisteria vine in another area but I left those photos out (reluctantly) as I already had 25 photos. I know you do the same thing with your posts to stay at your personal limit of photos. I do feel like I can come here, or a block and a half away to the Volunteer Garden where I always get up-close shots of Swallowtails and Monarchs, or I can go to the Taylor Conservatory and Botanical Gardens which is just five miles away. I am glad they suggested I go back in six weeks’ time and I will go back in late August/early September this year to scope out the sunflowers. There were many varieties when I was there, but not all had opened their petals. Yes, the coneflowers often are weatherbeaten from the heat and any volatile storms – these still looked good!
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I’m no gardener but small sculpted figures are apparently my thing. I like the lead photo, and the little guy sitting on the ground clasping his knees in the Children’s Garden.
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I like those figures they have there too Dave – there were some more beautiful animal sculptures as well. The girl was very striking and wistful looking. I always like the children sculptures – it was a blissful morning walking around there.
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This made me miss my pond.
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I thought that pond might call out to you Kim. The volunteer that maintains it is a older gentleman. We were chatting about how long it takes him with all the flowers around and in the pond. Lucky his heron is not real and eating fish like yours was!
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What a neat and colorful place to visit. The yard art really adds to that. The gnome birdbath is my personal favorite. Sorry you had to give up your backyard gardens. That would be hard.
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Rebecca, when I see all the work that goes into keeping the gardens up and that it is all done by a team of volunteers (I think I met 8 volunteers the first time, the second time I was very early and no one was there), I am reminded just how much work is involved with a garden. That, along with the fire damage makes me say “no” to restoring it again and I can just visit other people’s gardens.
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It is a lot of work, and visiting other’s gardens works for me too. 🙂
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Yes! That was work for younger legs Rebecca. I did all the landscaping myself, bringing home 2 X 4s and bags of mulch in the back of my car (I had a Pacer). I was lucky the nursery delivered the bushes, but I yanked out the old ones … it took me all Summer and I was often glad to go to work on Monday morning. I was 29 years old that year.
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The gnome in the middle of the birdbath with all the colored gems is unlike anything I’ve seen and I love it. The flowers are gorgeous too, of course. Ah, soon it’ll be warm and pretty here again.
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I liked that gnome too Ally. They had a few other ones, but I like how they placed this one in the tall birdbath with the colored gems rather than having it embedded in the flowers. A lot of work goes on here, but a team of maybe eight to ten volunteers, all who seemed really cheerful doing that work. We may have Spring for three days, but Friday we are expecting snow showers, so Winter isn’t over yet for us unfortunately.
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So sorry about your garden/backyard and all the troubles you have had. It is a lot of work for sure. the photos of the Gardens you visited are beautiful, what a lovely spot.
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Susan, as I walked through these gardens, I remembered all that hard work. With climate change and all the erratic weather, I think I am content to keep it simple … I like my silk flowers that make it even simpler, but would never look like it once did. I am going to return late August or September to see the sunflowers – they were looking good at July 31st, but many sunflowers had not yet opened.
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Perfect post for the first day of spring! We have daffodils, crocus, and forsythia blooming here and some people have planted pansies, but nothing like the beautiful colorful blooms of late spring and summer.
It’s such a shame the crazy weather has decimated your garden, especially if it was a pleasant pastime for you. I used to love gardening; now it seems like too much work!
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It is such a pretty place Laurie – I figured it would be perfect for our first day of Spring. You have more flowers than us … I’ve seen Snowdrops way back in February and I’m amazed they look as good as they do considering they’ve been pummeled by snow and ice and some terrible windy days. It was a pleasant pastime but that was before my walking regimen and blogging … I get it how you feel too, especially placing all that mulch around, your annual chore!
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I loved all the flower photos on this first day of spring. My tulips bowed down to our 17° temperature last night. I don’t know if the damage is lasting.
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Glad you liked these flower photos Anne. Something to look forward to seeing come Summer. I’m sorry to hear about your tulips – 17 degrees is cold! Our weekend weather was brutal for March with snow squalls, real feel of 10 and 20 mph winds. Not Spring-like at all. I have Snowdrops for you for Wednesday’s post.
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I’m looking forward to your snowdrops. Bring ’em on!
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Two shots of them tomorrow morning Anne. They are drooping though … I think they have been battered way too much since they emerged in early February. That’s it for flowers – nothing else up yet. We had a beautiful Spring day today – too bad it was so fleeting.
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It was well below freezing last night, but the sun warmed us to 60 degrees in the middle of the day!
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And I was excited for the high 40s – that is “I’m making lunch and having it out on the front porch” weather for sure!
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Wow, it’s gorgeous! So nice to see some color. It looks quite large, any idea of how many acres it is? I can’t imagine keeping all that up. You may miss your garden Linda, but think about all the work and the hot summers we have now. I know I am cutting way back again this year.
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Hi Joni – I should have thought to find that info for the post – it is a one-acre property, but that includes the farmhouse (now known as the cultural center), the red barn, greenhouse, veggie gardens out back of the barn and the flower garden. There is another set of gardens which I reluctantly left out as I had 25 photos already. Those volunteers work hard there … the first time they were all there, including the guy who volunteers to take care of the pond and the second time I went early and was the only one there which was great as I was taking the pictures of the goldfinch in the sunflowers.
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Thanks Linda! It looks larger than that, but still a lot of work.
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Yes, I also take into consideration all your hard work lugging around the hose and watering everything days on end as there was no rain (like last year). One year I planted mums around the yard to have color when the early perennials died off … we had a big rainstorm and hey got waterlogged before the roots “took” – not fun.
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Beautiful place. That butterfly bench is cool looking, but doesn’t appear to be a comfortable seat.
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Yes it is Eilene. I agree with you – they have it in the right place, but it doesn’t invite you to linger.
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Thank you Linda for such a warm welcoming back. So far By the Sea written by our mutual friend Barbara Rogers is the only blog that I have read during my noontime while Yorkie takes her nap beside me in my bed. At night she has her own bed. So we both sleep like two little angels.
I think that today is the first day of spring. I went into the ambulance thinking that I had caught the respiratory virus because 3 months earlier a man in line for food was coughing like crazy all over me. As I would back away to distance myself he would step even closer to me.
January 19, 2023 my estate attorney said that I must call an ambulance regardless to my inability to pay for all those expenses that would buildup. My attorney said just don’t pay any of those bills as the hospitals have other resources to cover their costs. Also another person, a very dear trusted friend, who lives in NM also recommend that I call an ambulance and that he would be willing to take care of Yorkie if I passed away.
I’m still disoriented. And it is mid March! Today in Corpus Christi TX Bay Area we had light rain, cold enough for a jacket, but delighted no hard freeze. The flowers -all 25 photos- were a huge delight for me. I needed to see some happy. The artful attributes were very much fun! And gave me big smiles.
I didn’t know that you had a fire at your home caused by power lines in mid December. I too had a fire in my backyard at 4 a.m. on Christmas Eve damaging the brand new fence that I paid high price for a ten foot privacy fence. My deductible was too high to process a claim. I was worrying about having a hard freeze and I was worried about my water pipes breaking. The damage was more emotional than anything else. It sounds like your fire was horrific and life changing.
Then a couple of weeks later I called the ambulance and landed in the hospital. Not with the respiratory virus that was all over the news. I’m 63 and have no history of heart problems, so this diagnosis of Congestive Heart Disease is shocking for me. I’m in stage four of the disease and stage 5 is hospice / death. I have made my decision to stay home – do self care and to take Yorkie (on her leash) where dogs are welcome along the bay front on the days that I am able to walk. I want to live out the rest of my life naturally and not running to hospitals— that experience was traumatizing!
I’m glad that I found your blog again and added you to my reading list. Look forward to read more about what’s going on with you.
Again thank you for your kindness, TD.
P.S. I have a new email address, so I may in up in your spam… (sigh).
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Hello TD – it’s so nice to hear from you.
I clicked “like” that I heard back from you, but wow – what a journey you have been on! I enjoyed your comments left on my blog and as I’d scroll down to leave a comment on Barbara’s blog I would see your comments there as well … then they stopped. I know you mentioned being ill and I thought of RSV right away, or the flu, all which were, as you said, running rampant at the time. What a shock to find out you have Stage four Congestive Heart Disease! And you are only 63 years old with no heart problems that you knew of – a shock indeed. I have had you on my prayer list since I had not heard from you … and you’ll stay there on that prayer list TD.
I really should go to a doctor to have a physical as heart disease runs in my family and, although I take care of myself and try to eat properly, I worry that, like you, I may not be aware of what is happening until it is too late. I have not been tested for heart issues since I turned 40 and I will soon turn 67 years old. Stupidly for me, I only recently learned that lack of sleep was bad for your health – blogging and too much sitting worries me too, as once I’m home from walking or errands, I am here for hours between work, blogging, catching up on social media. I never knew compromising on sleep was bad and I have been better about getting seven hours of sleep, though I am sorely behind here reading posts and commenting.
I agree with your decision to stay home and not be in the hospital. Soon the heat in your state will help chase the chill and dampness of Winter away and help you deal better with this diagnosis as you enjoy those walks when you feel fit to do so. Thank goodness you have people counseling you what to do – for me, living alone with no family members at all, that is also a worry.
Yes, the fire scared me and I have some pictures that I put into a post when I did a recap of the year. I was sleeping, not 25 feet away and the noise from the downed wire bouncing on the chain link fence, then moments later watching the neighbor who shares that fence have his garage burn down and a windy gusty night made it take hours for the fire to be extinguished. I was outside from 11:30 p.m. and finally okayed to come inside at 2:00 a.m. – the house was very smoky and I had no power. I worry now as it is an old tree, that died last Summer and it lost a branch that fell on the wire. The tree is two backyards away – it is huge. I don’t blame you for being upset and angry at your vinyl fence burning down – the fence behind me burned quickly and helped fuel the flames. I look at what’s left of the garden and feel lucky that the fire didn’t damage my house in the least … for that I am eternally grateful.
Your comment did end up needing to be approved but will be okay going forward.
That burst of color was needed here as well because we have had a bad March – ice storms, snow, wintry precip, after enjoying a mild Winter. I hope you can get out on walks with Yorkie and make the most of what will finally be nicer weather there in Texas. Who would have thought you’d need to worry about frozen pipes?
Please take care of yourself – I’m glad I saw your comment on our friend Barbara’s blog.
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Beautiful flowers! It is a shame that your landscaping and gardens have been so abused. It is my prediction that when you have more time you will do some bit by bit improvements – with “low maintenance” being the guiding principle.
I would not have thought that an outside dog would bring rats, but then I thought about the constant presence of dog food.
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You are right JP – I will have to do something to make my yard presentable again, likely when I’m retired. I’ve gone out every morning looking for a sign of life in the burned bushes, but they are all goners. I went back and looked at the photos of my yard at its peak in 2010 and it amazed me just how much work I had put into it … I had a lot more energy then!
Well, they moved in, put a stockade fence up and my next-door neighbor could see between the slats from her yard. They fed that pit bull table scraps and left the food out all the time and didn’t clean up after it – it didn’t take long to get rats. It was awful – the HVAC guy came for the annual inspection of the A/C and came to the door and asked me for a couple of store bags to put a rat body in. He held it by the tail with a pair of pliers. I almost died – I was so mortified! That neighbor is gone and so are the rats, but the Polar Vortex also did a number on the plants too.
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Beautiful! My husband is the one with the green thumb; I stick to the easy things like lantana. I even pulled up my butterfly bush this year; our summer heat just seems to be too much for them.
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And I lost all my butterfly bushes to a Polar Vortex in Winter 2013-2014 … dead as a doornail. I like lantana. The volunteer garden near my house has orange lantana and it is a butterfly magnet. I’ve gotten quite a few Monarch and Swallowtail shots over there.
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What a beautiful post to start off spring Linda. I love-love-love that butterfly bench! Of course all the rest is absolutely gorgeous as well. I wonder how they keep the birds from eating their fish, maybe the fake egret does the trick.
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It is so pretty there Diane. I am glad they told me to return, because there weren’t that many flowers on June 18th so I took pictures of the Children’s Garden (toys nestled amongst ground cover) and all the fun stuff hanging on the barn wall. I will go in late August/early September to see the sunflowers – they were already looking good on July 31st, but I am sure they have some late bloomers around Labor Day. And to think I went traveling all over to find sunflowers and they were right here about 7 miles from my house. That butterfly bench would look sitting in your yard near the wisterias. Well, this is not near any water and is in a residential area, so that might help with no one scamming those fish. 🙂 They must not put a net over it at night as I was there early in the morning (maybe 7:45 or so) and was the only one there and no net.
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What a terrible series of events leading to the destruction of most of your garden. I’m glad you were able to enjoy it for many years and I bet your critters loved their time there as well. It is a wonderful thing you have so many public gardens nearby.
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Zazzy, I am disheartened about everything that happened with my garden. The fire on December 2nd was the last straw. I look at my burned garden every day for a sign of life but there is none. The lilac tree has been there since the late 60s. I don’t think I will ever make it look how it did at its peak – not only am older, but climate change will likely take its toll on it as well. I have resorted to artificial flowers since I started walking – they are silk and look very realistic and I “planted” them in pots and baskets that I used to use for real flowers. They last about five years, then begin to fade. Beauty without fuss or muss. I am lucky there are these gardens and the Botanical Gardens and a few blocks from my house, a volunteer garden where Lantana, Milkweed and Coneflowers draw a lot of butterflies.
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I watched the forests in Yellowstone come back and some of those areas were burnt to the ground. It was amazing how small plants returned first, little green sprigs of hope in the wasteland. You’d hardly know it was burned now, mother nature is amazing.
Not that I’m saying I don’t understand your discouragement. I think you picked a great way to beautify your life with your silk flowers. I wish I still had the ones Mom had, I’d send them to you.
Perhaps one day you’ll want to go back to working in your garden – if the loud mouthed dog is gone – but it isn’t required. You have a lot of beauty to enjoy around you.
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Maybe I am premature looking to dispose of the burned bushes? No one sees them but me – you can’t see them from the street and none of my neighbors care. Perhaps I should prune all those bushes and the lilac tree to see what happens. My hardy rosebushes on one side all died after the Polar Vortex of 2013-2014 (or so I thought). They were too big for me to dig out, having been planted decades before. So I cut them down to a foot from the ground to have the person who cleans my gutters dig them out. They all came back – yes, they were not burned and looked terrible, but they did rally back.
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I will send you a link in a separate comment of my garden back in the day. If I e-mail it Shutterfly will bug you with promotions, but here it fine. It is quite long – just have a look when you get a chance.
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Here is the link.
https://link.shutterfly.com/ysFuqWYnpyb
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Oh what a lovely garden. I have a couple of things you might like to tuck in between plants. If you decide to try and fix the garden, over time, we’ll talk and see if you want them. It really is beautiful. The dog is gone, right?
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Thank you – I wish I had thought about the link and would have included it in the post. At one time Shutterfly made it so you had to go to a share site, but someone asked me if I had pictures so I was able to do the link. I just watched it after sending it to you – I had not looked at the pictures in about five years. Thank you – I will let you know. That is nice of you and also nice you mentioning it was too bad you didn’t have the silk flowers your mom had. That neighbor with the dog moved 2-3 years after it caused the rats. Too bad they ever moved there. It is the same house where the garage burned down. I never resumed feeding and putting out birdbaths for the squirrels because I did not know if rats would come back. My neighbor showed me pictures of raccoons in his garbage cans – a mother and baby while we were outside the night of the fire – we were outside from 11:30 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. – my house was cordoned off but his was fine as was the neighbor on the other side. My house was very smoky. I am lucky though – the fire was 25 feet from where I slept in the area you saw the butterfly houses.
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What a beautiful place! You can never have too many flowers!
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I agree Ruth- just gorgeous and the volunteers work very hard to keep it looking so good!
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