Annual Northville Garden Walk set
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| Ken and Nancy Thelen's extensive perennial garden will be one of the six homes featured on the upcoming 28th Annual Garden Walk sponsored by the Country Garden Club of Northville, a branch of the Women's National Farm & Garden Association. |
The garden at the Thelen home on Springfield Court in Northville will be one of six featured this year as part of the 28th Annual Garden Walk sponsored by the Country Garden Club of Northville, a branch of the Women's National Farm & Garden Association.
The garden, Nancy Thelen, explained has been expanding and in progress for all of the 30 years the couple has lived in the home. Now retired from her career as a special education teacher and counselor and a part-time teaching position at Oakland Community College, she has more time to devote to her hobby.
“I've been gardening for 60 years,” she explained. “I started as a child with my grandparents in Livonia who had an acre of land. They had all kinds of plants and fruit trees and raspberries,” she said. “They had all the kids gardening from an early age.” Her grandfather, she recalled, would graft different species of apples onto trees. “I learned a lot from my grandparents,” she said.
She is now attempting to instill that same love in her own four grandchildren, but the youngest who is only 4 isn't too interested, yet, except for the cherry tomatoes in the vegetable section of the garden. “They love to pick and eat those,” she said.
Thelen said she tries to garden as organically as possible and her wide arrangement of established perennials doesn't take as much work as people might think. She said her real secret was starting with meticulously prepared soil.
“We did a really thorough soil preparation before we started with tons of leaf mulch we got from the city,” she said. She has continued to use ground leaves as mulch in her vegetable garden, too, she said. Her perennials, which aren't “too fussy” are planted along with her vegetables on the large lot.
Thelen said she is the “queen” of finding perennials on sale that are “unloved.” She said she takes them home and they flourish in her yard, only occasionally threatened by the bunnies and deer that also appreciate her gardening skill. Her garden expands a little each year, she said, and there is very little grass left in the rear section of the property.
“People stop by and comment that the garden is 'so much work,'” she said, “but to me it's not work, it is something to enjoy. I often think of a quote I heard somewhere, 'I would garden even if it was the sign of a diseased mind and a corrupt soul.'”
While her four adult children have not developed her passion for gardening, they do call on her expertise and she said she has done some landscaping for them at their homes. “I've shared some plants, things that suit their needs,” she said.
As for her husband, his main role, Thelen said with a smile, is as her “minion,” carrying heavy items and lifting things. He does, however, readily accept the compliments from people who come by the exceptional display and comment on the beauty of his wife's work. Thelen explained that the back of their garden is visible from Taft Road and strangers often come by and admire the plantings and arrangement.
“People always address all the compliments to him,” Nancy Thelen said. “I just don't understand it. I am right there and they only tell him what a lovely garden it is.”
Garden Walk organizers suspect that the compliments will be addressed to Thelen when visitors see her garden during the event scheduled for 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 13. Tickets are available at Gardenviews on Main Street in Northville and through Eventbrite. Admission is $12 for advance sale tickets. Day of the event tickets are priced at $15 and will be available at the new staging area in the Green Space at the corner of Wing and Cady streets behind the Northville library. Proceeds from the event support local and national horticultural organizations, civic beautification and scholarships for Northville High School students.
