It was a good summer for the gardeners, it had enough rain to keep everything green and to grow all season long. As part of the Danville Heritage Festival, four local plant producers have invited locals to visit their loved ones.
Garden tours are free and will begin on Saturday, September 4 at 10 a.m., and at 5 p.m. Participating homes are in Danville, Riverside and Eyers Grove. Host Bob Umbriak suggests that participants first come to the garden at Danville, 538 Chamber St., and then to others. There will be published information with descriptions and directions for all locations.
Umbria’s five acres is not only a garden but also a complete landscape. The floor was sloping down the back of the house to the lower stream, the steps, the covered bridge and the tent, all he had built. He sat on a trustworthy Kubota tractor with a pair of shoes in front of him and a pair of shoes on his back. He always moves garbage from one place to another.
“I can’t take care of this place without my machine,” he said. I teased my wife. She’s a second. He and his wife, Marisa, spend many hours working on the property they have owned for four and a half decades.
The courtyards are lined with plants and shrubs, perennials and roses, crepe myrtle and wisteria, fruit trees, vegetables, grapes and occasionally flower beds. Merisusan grows most of the weeds, fills the bushes with garbage, and is in charge of the flowers. Bob takes care of the garden, mows the lawn, weeds, picks up trash and rocks, and works wherever necessary.
“What are two people doing?” He asked. “We created a monster!” He is now retired as an anesthesiologist at Geiger, and does not know how to do it. I worked nights in the hospital, and there are days here.
Umbriak said he would like to solve the problem. He has been working for years to find a perfect solution, especially for those who are unable to prune or weed. A ladder had to be climbed on the mountain to provide ground cover, to provide fingerprints. When a popular fig tree on the hill was cut down, Umbriak began working to remove bolts and metal straps, as well as debris. Today it stands complete and healthy, with the sweet fruit it knows.
Both Umbriacs are great for nutrition and healthy eating and exercise. Everything they grow is organic, there are no pesticides, and they produce a lot of produce. “This is the power of love,” said Bob. He is convinced that “those whose hands are in the dust are close to nature.”
Umbriak occasionally sits on a covered bridge to rest, but when he does, he says, “I have to do this, and that’s it. I do not sit still. ” He now focuses on pruning and weeding to make everything perfect before the garden visit.
Heritage, artifacts
Jane Gregonis, who lives on Riverside 15th Street, is not just sitting still. She generally covers one hectare of land on islands under large trees. Each of these outdoor plants is a collection of rocks, antiques, and artifacts. “I don’t have many flowers,” she said. “Stones and Stones Are My Own”
Gregory moves most of the rocks to the site itself. “I will gather stones from the ground,” she said. She travels along the river in search of rocks, and explores fields for rocks. She herself built a whole stone wall and is now working on it for a second. “I will throw the stones into my path and roll them up,” she said.
She has been at Riverside for 35 years and is always looking for something new to add to your display or to a large collection of antiques. An overseas island shows a large stump she had received from a neighbor, who was planning to throw it away, and another precious object was a piece of farm machinery she had bought years ago after she saw rust in a field near Katawassa.
Gregory hires someone to cut her main grass, but she saves the work for herself. “I love to push,” she said. Gregory retired 20 years ago. “I’m here 24/7,” she said. It’s a lot of work, and I’m very old for this, but it’s like medicine.
“Not everything will be done on the day of the visit,” she said, but that was fine.
‘No Harvesting’
Martha Kanaski, who lives on 12 acres[8 ha]on Ersgrov Road near Gerceta, always looks for ways to make it easier to care for her property in the shade of a large spring-fed pond. “When we bought this place 31 years ago, it was like a golf course,” she said.
Since then, she has added trees and years that are strategically placed to facilitate maintenance. “I don’t have beautiful plants,” she said. She finds trees and shrubs from the conservation area, such as sugar maps. Your garden is often planted in areas where grass is difficult to cut, such as wetlands and slopes. Her rule is that “there is no harvest.” In 2 1/2 hours, she was able to harvest more than three acres[3 ha]in a large wheelbarrow.
The distribution of Kanaski includes a large orchard. “I like to cook,” she said. It is a favorite place to read while working on a trumpet-covered bench in that garden. Made by her brother.
As a branch of the garden, Kanaskim grows weeds and begins to grow dozens of new plants. She does not like to throw away her perfect plant, so she cooks them, puts them in a shed outside, and sells them later.
Planting for wildlife, nature
The plants are not primarily for her. “I will plant my garden for wildlife and nature,” she said. Her main emphasis is on creating flowering fountains to attract birds and bugs.
Mulmer has shade gardens, orchards, small gardens, backyard gardens, butterfly gardens and wildlife. She always tries to find something in the flower to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and insects. Even in winter, the shrubs in the yard provide berries that all birds can eat. “Everything is purposeful,” she explained.
Her gardens require a lot of work in the spring, but later they need a lot of watering. To avoid weeds, she is very compact. That means she can sit on a bench in the shade of her boog garden on a hot day and enjoy herself.
Many of your floral preferences go wild to wild species such as pearl weed, wild sunflower and golden rhododendron. She found that “birds look like imperfect plants,” and they are attracted to your flower petals. When the flowers bloom, she protects the head of the seed to continue feeding the birds.
“I read a lot,” she said. Much of her knowledge of housing is “self-learning.” Her cousins and nephews, Anna and Brandon Bohdanovich, ages 5 and 3, often visit nearby. “They love to learn about bed bugs and plants,” says Fulmer.
Fulmer participated in previous Danville garden visits, and said, “I like to meet people and answer their questions.” Gregory is new to the tour, but she is also looking forward to the visit. “I hope it doesn’t rain and we have good public participation,” she said. She plans to serve water and a few cookies.
Umbriak, who has been organizing these garden tours for many years, hopes that many gardeners will be willing to open their gardens to others. Emphasizes the diversity of this year’s four offerings and welcomes all newcomers. In addition to Umbriaak, Gregonis, Kanaski, and Mulmer Gardens, visitors are welcome to stop at two public parks in the zone in front of the Riverway Bridge, Zamboni Park and Finfield Park, Danville.
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