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Michigan Gardener | September/October 2020 | MichiganGardener.com
Lush and lovely Shrubs and perennials such as ligularias, ferns, hostas, and native mayapples work together to create layers of color and texture in the dappled light.
The garden built by Brenda Bachman and Phil Kramer demonstrates what can be accomplished in dappled shade light
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fter strolling through Brenda Bachman and Phil Kramer’s one-acre suburban garden in Wayne County, one would never imagine that 18 years ago, this garden was a blank canvas other than a few trees. When I asked Brenda if she had always been a gardener, surprisingly her answer was no. The beauty of her garden would lead one to believe she had been gardening all her life. The size of the garden, and the vast sea of grass may have intimidated many people. Most would have bought a riding lawnmower and listened to a book on tape whilst mowing for hours. Not Brenda!
She never had one particular vision, but she had ideas—many gleaned from garden walks. Brenda started with one garden bed at a time. Beginning with the area around the patio, she then moved further and further back in the long, thin lot. With time and hard work, it became more like a beautiful park Lisa rather than a suburban yard. The Steinkopf wide grass and meandering gravel paths add to that feeling. The paths wind through the yard around the trees that different were already there; Brenda believes that you peat/soil
must work with what you have. Speaking of which, along the back of their lot, there is a large cement drainage ditch the city installed for runoff. It is well hidden by plantings, so it isn’t an eyesore. The garden’s dry creek beds, which add interest to the layout, drain into that ditch when it rains. The clay soil Brenda has throughout her yard has made it necessary to learn to garden in a way. She amends the soil with a mix and has built raised beds in
many parts of the garden. To allow for a small waterfall, the elevated pond garden was built after some basement construction was needed. The excavated soil was used in the garden instead of being hauled away to a landfill. When Brenda was asked which is her favorite plant, her answer was not one particular plant, but any and all that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. For that reason, every sunny spot in this dappled shade garden is filled with flowers that will be tempting to those winged beauties. She tries to always text continued on page 26
