sunflowerpub.com
spring 2012
19
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or many, a starter home is a short-term investment. Lowen and Chris Millspaugh have a different approach. They intend for their first house to be their only home. Since purchasing what Lowen and Chris refer to as their “forever home” in 2008, the young couple have transformed their former rental mid-century modern at the western edge of the Pinckney neighborhood into an artistic and inviting space. The magnum opus of the Millspaughs’ home is the garden, an abundant mix of edible crops, highlighted by funky and functional accents and a border of perennial flowers. “I just kind of went for it,” says Lowen, who works in the Wellness Department at The Merc. “I had been itching to have a vegetable garden for so long. I don’t know where that came from, because I didn’t have one growing up.” Deterred neither by their lack of experience nor the task of clearing the severely overgrown yard, Chris and Lowen managed to set up an impressive vegetable garden during their first summer at their home. “We have found that we have really good soil and really good luck,” says Lowen. In addition to beginner’s luck, Lowen attributes her gardening success to advice from friends Brian Henry and Jozie Schimke, owners of the local micro-nursery Earth Flowers. Lowen also relied heavily on the wisdom of Barbara Damrosch’s The Garden Primer: The Completely Revised Gardener’s Bible for guidance. Lowen says she believes her good fortune in the garden can be easily attained. “As long as they have the time, and this book, anyone can do it,” Lowen says. Since their first growing season, Lowen and Chris have continued to amend and improve their garden. In 2010, they planted a flowering perennial border that wraps around the house. In 2011, Chris built raised beds for vegetables and upgraded the garden fencing.
The handmade garden gate, opposite, was fashioned from trimming overgrown juniper bushes and now welcomes visitors to the garden of Lowen and Chris Millspaugh. Though their home sits on a hilly patch with trees, above left, the Millspaughs have succeeded in cultivating fresh produce such as these carrots, left.
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