Whitefish Bay garden with greenhouse, native plants will be on annual garden club tour

When it comes to gardening, Carolyn and Dave Haight are truly a team.

They both plant and tend the flowers in their Whitefish Bay gardens. And while she grows new plants from seeds, he builds structures and garden art.

They’ve been tending the small gardens that surround their Mickelson Colonial since they bought it in 1979. And because they work so well together, it’s gotten better with age, just like a fine wine.

Carolyn, who is retired and worked at the American Red Cross, said when they first moved to their home the garden “was real sad looking.” Her husband, who also is retired, had his own handyman business and prior to that, worked in retail.

“There were overgrown arborvitae in front and a couple of overgrown and unhappy bushes along the neighbor's driveway. In the back there was a big apple tree that drooped all over the place and later broke in a storm,” Carolyn said.

They set to work, and soon their gardens didn’t look so sad anymore.

One of the first areas they tackled was in their front yard along their neighbor’s driveway.

“After the bushes were trimmed a little and we gave them some food, they started to look better. And then we added some plants along there and we changed the shape of the bed. … It kept getting nicer and nicer.

“We also changed some of the plants over the years. Now the only original plant left there is a quince. We added a ninebark, two elderberry, peonies and other perennials and annuals, and now it’s a nice big garden,” she said.

Over time they improved other areas in their yards, planting a large assortment of native plants, pollinator-friendly plants, perennials, annuals, succulents and vegetables.

They also fine-tuned their gardening interests.

“I started out being the ornamental gardener and I was doing vegetables, too, but then Dave took a real interest in the vegetable part of it and he also got into succulents. Now he plants vegetables in raised beds and he has succulents in an area next to the patio and an area in front of the house. He collects a lot of different kinds of succulents.”

Dave also delved into making structures and creating garden art. The structures include two pergolas and a greenhouse.

“One pergola is in the backyard over the patio and it’s really wonderful. It has a trumpet vine on it that shades the patio just exactly the right amount. Visually it adds so much to the yard," Carolyn said. “The other one is at the back of the lot. He installed that when the apple tree in back died. It’s the focal point for that part of the yard and it has a great ivy plant growing on it, birdhouses and pots with annuals.

“He also built my favorite thing in the world: my darling little greenhouse.”

Artwork he made includes different styles of birdhouses and large hanging pieces made from driftwood.

“He makes fabulous birdhouses for all different kinds of birds. Some are painted, some are natural. We have a whole lot of them. He really makes an effort to make them right for the birds. He puts clean-out doors in them, and he is careful about the size of the holes. Certain birds will only use houses with certain sizes of holes. He is a volunteer at Schlitz (Audubon Nature Center) and some of his birdhouses are also there in the gift shop.”

The driftwood art he makes comes from pieces they find when vacationing.

“We are real fans of the shoreline along Lake Superior. It’s where we love to go to camping. A couple years ago it must have been a really brutal winter because when we went there, driftwood was everywhere and we brought a whole lot of it home.”

Those pieces were turned into sculptures with the driftwood pieces set horizontally on a center copper wire.

“We have four hanging from the end of the pergola. … Three are probably five feet long and one is about 20 inches. The widest pieces of wood are about a yard, the smallest about a foot. They’re decorative but birds always perch on them," Carolyn said. “We have an AC in the back and he also built a screen out of driftwood to camouflage that. It’s beautiful.”

While Dave builds things, Carolyn starts the seeds for all their flowers.

“I have gotten fairly good at it after all these years," she said. "I harvest seeds from plants growing in my yard in September. I haven’t had to purchase a plant in 10 years. … It’s really easy to harvest and easy to start them from seed. I harvest thing like begonia seeds. They are like dust they are so tiny. You can even harvest petunia seeds.”

As a past president of the Whitefish Bay Garden Club and a member for 10 years, she also created a video on how to start milkweed and other plants from seed. She grows milkweed from seeds for club members as well as for her own yard.

Another shared passion for the couple is helping the environment.

“We are proud of our efforts to compost, capture rainwater, use organic yard and soil amendments and maximize space with raised beds and dense plantings," Carolyn said. “It’s also important not to use pesticides. All these things make sense, and we should all be doing this.”

To help the environment they have three rain barrels, a double barrel composter, three downspouts that were redirected, and they use organic soil amendments to increase rainwater absorption on the lawn.

Their gardens will be open for tours during the Whitefish Bay Garden Club's Small Spaces, Grand Places 2024 Garden Walk on July 20.

Carolyn Haight recently answered some questions about their gardens in advance of the tour.

What kinds of birds live in your birdhouses?

We have all kinds. We have wrens, sparrows, chickadees and morning doves, and there’s also a robin living in a flowerpot in back of the house. We even found a hummingbird nest in a bush in the front yard, and we have a chipmunk living in one of our hanging flowerpots on the pergola.

When you started gardening, did anyone help you?

My mom loved to garden and she gave me plants. Every time I would see her, I would got another plant.

You have two daughters. Are they gardeners, too?

Neither one of them had any interest in high school, but then when they became adults, both started to express an interest. Now they both have pop-up greenhouses in their basements. I am really thrilled they both became interested.

You have a lot of large pots. Where do you store them?

We have an olive tree our daughter gave us and two very large jade plants we have had for years. They get overwintered in our basement with grow lights. They have become real big and prominent, beautiful plants. We will bring them in as long as we are able to manage doing that. Some day they will be too big to haul into the basement for us. We chose ceramic pots because they are pretty, but then are heavier.

What vegetables do you love to grow?

Tomatoes, and we baby them, because we make salsa in fall and share it with family members and neighbors. We really love to have strong, healthy tomato plants. Also jalapenos.

You say you do dense plantings. Can you describe this method?

I have been in gardens where there is a plant, then mulch, then a plant, then more mulch, then another plant. I tend to do plant, plant, plant. You don’t see the dirt. I like this way of planting because the weeds don’t come up because the plants are so close together. It also conserves moisture and you get continuous color and interest because there are so many plants. It’s not everyone’s taste. Some people think it looks messy. I happen to love all plants so if a plant comes my way, I find a home for it.

What’s your secret to a beautiful garden?

We use composted cow manure faithfully every year. We use it to dress all the beds, and when we plant something, we add a nice big scoop. We feel like it does make a difference.

How large is the greenhouse?

It’s 5 by 10 feet. It’s glass on three sides and the back is up against the garage. When Dave was working in retail, the store he was at was getting rid of tempered glass shelving, and he asked if he could have it as they would have thrown it in the dustbin.

How do you use your greenhouse?

I start most of our annuals from seed in the basement and then bring them out in March and put them in the greenhouse until maybe the middle of May when we put them in the ground. They really love that environment.

How many different varieties of native plants do you have?

Thirty-five native-to-Wisconsin plants.

What are your favorites?

Elderberry trees; we have three. And we have a ninebark that’s big and showy. Another favorite is Solomon’s seal. We have a large clump of that. And we have monarda.

If you go

What: Whitefish Bay Garden Club Garden Walk: Small Spaces, Grand Places. Tour seven home gardens and five public gardens in Whitefish Bay.

When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. July 20

Tickets: $12 in advance. Day-of tour tickets are $15.

For tickets and information: See whitefishbaygardenclub.com or e-mail [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Whitefish Bay garden features greenhouse, pergolas, native plants