When Carole asked me if I wanted to write a monthly post for Beautiful Wildlife Gardens, I immediately said yes. I am a reader of this blog and Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens and I am honored to be able to post here. So now it is time to write about beautiful wildlife gardens. They say writers should write about what they know, so I will write about Marshview.
Deer make their home at Marshview
Marshview is the name I gave to our Michigan home and garden. Marshview is 2.5 acres of what once was a cow pasture. It got it’s name because the property is surrounded on three sides by wetlands. Our driveway cuts through a narrow stretch of wetland at the front of the property, which is overflow from the lake across the street. Even though this patch of wetland is small, it is home to frogs, turtles, and muskrats. Cattails grow in the wet areas and the wetland border includes cottonwood, willow, and viburnum. I have not landscaped this area so all is there of its own accord.
On the western edge of the property of a hedgerow of trees and on the other side is wetland that wraps around the back of Marshview. This view from the back of the house is what sold me on this property. The wetlands are many acres deep so no homes can be built directly behind us. And I have learned to really appreciate the ecological wonder of this area. No, Marshview does not have views of mountains or a Great Lake or an ocean beach. Marshview does not sit within a prairie or rolling farmland. Marshview’s beauty is much more subtle and almost unnoticeable for you do to view it, you become a part of it. We live smack dab in the middle of a healthy habitat so we share these 2.5 acres with deer, fox, raccoons, rabbits, groundhogs, opossum, squirrels, chipmunks, snakes, coyotes, owls, hawks, many songbirds, geese, ducks, egrets, and sandhill cranes.
Egrets are spring visitors to Marshview
How can a gardener create something beautiful in this habitat without causing harm and without providing a tasty buffet for the other residents? I will try to answer that question in this monthly post by sharing the trial and tribulations, the successes and failures, and the simple beauty of Marshview.
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Love your post. Look forward to hearing more about Marshview. Being surrounded by all that wetlands is better than owning it. You get all the benefits without the hassles.
You are absolutely right. I want to enhance the border areas and that is about it.
Wonderful, I look forward to Marshview updates. Looks like it is indeed full of life with all those critters. Sometimes the subtle beauty of a place is the best~ We have no marshland so I will enjoy yours!
Kathy @nativegardener recently posted..Rerouting the Rain
Thank you. I am surrounded by subtle beauty that I’m now beginning to appreciate.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..A Special Visitor
Marshview sounds like heaven Mary… so much lovely wildlife…looking forward to seeing more about it.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Bloom Day a Bust-Almost
Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to capturing the monthly insights and the seasonal changes.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..A Special Visitor
I love all the posts on Beautiful Wildlife Garden but I am excited to read about a fellow Michigander’s garden!
Thank you so much.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..A Special Visitor
Nice to see you here too Mary having enjoyed your blog…Your Marshview is wonderful and I am sure that all the wildlife appreciate it…Michelle
Rambling Woods recently posted..Spicebush Swallowtail 5th Instar Caterpillar Eating A Spicebush leaf
Thank you. Seeing baby birds and baby deer in the area, I think this is a safe, healthy place. I’m thankful for that.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..A Special Visitor
Marshview looks lovely, Mary! I love the subtle beauty of wetland habitat, the frog chorus, the Herons, and all the other beautiful critters who make their homes there. I am so looking forward to getting to know your beautiful place in more detail! Welcome to the team. We are so thrilled to have you!
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..The 5 Pillars of Ecosystem Gardening
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity. This blog will help pay attention to the details.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..A Special Visitor
Can’t wait!
thevioletfern recently posted..What’s Blooming: Gold, Fire & Lime
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..A Special Visitor
Well, I would take Marshview anytime! It sounds perfectly lovely. I know I would be getting different bulbs and Trout Lillies, and putting them in the marshland. Do you have marsh marigolds?, skunk cabbage? Red trilliums, white trillums?
Have you ever been to Fernwood in Niles in the Spring? or at Bendix Woods in St. Joe County, IN? These are ethereal places around here — but your place does sound wonderful!
A friend of mine owns a native plant nursery so I’ll be stocking up with her. There are two border areas that I am ready to tackle.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..A Special Visitor
Marshview sounds mesmerizing and I look forward to your monthly habitat sharing adventures. Welcome Aboard!
Loret recently posted..Rockin and Rolling Caterpillar Style
Thank you so much. I’m honored to be here.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..A Special Visitor