Searching For Treasure in The U.P.

I had a bit of a U.P. "treasure hunt" this past weekend.


Yup, that sounds a bit strange you say?Well there is a lot of treasure there you know, like shipwrecks, agates etc... But no, I was not searching for that type of "treasure". There is so much natural treasure in the woods...sometimes we just have to hunt for it a bit.


I was on a mission... and three hours later I emerged totally exhausted but satisfied about it. What was i doing you ask? Well I was simply raking the the many layers of Fall leaves away from the ground to un-earth the treasure of natural wildflowers and previously planted perennial plants around my yard that simply could not find light or moisture under those many layers of fallen leaves. This was such a delight!! I felt like I was giving birth to a natural forest floor! It was amazing how many different wildflowers were hidden in those leaves!!Now i can't tell you all their names, but there were so many different colors and shapes and sizes ...some white, yellow blue, purple, and pink and some were tiny and others huge! The most prolific were the Trillium's. They are often the first sign of spring on the forest floor , as this lovely white petaled endangered wildflower is really dense here. They are so very hardy,surviving in all conditions and luckily without much help from me!!


Some people love gardening and yard work but this is the only real type of gardening I love!

My Dad was a real green thumb. But i am sorry to say, that plants panic when I look their way as although i do enjoy seeing them, I simply forget to water them until it is too late! I have always said that I am good with kids and pets but NOT plants!! I also love the "natural" look of a garden or lawn!Yes, I even love those fuzzy Dandelions! Why can't we just let nature take its course? We work so hard at trying to control it all! Now you say... well, you were controlling things a bit by removing the leaves?This may indeed be somewhat true, but whatever I uncovered was already there and I added no chemicals or expense to unearth them from their leaf covered darkness. I simply let them breathe in the sunshine and moisture that nature will provide.


I made a vow last year not to buy anymore "annual" flowers to plant in my yard. It is such a wasteful and expensive venture as they only last one year!! I cannot believe I bought into this practice of manicuring a natural environment for so many years! I may plant a few perennials this year without the aid of chemicals i might add, and then simply let them do their stuff naturally...and that's all folks! Although it is a bit of a battle with my husband who thinks yard chemicals like lawn fertilizer and Miracle Grow are a must... a throw back perhaps to our German Milwaukee upbringing- WHERE YOUR YARD IS YOUR PRIDE AND JOY!! I say NUTS to this! If God intended our yards to look like this it would happen naturally! I do not think we need to spend hours and hours and hours away from family and friends to do all this yard work! I prefer nature to take its natural course, but perhaps this will only really work when we move further north to the U.P. in our retirement where this is more the case. I also realize that this yard work and gardening is a real pleasure and relaxing hobby for some folks. But for others like me, it is just plain a lot of unnecessary work, as i just prefer to spend my free hours walking, biking, kayaking,golfing etc... or with family and friends.


Well I can't wait to see what nature provides the next time we are up in the U.P. I hope to see a host of wildflowers greeting me!! Happy Spring to you all!!( photos to follow)