Retirement Bliss
When Joe and Marie Vera began their married life, he worked at National Machinery and they lived just across from the factory on Greenfield Street. Later they started Mohawk Nursery, and for 20 years they advised customers and sold them trees, shrubs, mulch, and other landscaping needs. In 1997 they retired and sold their business to their son, Dan Vera with the stipulation that he sell them stock at his cost.
This clause in the contract was very important because thirty years ago they moved to their present home on Cherry Street right next to the St. Francis woods. Their lot is bordered on the east by the woods for which they share ownership with the Sisters and goes back for 300 feet. When they bought the house, not far from where Marie grew up, there was only one tree and no shrubbery.
Now there is a line of black walnuts on their western edge. Kousa dogwoods, a Japanese Lilac and many lovely shrubs surround the house. There are several hemlock in front and quite a few well grown Gaiety Euonymous, a low shrub with white bordered leaves which makes a nice accent. A Blue Haven juniper stands sentinel at the corner of the house. A lavender Rose of Sharon is in bloom now at the side of the house..
Since retirement Joe and Marie plan their vacations in the fall or early spring. ‘’Why leave all the plants we have worked so hard to plant and maintain just when they are blooming?’’ Marie says as we walked around the deep border at the back of the lot, She kept saying ‘’ Blizzard Bay day lily is my favorite this year, but last year it was Red Suspenders. ‘’ Or she would say, ‘’Joe’s favorite is Catherine Woodbury, a large faintly lavender day lily with a yellow center. .
We might say that the Veras specialize in day lilies. They have ‘’ spider’’ types that grow as large as 11 inches across, large, full rounded types, some with different colored haloes around the center of the flower, and their day lilies come in almost every color except blue; Neil Barry is a bright pink; Priscilla’s Rainbow is pale peach with a lavender halo; Irish Limerick is a very pale yellow, Melon Balls is apricot. They have bought most of their day lilies from Gene Turney at Whirlwind Gardens at Chatfield. Mr. Turney would be very pleased to see how his plants have thrived under the Vera’s care.
The border is alive with color all summer even as some day lilies come into their glory and others fade. They are mingled with annuals like Profusion Cherry zinnias, pentas, a plant that holds up well in heat, margaritas, and with perennials like Asiatic lilies, loosestrife, and daisies.
Closer to the patio is an island rose garden. Midilland roses are interspersed with large wax-leaved begonias. Marie says these roses are almost carefree. They have smaller flowers than the tea roses but bloom over a longer period.
Along the edge of the woods are plants that prefer some shade: many kinds of ferns, hostas, Jack in the Pulpits and other woodland plants. Raspberries are trained along a fence.
Spring and summer, the Veras are out early tending the garden. The border is beautifully neat and tidy. Daffodil leaves have been removed and weeds are nowhere to be seen. A marvelous feature of their situation is their deep well which allows them to water whenever the plants need it. They prefer to use sprinklers instead of the ground irrigation hoses. The hoses were always getting in the way. Early in the spring they use a high phosphorus fertilizer and they use three truckloads of mulch from the nursery.
Joe loves to take pictures of the day lilies. He has his digital camera set on a tripod and the pictures come out in pages showing 9 at a time. As in our family one of the Veras is a better weeder on her knees and the other one weeds bending over.
Besides the family that operates Mohawk Nursery, and a daughter Jeanne who lives in town, the other Vera children live in distant places. Christine lives near Boulder, Colorado, Mark lives in Lilburn, Georgia and Tony lives in Tucson, Arizona. There are ten grandchildren in all.
It is a tradition for each grandchild to come for a visit with grandpa and grandma in the year that they turn twelve. Marie and Joe urge the children to visit in the summer, but they rarely get away from their garden to visit them at that time.
As we sat on the patio and talked, I could feel the serene, peaceful atmosphere of the garden. Only the calls of gold finches, cardinals and other birds broke the stillness. A humming bird whirred by. The brilliant indigo bunting has come calling twice this season. It is easy to see that the Vera’s home and garden is their bliss and they are quite content.
– Mary