A Garden-Lou Visit with Beverly and Jack Donze
When saying “I do”, there is nothing more personal and sentimental than a home wedding. In the case of Jack and Beverly Donze, it was Jack’s family home where he and Beverly took their vows 61 years ago. But wait, it gets better…Jack and Beverly’s granddaughter, Cassidy, got married in the family home two years ago, with a garden reception just like her grandparents.
That family home wasn’t always “home” for Jack and Beverly. Although Jack grew up on the eight acres just outside Ste. Genevieve, once he and Beverly married, they moved away. After a lot of soul searching, the couple decided to move back to Ste. Genevieve in 1994, after Jack’s mother passed and he retired from his management position in St. Louis. They bought a beautiful older home in town to make sure it was the right move. It wasn’t until 2019 that they began the homestead garden, but there were challenges.
A lovely, but active creek flows on two sides of the eight acres, creating a picturesque landscape, but one that comes with a price. “For these last two years AND right before annual Ste. Genevieve Garden Walk, that lovely creek overflowed, washing all the mulch away from the beds! Poor Jack, what pressure to re-mulch!”
Flooding wasn’t the only natural disaster. “In 2020, Straight-line winds caused the loss of 35 trees, only to return a year later, destroying another 10 beautiful mature trees, including a large pecan that shaded a hosta bed, necessitating a shade structure for the poor things.”
The Donzes kept some of the trunks to remind them of what used to be and created curved berms filled with plants. One trunk was made into a fairy house, and another will have a flowering vine. “If we could go back, I would have liked to plan some beds better after the straight-line winds! We really have allowed Mother Nature to guide us with most of the planning.”
Beverly, a Master Gardener since 1997, is normally in charge of choosing plants, seed starting, and designing. Jack’s ideas, handiness in building, spraying, etc., complete the picture. “We have a sweetheart of a young man who mows, weed-eats, and pulls vines, but the 18-20 beds are all ours!”
And those beds are where Donze’s personality shines. The diversity among the beds and mature trees gives the sprawling grounds an estate-like atmosphere full of color with surprises around every bend. “Our concrete statuary scattered throughout the garden is very special for us since we spent years searching high and low for just the right ones for the right places.”
Another special feature in the garden is Flagman Ahead…the Donze’s retired driving horse, who reminds them of the fun they’ve had with the St. Louis Driving Group. Jack collects carriages between fishing and building things. Bev enjoys reading, water sports, ancestry, old books, and coins besides gardening. “We like antiquing, although we don’t have room for anything else!” The couple has also enjoyed having a houseboat for the past 12 years.
One would wonder how they have time for the garden. “There are ALWAYS future plans! Right now, we have several hundred pounds of ‘holy rocks’ sitting in the yard waiting to be made into fountains like we saw at one of our favorite nurseries.” The couple is also thinking ahead in the form of maintaining all they’ve created. “Our age is reminding us that we can’t do as much as we used to, I’m thinking more flowering shrubs around the property that won’t take the digging up and moving perennials’ offshoots do, or the constant replanting of annuals.”
For now, the Donzes love to share the garden. “This includes having had seventy lovely antique dealers for breakfast and dinner during the local Antique Show, and dinner for our Master Gardeners and their spouses after our first showing. When our two girls are down with their families, we like to bring out the picnic table a lot!”
When the couple has the place to themselves, breakfast on the screened porch is a favorite time of day. “The birds are rising and beginning to sing, the sun begins to filter through the trees on the lawn, splotched with shade and sunlight.”
Evenings are just as magical when the couple likes to sit by the creek with a glass of wine and “just watch the world go by.”
QUICK FACTS;
-Size of Garden? 4 of the 8 acres are garden.
-Year Garden began? Officially 2019, but some trees and shrubs are much older.
-Favorite gardening tool? Jack is my innovator. He has built me a whole, probably one-of-a-kind setup to go on the riding lawn mower. It’s a small cart that has a place for MY shovel, a long-handled cultivator, a rake, a watering barrel, a hose, trowels, claws, stakes, etc.. Since I have four acres to cover, this is the handiest thing I have ever had. I think he needs to patent it!
-If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have ONE plant to keep you company, what would it be? It doesn’t have to be a food-bearing plant since this island has a free buffet!
This is tough! I absolutely love every plant I have, but, you know, it would probably be the one I have the hardest time keeping alive-the Bloodleaf (Iresine). One day, when I learn to make propagated ones live over winter, I am going to have them all over the place!
-Comments or questions? Email Garden-Lou at gardenloustl@gmail.com
Words and photos by Jo Batzer. Additional photos graciously provided by Jennifer Thompson.
