On a bitter cold night in 2004 the old farmhouse that my mother lived in burned to the ground. The cause was thought to be a faulty heater. That old building site is where we built the new PGT Center in 2005.

Gardens need to be weeded to be beautiful. Plants need to be thinned so that the remaining ones are healthier. Unwelcome plants need to we weeded out.

It was with this kind of thinking that went into a massive Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) that we finished in 2010. It took 5-years to cover the 400-acres of woods at the PGT. Thousands of trees were cut with the goal of making the property more beautiful.

Ironically, the initial impact of this work was to liter the forest floor with dead trees that not only look worse but makes it more difficult to walk. I never knew it would be this messy!

I mistakenly assumed that with controlled burns and natural rotting the dead trees would disappear in a few years. For many trees that might be true but the most common tree that we killed was Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana). Cedar trees are famous for their resistance to rot. The skeleton of a cut cedar tree can lay in the woods for 50-years without rotting. It turns out that controlled burns don’t get rid of them either.

To reach the goal of a more beautiful woods our two groundskeepers have to cut up, pile and burn each tree. This will take years to finish.

Would I do it again?

Yes! In the end I’m confident that our woods will look better and will be healthier. Since the mission of the PGT is to “inspire people by letting them experience the beauty of nature” it fits with our goals.

But it is a lot more work that I realized!

We only have a few wild Ginseng plants at the PGT so I’ve been out planting seeds. Ginseng used to be common but it is so valuable as herbal medicine that it was over harvested. The plant is now rare in most of North America.

I took the picture of the ginseng seeds shown above here at the PGT on August 19th, 2006. And no, I won’t tell you where the plants are!

My mother died today. She was the co-founder of the PGT. She had a stroke three-weeks ago which left her bed-bound. We honored her wishes and kept her at home here at the PGT.

Visitation will be at the Dulle Trimble Funeral Home this coming Saturday (January 14th) from 2-4 PM.

Here is her obituary:

Joan Marie Domke died peacefully on January 11th, 2012 at her home in New Bloomfield. She was 89. A visitation will be held at Dulle-Trimble Funeral Home on Saturday. A private graveside service will be held at the family’s cemetery in New Bloomfield.

She was born December 18, 1922 in Kankakee, IL to Rose and Francis J. Sullivan. Her father was a psychiatrist and she grew up on the grounds of Kankakee State Hospital. After graduating from high school, she attended Purdue University, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. She moved to Chicago to work at the city’s health department, and met her husband-to-be, Herbert R. Domke. He was the love of her life. They married June 14, 1944 in Chicago. He preceded her in death July 21, 1991.

Joan and Herb raised four children and they survive: Catherine Teague of Novato, CA; Jane Domke of Columbia, MO; Henry Domke and wife Lorna of New Bloomfield, MO; and Beth Worthington of St Louis, MO. She has one grandchild, Rebecca Jenkins of Woodacre, CA, and two great-grandchildren, Anna Traub and Indigo Jenkins.

Joan and Herb loved to dance the polka, and they also loved travel and music. Both also loved the beauty and serenity of nature, and were avid gardeners and bird-watchers. When they moved to New Bloomfield in 1970, their interest in gardening expanded into an appreciation of the natural landscape. They began to focus on enhancing what was there and adding more native plants. They founded the Prairie Garden Trust (PGT), a nature garden whose mission is to share the beauty of nature seen in its woods, prairies, ponds and streams. The development of the PGT was a family activity, and Joan’s son Henry and his wife Lorna have become the new leaders in the transition from a beautiful private nature garden to a public one that can be enjoyed by many.

Special thanks are also noted to Kathy Marquart who lovingly helped to care for Joan and to the SSM Hospice. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the Prairie Garden Trust (www.prairiegardentrust.org).

I’m trying to get photographs but in the meantime I put up a picture I found online.

Burning is one of the key management tools on the 600-acres at the PGT.

I don’t think I’m seeing as many Christmas trees and Christmas Lights as I am used to. Is there a decline in the use of Christmas trees? Just a reflection of the economy?

The PGT does not get much snow, so when it happens I rush out to take advantage of the way it simplifies the landscape. This dogwood picture was taken late last winters, just before buds started to swell. A few weeks later the tree was in full bloom.

Joan sits in a wheelchair at the PGT Visitor Center

Joan had a mild stroke last night. It has affected the left side of her body. We are trying to arrange for 24-hour to keep her at home since that is her wish.

Joan has lived on the PGT property since 1970. She co-founded the PGT a couple decades ago with my father; Herb.  Five years she moved into the new PGT Visitor Center.

Today also happens to be Joan’s 89th birthday!

Prairie blazing star is an ornamental native prairie plant that is showy in many seasons. The dried stems create attractive textures and patterns.