Josette Silver has spent a lifetime

beautifying her gardens

and her home.

JUDITH DONER BERNE
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

is-

attling off the names of each plant, flower
and tree in your yard does not a gardener
make.
u knowing the composition of your soil
and replenishing its nutrients each year, ah,
that's the secret.
Josette Silver, 64, adopted that philosophy
several years ago when she achieved the rank
of master gardener. She took the 48-hour
course offered by the Oakland County branch
of the Michigan State University Extension
Service each fall and winter.
"Whatever success you have rests on the
quality of the soil:' Silver was taught. "The
course doesn't teach you to name [plant]
names. You can read the tags. The trick is to
get all your plantings to come back year after
year."
Local gardeners can have their soil ana-
lyzed and explained by experts, says Carol
Lenchek, environmental programs coordina-
tor at the MSU Oakland County Extension
Service.
Although soil testing is available year
round, the extension service pushes hard in
April with its "Don't guess ... soil test" pro-

gram, she says.
Silver has always loved the soil. "I began
gardening with my mother, who used to buy
her rose plants at the market!'
Over 33 years, the wife, mother and adorer
of 3-year-old granddaughter Ryan, has "dug
the gardens, put in the garden walks, planted
almost everything myself, and made my own
mistakes" on 2 1/2 acres in Franklin.
Art and antiques are part of her landscape.
A hand plow, antique metal wagon, dinner
bell, footed bathtub as well as contemporary
sculptures advance the spirit of the 1830s
vintage farmhouse she and Joel Silver have
lived in since they married. Some of the
contemporary pieces were purchased at the
annual art fair put on by Birmingham Temple
in Farmington Hills, where the Silvers belong.
"The farm implements situated around are
all native to Michigan and, as far as we know,
to Oakland County,' Silver says. "We tried
to keep the integrity of the place. We like to
incorporate all sorts of things connected to
early America.
"Joel's my best supporter:' she says. "He can
do anything with his hands. He'll take the
truck and go anywhere." And that includes
picking up the 20 or so 25-pound bags of
Canadian peat she replenishes her gardens
with each year. She calls it "soil amendment!'
Joel, a dentist, may have had an inkling of
what was in store when they met. Josette had

Josette Silver in her home

about 50 plants that had taken over the living
room of her apartment. He took the cue and
gave his wife a Ford tractor and 100 clay pots
as a wedding gift.
Her first step was to dig up, restore and
expand the perennial garden that had obvi-
ously languished under the previous owner.
"It took us years to dig out. I put down the
brick path on my hands and knees."
Son Chad, now 30, built the vegetable gar-
den, defining it with mammoth rocks found
in the crawl spaces under the house.
A wet garden featuring a pond stocked
with fish can be viewed from the dining

Continued on page 6

Josette's Tips

• Have your soil tested and analyzed and then act on it.

• Fertilize using time-release fertilizer every two months and a liquid
fertilizer every week during the growing season.

• Read and follow the directions for planting on the plant tag.

• Know whether you can accommodate the required sun or shade.

• Combine perennials and annuals for maximum color during Michigan's
relatively short growing season.

• Maintain by regular weeding, pruning, shaping and cleaning out dead
wood.

• Water, water, water.

HOME & GARDEN MARCH 30 1 2006

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