Join me on a tour of the new gardens at our studio on Maker Farm! Two years ago, this was nothing but cornfields. Then we built a studio for JenniferMaker and moved in at the end of last year. Stepping outside our studio four months ago, you would have seen nothing but dirt. So we set out to grow something beautiful here on this empty land… just a little garden to the south of our new studio. But in the past four months we planted seven gardens. I’ll show you all seven gardens, as well as our natural meadows, and reveal all the successes and failures.
Gardens Shown in This Video:
0:00 Welcome to my garden!
1:58 Heritage Garden
3:14 Terrace Garden
4:19 Kitchen Garden
5:35 Cottage Garden
7:57 Sunflower Garden
9:24 Victory Garden
10:18 Market Garden
10:52 Clover lawn
11:13 Meadows around the farm
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” – Audrey Hepburn
Garden Plant Hardiness Zone: 6A (average annual minimum temperatures between -10°F to -5°F,)
Where I bought many of my native plants: Designs by Nature LLC at designsbynaturellc.com
Where I registered our garden as a Monarch Waystation: http://monarchwatch.org/waystations/
#cottagecore #gardeninspiration #homestead
(crickets and gentle music) (water being pumped) (water pouring from watering can) (gate opening) (orioles chirping) (plucking a tomato) Welcome to Maker Farm. In our first year gardens two years ago, this was nothing but cornfields. Then we built the studio and moved in at the end of last year. Stepping outside our studio four months ago, you would have seen this view. So we set out to grow something beautiful here on this empty land, just a little garden to the south of our new studio. But in the past four months, we planted seven gardens. Now, we didn’t plan to plant seven gardens. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could plant any this year. So I was in a hard place with my health, and I was thinking maybe this just wasn’t the year to grow anything. But something in me needed to create something. Because to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. And I really wanted to believe in tomorrow. So I started a lot of gardens, and now one of those gardens is a disaster. But one of those gardens turned out to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever grown. So let me show you around the seven gardens here at the farm to see what happened when we just tried. Even though the situation wasn’t ideal and we did everything late, I want to invite you to do the same, even if you’re tired, even if you feel behind, because the act of creating can change everything. This is the front garden, the first thing you see when you arrive at our studio. We started by adding the stepping stones, and then we planted a soft carpet of mini clover around them. I love how this turned out. Every flower planted here is a native perennial in Michigan, chosen because not only are those flowers friendlier to the local bees and birds, but that means it will also be lower maintenance. These are plants that can handle the climate here, which is cold winters and warm, humid summers. I think there are over 50 plants here now, including a row of native sunflowers that I found growing elsewhere on our farm last year. So I’m calling this our heritage garden. Now, this garden will take time to fill in, as native perennials tend to do, and that’s okay. It means less upkeep now, steady growth over the seasons, and a space that will naturally get better each year. I think sometimes the best things we make start small and slow, right where nothing was before. Now let’s go down the hill to the second garden we made, the terrace garden. This is a space Greg built for us using many rocks found right here on the farm, plus some more that we had to have trucked in, of course. The terrace runs the full length of our studio and acts as a retaining wall to keep the garden area above secure. This was a big and important project as it also helps manage the water runoff from our huge roof. And Greg actually installed special drains beneath our gutters that channel the water out and away from the raised area. One day we’ll plant something special here on the terrace. But for the time being, we’ve spread some crimson clover seeds to discourage weeds and prevent erosion. I think it looks pretty now, and next year it will grow into a lush carpet of red blooms. There’s something so satisfying about a space like this. Even before the plants fill in. You can see the bones of it. And you know it’s going to be really beautiful in time. The third garden we made is up these stone steps and tucked conveniently right against the studio. This is the kitchen garden, our little collection of five raised beds for fresh food. We’ve been using these veggio garden raised beds at home, and we think they’re quite amazing. So we get some for the studio as well. We fill our raised beds with branches and then some compost and topsoil. And everything in them just grows so well. And we really, really love growing our own food. There’s just nothing like stepping outside to gather what you need for a meal or just getting a snack. Cherry tomatoes warmed by the sun are my absolute favorite all time food. And these raised beds have been really bountiful this year. We’ve already harvested lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and beans. There’s even fresh herbs growing here. I am a big believer in creating food security. And I’ve turned some of these cucumbers into pickles for our pantry to enjoy over the winter. I need to get a move on with the tomatoes before I eat them all. The fourth garden we made is right down the path. This is what we call our cottage garden because we surrounded it with a pretty white picket fence like a cottage. This picket fence was quite the project, too. Greg did most of the hard work digging the holes, Setting the post, Painting the pickets, and hanging the three gates. And I think it turned out really, really lovely. Inside the cottage garden, we built four. Four raised beds and filled them mostly with native perennials. Again, there’s a wildflower garden with flowers like the native sunflowers and yarrow, A butterfly garden with milkweed and butterfly weed, A bee garden with bee balm and joe pye weed, and a hummingbird garden with phlox and rose mallow, also known as hibiscus. Almost all of these were planted as very young seedlings using garden kits from a local native plant nursery. And I am amazed at how fast and beautifully. These plants have grown in just a few short months. These are flowers that will feed the pollinators and bring color for years to come. Now, it’s still early for these plants, but even now, this space has a certain charm. This fence frames it. The blooms add life, and together they make it feel like a little sanctuary. On the farm, I am often drowned out there to be with the flowers, especially in the mornings, or just sit and appreciate it all. We love the stepping stone path that we added to the heritage Garden so much that we added stepping stones in here, too. We’re thinking of sprinkling some creeping thyme seeds among them, so it feels like lush underfoot. And because this cottage garden is such a pollinator’s haven, we registered it as a monarch waystation. It has everything monarchs need. Native milkweed plants, nectar plants like the sunflowers and coneflowers. Lots of sun and plenty of shelter. And already we’ve spotted monarchs, viceroys, swallowtails, and even the caterpillars themselves. This garden is still so young, but even now, it feels like the centerpiece of our outdoor area. It creates a place that’s more than just a garden. It, like, wraps you up in a warm hug. Our fifth garden is on the other side, where this circle of plants you see is. This ring is planted with 10 different varieties of sunflowers, from little to big. I planted it with the hope that when the sunflowers grew up, they would form natural walls, creating a secret shady nook. So I call this the sunflower room garden. Right now, everything is still growing, of course, but you can see that it’s working. It won’t be long before these are tall enough to enclose this space. And I can see it in my mind, with shady leaves and yellow petals enclosing it all. And one of the early blooming sunflowers is already starting to show. Now, I love sunflowers, and I also planted an entire acre of sunflowers out in the field, just like I did last year, because it was just so beautiful. Unfortunately, it just didn’t take. This year, I think I got some bad seeds with very poor germination, unfortunately. And the lack of good plants here means the weeds just grew everywhere. It happens. And I’ve learned my lesson about where I ordered my seeds. I think we’ll just plant a winter cover crop here instead, such as rye or alfalfa, and try again next year, because some things work out, some things don’t, but both teach you something. All right, let’s go back down the road. To the studio for our sixth garden, which I call the Victory Garden. This is a plot of raised rows right in the ground. But rather than digging into the soil, I added straw, compost, and topsoil to make raised beds. I planted the raised rows with broccoli, beets, bush beans, peas, and cucumbers. They’re simple crops, but they’re really useful for growing food, which is exactly what a victory garden is all about. Ensuring a reliable food supply at home for less reliance on other food sources. Sources. This is an experimental garden to see how much food it can grow from simple and inexpensive seeds in the ground, just as our great grandmothers and fathers did with their Victory Gardens. I only recently finished the garden because I had surgery this summer. So this is a fall garden with what I hope is a bountiful autumn harvest. The last garden we made is the market garden garden down the steps here. The intention here is to plant it with bigger things that need more space, like pumpkins and melons. And they’re going to take their time before showing much. Alas, we have not made as much progress here as we wanted, so we may also plant a cover crop. So we’re ready to go for next year. But I like to walk through here and imagine the rows, filled, vines heavy with fruit and veggies. So this is a garden for the future. Future, really A reminder that what we plant today will nourish us later. And I can’t forget to mention that we planted mini clover around the entire studio, Acres and acres of it, because we love clover and so do the bees. It’s beautiful and lush, and I’m so glad we used it rather than just straight grass seed. We actually did a mix, of course, but it’s just amazing and beautiful. And beyond the clover are our meadows, nature’s own gardens. I am in awe at how beautiful they are, filled with so many different wildflowers just growing without any effort on our part. I found blue vervain, goldenrod, Queen Anne’s lace, Joe Pye weed, and evening primrose just growing out here. The meadows amaze me because I know that just two years ago, they were filled with corn. I look forward to watching this land evolve, and I hope to fill these meadows with even more native wildflowers over time. Out of all of the gardens that we made this year, the cottage garden is the most beautiful thing I think that we have made. The flowers took root better than I thought they would with so many more blossoms. And one of my favorite things is how it needs very little little watering probably because everything is native to this climate. I still like to water the plants a little bit because it makes me feel like I’m taking care of them. But the truth is, I don’t think they need it. I can’t wait to see this garden explode with growth next year. And yes, everything I’ve shown you today is still growing. This is definitely not a finished garden, but I can see what it’s going to be, and I hope you can, too. And maybe that’s why I love it so, so much. Because gardening is about seeing the beauty before it’s even there. And this year has reminded me that making things, whether it’s a garden, a loaf of bread, or a sweet card, matters a lot. Especially when life feels hard. If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to start something, the perfect moment is right now. It is never too late to grow something beautiful. Creating things, how we reclaim joy, how we move forward, how we heal. And if you’re someone who’s been struggling, like me this year, if your energy is low, if your days are too full or your heart is tired, I want you to hear this really clearly. It is not too late. It is not too late to begin something new. It’s not too late to return to something you love. And it’s not too late to make something beautiful, even in the middle of everything hard. Every garden you’ve seen today was planted late and imperfectly. Everyone was made in the middle of pain and uncertainty. And yet they grew. And I grew, too. Thank you for walking through the gardens with me. I hope this little visit reminds you of your own strength and of how powerful it is to make something, even when life feels fragile. Fragile. Until next time, this is Jennifer Maker reminding you to craft a life you love.
48 Comments
Your cottage garden is like a Monet painting
You look great and I love your gardens. You’ve done a wonderful job. 💕🥰🌸
Thank you for sharing your gardens and your encouraging words. God bless!
Your home and land is a dream place!! Love it!!! Glad you are feeling better.
Your gardens are just beautiful. And so is your soul. Thank you for sharing words of encouragement that all of us can benefit from. I'm so sorry to learn you had some health issues. Your strength and positive vibe will cure you more than medicine, and I will continue to lift you up in prayer. God bless.
This was to refreshing to see. So beautiful great job! Thank you for sharing. I live in the desert in California and love gardens, but DESERT…
Absolutely beautiful gardens!
What a beautiful haven you have created. A place where you can rest and enjoy your time as you are healing. I am sorry to hear you have not been feeling well. Happy to see you are on the mend. Your positive attitude and inner strength is inspiring. God bless you and continue to heal you.
Thank you for the beauty you share and the reminder that we all have that beauty within us. My flowerbeds have been a haven for us this year as well, and you've inspired me to do even more. You are right, it's never too late.
What a beautiful place you have to be so creative.
Thank you so much, Jennifer. I needed this. 😊
How do you do it???? You have health problems and surgery and you still manage to turn out these beautiful areas!!! I commend you for your dedication to yourself and to your followers! You are a role model to a lot of us crafters. God bless you and continue to get better Jennifer Maker!!!! Love your attitude!!!! YOU GO GIRL!!!!
I love it happy your felling better stay well….
It looks absolutely wonderfully! Such an amazing sanctuary for you ❤ glad you are on the mend. Wishing you a speedy recovery ❤🎉
Love your encouragement. Glad you are feeling better. You are truly a blessing to all of us!❤
Everything is so gorgeous! I'm also a flower lover and relax when I'm in the gardens.
Beautiful!!! I love to garden and plant, it does relax me and makes me feel like I'm helping the flowers, plants and doing something good, especially when I feel like my art/craft biz I'm trying to create is nit going anywhere – I've had some health issues too this past year (mostly from last Oct.- and a couple yrs before that menopause and all that depressing and sometimes debilitating, crap. I'm in FL and we had a small above ground pool but the water gets too warm for me (I'm from MA and like to be really cooled off when swimming!), and it's been hard to keep it clean – a lot if expensive chemicals and time spent trying to keep it clean…just wasn't worth it so as soon as U am physically able, and it gets cool U am going ti Crete a garden in place of the pool – I have a cement bird bath that I will place in it after painting/sealing it which I hope brings more birds around!! And I need to find good milkweed fir the butterflies!!
You're studio and farmland is do nice…I would love to have that much land and privacy!!! What about having a man-made pond? Not sure if fish stsy under the water that doesn't freeze – I guess it would have to be pretty deep or heated a but somehow (?). Anyway, I wish I was as successful as you – I just have get through some things and keep doing what I can, which def includes learning from you!!! I've gad a Cricut air (Gold edition) for yrs and have not even used it yet. I was working in IT full-time and into other art projects, but I hope to pull it out and start learning it (I bought your Cricut Coach Playbook yesterday)! I want to make the paper flowers…I love them! Thank you for sharing your beautiful land and gardens…it really helped me tonight! 💜
Hi Jennifer. Thank you so much for sharing your story and your gardens with all of us. Your videos are so inspiring and encouraging, they always leave me feeling calm and full of joy. You are a blessing to all of us and I am continuing in prayer for your complete recovery. Your farm is beautiful! I have enjoyed making the Maker Farm Shadow Boxes and hanging them in my kitchen, this fall I will complete my set. 😁
I cried as I watched this beautiful video. Your soothing voice made it so heart warming and special. I thank you for this message. It's never too late to begin again. This was so encouraging. May God bless your new journey.
this farm is absolutely heaven
Oh, my heart! Jennifer, your dream gardens tour, and all the beautiful inspiration you bring along with them, has touched my spirit in ways it desperately needed today. The gardens are absolutely gorgeous and cheerful, and truly are a reminder that anything is possible when we act upon our desires and dreams. Thank you for your timely encouragement, and for always sharing your contagious creativity with us! Sending warm thoughts and prayers for your continued healing. 💕🌻
What a wonderful update, and a wonderful place.
We had a similar experience with our little Texan eight acres when we moved there in 2016. It had been a very small ranch (for alpacas!) for about ten years, but apparently wasn't successful so we bought it from the bank about 18 months after the couple moved out. I found photos online of the place during the alpaca era and the whole property it looked like a closely mown golf course. The bank's agent paid someone to mow it with a brush hog about once a month, and we could tell it wasn't just grass. So after moving there in mid summer we decided to see what popped up if we mowed it only twice for a year – mid fall and early spring…
We have lots of bluebonnets & Indian paintbrushes, elkhorn milkweed, tickseed, white yarrow – like yours), mealy blue sage bushes, a few red clover plants, a few native sunflowers, hedge parsley – which is a close relative of your Queen Anne's lace – plus a few others that I can't remember right now. So it just goes to show what letting nature take a turn can sometimes give you! It's wonderful, and we love it, BUT …
I need to warn you about your Queen Anne's lace plants. It looks as though there aren't very many, yet. Please try to pull them up (or cut them very low to the ground) BEFORE they go to seed. If you don't, you will be rewarded with thousands of Velcro covered little seeds and a bumper crop of extra plants next year – it will try to take over.
I speak from bitter experience – I thought the one patch of hedge parsley we had on the far side of the property would be good for our colony of honeybees. Ironically, they weren't that interested in it. I left it alone because I didn't know about the seeds, so the second year it popped up everrrrywhere. We've managed to reduce the numbers somewhat by mowing and hand pulling just before the flowers turn into seeds, but it's still a nuisance.
You have been warned! 😀
Your videos are wonderful….so colorful, creative, and inspiring. I look forward to each one, and hope there will always be one I haven't yet seen. Thank you so much for sharing your dreams, your inspiration, your hopes, and your love of beauty.
Thank you Jennifer. I hope you are feeling better. What you and your husband have done is amazing. You two are quite a team. Thank you for making us a part of your village!!!
So beautiful, thanks for sharing.
I am blown away. Such beauty! Tranquil, bountiful, and such a thoughtful layout.
Thank you so much for involving us all in your beautiful gardens. You have all worked so hard and made it very special to yourselves and your team, (us) ❤ i feel.so blessed to be a part of it all. I am so happy your feeling better now. Xxx thank you🎉
great video and i am a new subscriber to you
Your farm is beautiful, you gardens wonderful! You are adorable! Be well.
Gardens look great!!! So nice you are feeling better to get out in the garden.
So beautiful! You've done a lot in such a short amount of time. Thank You for sharing
Thank you so much for sharing Jennifer, what a beautiful retreat. Thank you for your encouraging words too.🥰
Thank you Jennifer for sharing your beauty with us – the beauty you see, the beauty you create and the beauty you are! I'm praying for you.
I also garden and used it as therapy over the years. I've created plantings all around our 3/4 acre lot. I enjoy every inch of it as I planted for beauty as well as for the birds and critters the past 29 years. I can also look out my windows and have a summer, fall, winter and spring garden to look at. You've done a lot of work in a short time at the Farm. A lot of thought went into each garden area. Enjoy and heal as you enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Glad to hear that you're doing better. I'm in the process of retiring and my health and my husband's health went downhill pretty fast. I'm just starting to fight to get it back. I need to grow things too. 🙂
God gives us beauty for ashes. I'm glad you're on the mend. May the beauty outside continue to reflect the beauty within. Thanks for these videos and keep being resilient
Your gardens are so beautiful! I know you have had health problems and I have been praying for your recovery and healing.
So happy for you! So glad you are doing better……and……so impressed with your gardens!!! ❤️them ❣️❣️
Thank for sharing Jennifer love your story I’m in the middle of doing my backyard I will be posting on my Facebook and instagram if you want to see my project … I too am going through some healing within me and I am slowly getting back into my love for designing my backyard make over and designing my garden area … I love you cottage garden design that is the same vision I have in mind of creating for my quite time and hopefully it will be done for next year planting 💕
Gorgeous gardens❤ Health trials are a real part of life. I have had over 20 surgeries and each one has had its impact. Glad you seem to be feeling better. Hugs and prayers❤❤❤
There is nothing like nature for healing.
Wow!! what a beautiful and amazing farm. You are so inspiring. Thanks for sharing. Love it! Truly Pure Michigan.
Another beautiful video. Stay well.
Beautiful video!
Oh Jennifer I would never want to leave your farm. I can feel the serenity through my computer screen all the way down here to Australia. Good to have a handy Greg around as well. It's all beautiful.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Jennifer for this beautiful peaceful and inspiring video and garden tour. Thank you for the gentle and kind reminder and thank you most of all to you and your husband for taking the time to make and edit and share these videos. ❤
"Making things matters a lot, especially when life feels hard. Creative things is how we reclaim joy, how we move forward, how we heal." What a beautiful message and reminder I needed. I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time, but watching this video brought me so much joy! I'm so glad to know you're doing better. Thank you for always being so encouraging.