Curb Appeal on Audubon
Sharon Luckerman stands in her yard filled with her native plants. Image courtesy of Susan Newell
With so many nicely landscaped homes on Audubon, it was difficult to pick a favorite this month, but the profusion of peonies and purple irises in Sharon Luckerman’s front yard were irresistible.
Her love of gardening started decades ago. “I grew up in Chicago,” she says, “and the only thing we grew were four o’clock flowers. We used the black hard seed pods to throw at people! Later, I lived in Portland, Oregon and my flat had a quarter acre of land behind it I could use. I started putting seeds and plants in the ground - zucchini, asparagus, squash and blueberry bushes - and was amazed that they grew! My neighbor from Estonia gave me pointers and encouragement. I’ve had a garden every year since I moved here – and that was over 45 years ago!
The garden in front is mostly filled with native plants and perennials. Sharon has planned it so that something is always blooming, from spring into fall. The forsythia is first to welcome spring, followed by peonies and iris, which give way to hydrangeas, hibiscus, and joe pye weed. (Don’t let the term “weed” fool you. They’re beautiful!) She also has a few herbs, a couple of tomato plants, and even a watermelon plant tucked among the more showy plants.
“I experiment almost every year and try something new. The last few years I planted peewee hydrangea bushes, fairy candles (Black Cohosh), and watermelons. I especially enjoy gardening in the quiet morning or later in the afternoon when, once in a while, people stop by.”
If the front yard is a feast for the eyes, the back yard, where most of her vegetables grow, is a literal feast. As any gardener knows, growing vegetables presents special challenges. “Squirrels put out the call for ‘free food’,” Sharon says with a laugh. Rabbits, too, treat a vegetable garden like an all-you-can eat buffet.
This year she tried covering her early plants, like kale, lettuce, broccoli and bok choi with netting to protect them. It’s the first time her bok choi grew big and healthy, with no moth’s larva holes or squirrels eating it. Next, she’ll try covering her tomato plants with netting and hopefully save some tomatoes from big bites squirrels take every year right before she picks them. She also found that putting small rocks around her plants have so far kept the squirrels and rabbits away. We’ll see for how long!
Sharon gets many of her plants and seeds from Keep Growing Detroit. For an annual membership of $15 a year, you can get small plants for cool weather (“cold plants”) and warm weather (“hot plants”) four times a year. KGD also offers compost. “It’s been a great resource,” Sharon says.
When she isn’t working or relaxing in her garden, Sharon is a writer and a fundraiser for Detroit non-profits. Her current project is developing the Detroit Film Symposium 2027, dedicated to promoting film making in Detroit. “We want a city with a thriving film infrastructure” she says, “where filmmakers can build meaningful careers and audiences can have more cinematic experiences.
Detroit has so many stories to offer, and we want local filmmakers to tell them.” To that end, she’s creating a two day symposium next year for education and networking opportunities among current and potential filmmakers, producers, and investors in Detroit. Stay tuned!
