Southern gardener Anthony is a southern charmer
One might say that gardening guru and Grosse Pointe Park resident Mil
Anthony is the anti-Martha Stewart.
While Stewart professes that gardeners strive for picture-perfect gardens
that will be the envy of neighbors, Anthony just wants them to create a
garden where they can find tranquility and respite from life's demands.
"I try to encourage people not to be afraid about not having a perfect
garden," Anthony said. "In this community, there is an underlying pressure
that we've got to be picture perfect. I try to help people relax and just
enjoy their garden."
She explains that leaving a garden to look natural instead of pristine is
many times healthier for plants. She notes that leaving leaves in a
pachysandra bed is good for pachysandra because it likes moist, damp soil.
"A lot of people are relieved when they understand that living things can
accept and thrive with imperfection," said Anthony. "I give them permission
not to be perfect."
Through her company, The Southern Gardener Inc., and her WMTV Channel 5
cable show, Anthony gives practical advice to local gardeners.
Her mission is simple and poignant.
"When I help homeowners with their garden, I want to bring them happiness
first, then peace, and sometimes stimulation and the opportunity to learn
about the plant world," she said.
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
| The
Southern Gardener Mil Anthony taking time from her flourishing gardening
business to tend to a holly bush in own backyard in Grosse Pointe Park.
Photos by Beth Quinn |
|
Anthony's approach is to design a garden that reflects the individuality and
uniqueness of a house and its owner.
"I don't think you can drive down a street and point out a Mil
Anthony-designed garden," she said.
She is very aware that most homeowners don't have the time or legions of
workers to devote to a fussy garden; so she tries to incorporate
low-maintenance plants.
"I try to educate people so they will open themselves up to plants that
don't require a lot of work because they do well in Grosse Pointe," she
explained. "Sometimes they are old-fashioned plants that either people have
forgotten about or don't know about."
She just has one caveat for owners who don't want to do any work in their
gardens.
"There is no such thing as a no-maintenance garden unless it is made of
cement," she warns.
If the name "The Southern Gardener" didn't give you a clue into Anthony's
background, then her accent would. Its drawl suggests long summer evenings
sipping ice tea on a front porch.
"Every day someone asks me where I'm from," she said.
She grew up in eastern North Carolina in a large white colonial house on a
farm that has been in her family for nine generations. The homestead, called
"Longview," still has the remnants of a traditional southern colonial house
with separate buildings for a kitchen, a smoke and wash house.
Her family lived off the farm. She talked about milking cows and churning
butter. Her father practiced organic farming in their vegetable garden years
before the practice became popular.
It was on this farm where she became a gardener.
"I was gardening and in the dirt since I was an iddy biddy girl," she said.
"I was truly a farmer's daughter."
She credits her grandmother for giving her a love of flowers and nature.
"My grandmother would take us for walks in the woods and point out different
types of trees and plants," Anthony said.
While her voice hints of a Southern upbringing, Anthony's 21-years in
Michigan lets her lay claim to being "the only Northerner in my family."
She moved here as a young bride with her now ex-husband who worked in the
auto industry. Both her daughters, Sally, 24, and Anne Mason, 20, went to
Maire Elementary, Pierce Middle and Grosse Pointe South High Schools.
It was Anthony's determination to stay in the family's house in the Park
after her divorce that lead to her gardening career.
"My goal was to have a business that supported me and my girls," she said.
"I was a theater major in college so I knew I wasn't going to Broadway.
My sisters said, 'Mil, why don't you garden?'"
"I took a master gardening course and put an ad in the Grosse Pointe News. I
got my first client, and I still have him."
It was through hard work, deep faith and eternal optimism that Anthony's
business not only supported her and her daughters but grew to support six
employees.
"I turned my life to God and he has given me a gift," she said.
Anthony believes in giving back for her good fortune.
Even though her two daughters have graduated from South where she was the
1998-99 president of the Mothers' Club, she is still actively involved in
the school's annual plant sale.
"A lot of my friends and best customers are from the Mothers' Club," she
said. "I like to give back to the school for what it has done for me and my
girls."
At this year's sale, Anthony will conduct a free container gardening seminar
on Friday, May 13, and Saturday, May 14.
She encourages gardeners to experiment a little with their flower pots. She
notes that a great alternative to the traditional spike are ornamental
grasses.
She said that two hot trends are using leaves such as coleus for color,
shape and texture and using the green color flowers such as chartreuse
zinnias.
Container gardening is one of the hottest trends in the gardening world.
Containers are the perfect way to bring colorful flowers and plants onto a
patio or deck.
"I see more and more people entertaining at home again," Anthony said. "They
love being on their patios or decks."
One of Anthony's favorite places is her house's screened-in porch. The porch
with its casual wicker furniture and rocking chairs evokes images of a
cottage up-north.
"When I first moved into this house, I really didn't care whether or not I
had a screened-in porch," she said, "but I have really come to love it. Now
could never have a house without one."
