- Our local Stevens County Historical Museum sponsors walking tours around the cities in our county.

Tom and I really like history and so we love to go on these walking tours.

A few years ago the walking tour was in Alberta, Minnesota and one of the stops really caught my eye.

Everyone else was looking at the history things, but I was amazed at the yard and the plantings.

I Mary Holm host a Prairie yard and garden and let's go see the pretty yard and why it caught my eye on the tour.

- Funding for Prairie Yard and Garden is provided by Heartland Motor Company providing service to Minnesota and the Dakotas for over 30 years.

In the heart of Truck country, Heartland Motor Company, we have your best interest at Heart Farmers Mutual Telephone Company and Federated Telephone Cooperative.

Proud to be powering AC Pioneers in bringing state-of-the-art technology to our rural communities.

Mark and Margaret Yael Julene in honor of Shalom Hill Farm, a non-profit rural education retreat center in a beautiful prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota and by friends of Prairie Yard and Garden.

A community of supporters like you who engage in the long-term growth of the series.

To become a friend of Prairie Yard and Garden, visit pioneer.org/p YG.

- I've known Barb Thomason for years.

In fact, her mom and aunt were in our Bible study group and I know some of her brothers, a sister and cousins too.

Isn't it funny how we know someone but don't know much at all at the same time?

I didn't know where Barb lived until the Alberta walking tour.

After seeing her yard and the neat things she has done with it, I called and asked if we could come and show our viewers and she said yes.

Thanks Barb for letting us come to visit.

- I'm glad to have you.

- How long have you lived here?

- We've lived here for 49 years, so we've been here a while.

- So what did the yard look like when you came?

- It was bad news.

It was, it just hadn't been cared for.

It was actually Glen's grandparents' home, so when we purchased it, yes there was a tremendous amount of work to do.

- Do you use annuals, perennials, or both?

- I use both.

A lot of the perennials that really won't make winter, I store in my garage and we keep our garage at 50 degrees and just water 'em every so often and put 'em back out in the spring to grow again.

- Well I noticed that you have some really pretty plants on the north side of your porch and so what do you like to use there - And shade plants of course 'cause it really doesn't get anything but real early morning sun and a little bit of late afternoon sun.

So the best thing I can find to put there is hostage.

They're nice to have.

I enjoy looking at 'em and they're a little bit different color green.

And then I have a couple baskets that I, that are shade baskets that I keep year after year.

- So the annuals, do you start those from seed or do you usually buy those?

- I usually buy 'em.

I don't have really good light in the garage to me, I, I give them their business as well.

- What are these pretty vines that are right here by us?

- These are called thermia.

I plant these here every year.

The orange one is more aggressive of the colors that I've used and they'll go clear up around the roof if I don't cut 'em back so they get very tall.

- So this is an annual?

Yes.

And they've grown this much in one year?

Yep.

- This one got planted probably two weeks after these two because I thought I had three orange ones and I had a white one.

So I moved the white one out, moved this one in, but it's catching up.

It'll be there before long.

I have the honeysuckle vine that windstorm took flat down to the ground.

So I've been kind of nursing it back to health and I think it's gonna make it.

Last year I wasn't so sure it was pretty sparse, but this year it's much fuller and I do have a few CLS that I think it got warm this year and they kind of got to a certain height and started blooming.

Whereas I think when it's maybe a little cooler, they get taller before they bloom.

They were pretty, they still bloom.

Nice.

- Tell me about this area here and how it came to be.

- Well this started out as a dog kennel.

We raised German short hairs for years and when the last one was gone, sat for a couple years and just came to me, I was gonna make it into my front porch.

So I went around and collected whatever I could find and put it together as a front porch.

That's a screen door back there that was in the garage for years 'cause it was the wrong size, never used it.

The window box was on the way to the garbage and I salvaged that the window came out of an old farmhouse that my brothers have.

This bistro set here actually came from the state fairgrounds from years ago in my grandmother's old washing machine that thankfully I don't have to use little too much work for me.

And then the ladder across the top that we put birdhouses on and those vines will climb across there as well.

- Barb, tell me the story of the chandelier.

Most people don't have a chandelier in their yard.

- The thomason's, every year we host a Thomason reunion here because that's where they grew up and every year we do a white elephant sale and this came there one year and I had visions of putting it in our screen porch to start with.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't really want it there.

So it ended up out here.

It does have electricity but not to it.

It's not a working chandelier.

When the sun glistens off all the little beads on there, it really glistens different colors.

So it, it's really quite pretty in the evening when the sun hits it.

- How many bird houses do you have in your yard?

- Somewhere in the neighborhood of between 20 and 25.

They're just kinda sprinkled everywhere.

They need a home too.

The far one on the left, the one on the ladder, that one is actually made out of wood from my grandpa's greenery that we put together and decided we wanted, wanted to put it up there.

This one here just has a lot of hold hardware on it.

This here nut came from a flea market that we, we found it at and the top does come off so you can clean it out.

We do get RINs in there and they're fun to listen to 'em sing.

They have a pretty song.

I - Even thought I saw wood duck nest when we were coming in here.

Oh yeah.

- We have wood ducks in there every year city.

And we're not real close to water, which is where they usually head.

- What is the story behind, behind the Miracle Stone?

- Oh, well I am a cancer survivor and my brother is and my sister-in-Law.

We've had a fair amount of in our family and when I got past my stages, our son made that for me, kind of had it in the garden or in the house ever since.

So it's kind of special to me.

- I love how you've used the ladder to house your bird houses, but you must feed the birds too.

- Oh yes, we, we do.

And we really enjoy watching them as as they're being fed or as they're feeding.

So yes, we can certainly go look at that.

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- Providing our product locally is a really big deal to us because we want to be able to offer it to our community and to think about our carbon footprint that people can get it here instead of having to go to a big box store to get our product.

- The next time you are looking for a healthier meat option for your next meal, consider bison as the center of your dinner table.

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- This is our bird feeding station if you will.

It, it's actually just an old screen out of an old screen door and it works well because the water runs through it.

It doesn't get to be a pasty sticky mess.

The seed that we use, we use safflower thistle seed and a wild bird food seed and we get lots of different kinds of birds.

We get gross beaks, lots of sparrows, grackles, Oreos, woodpeckers wanna enjoy the trees.

Every once in a while we hear them.

They seem to readily eat it because it gets filled quite often.

I have no idea what the the base is from.

We found it somewhere and and the screen fit on it.

So that's why it's there.

And once again, it's rust.

- It looks like you like to use a lot of antiques.

- I do.

I do enjoy the old things.

- And where do you get a lot of them from?

- We just kinda spot 'em here and there.

We don't necessarily even go looking for things.

They just, you know, you, you're wandering around and you see something you think will work.

We get it.

- Tell me the story about this bell.

- This bell we really, not even sure where it originated, but we ended up purchasing at a auction sale and it does have the, the bell in the, in the bottom.

So the grandkids used to like to see how much noise they could make with it and it is quite loud.

- And are there some other antiques that you have gotten from your family's farms or other things too that you've used?

- Well I do have a cream can cart that belonged to Glen's uncle that I use for a flower, put a flower pot on, it's got the big iron wheels on it.

And the tub that I use is actually a silage tub that I used when, when we lived on a farm site and fed cattle.

No bottom left in it, but a pot fits inside of it so I, that's how I use it.

And our old pump, of course it doesn't pump water but it just makes it interesting in the old wood barrel there.

- So is the fire hydrant really belong?

I mean is it the cities or is - It yours?

It's, well it used to be the cities and it was no longer working so they had to replace it so it just laid up here by the city shop and Glen asked if they weren't gonna use it for anything, if he could have it.

So we cut the big long pipe off the bottom of it and buried it over here.

- Tell me the story behind this wheel.

- We were at a friend's house and he had these leaning up against a shed.

We're not real sure where it, what it was used for, but we think there was probably a pipe through the middle hole and another spool on the other side so that it was like a spool with something wrapped on that inner pipe.

And this is kind of a work in progress, I just kind of add to it as I find things.

These are heat protectors that went around the stove pipe in the how old houses that heated with wood or coal as it went up through the vents to the upper level and the, the stove pipe went through the middle and I have found another wand, this was coated with lots of paint and I had it sandblasted so now I'm gonna let it rust and then I'll position this somewhere on there.

I'm not sure exactly where, but I'm hoping to incorporate them.

But yeah, we just kinda pick up here and there.

- Well it looks like you like to use some succulents too.

Do you make those new each spring or do you overwinter them and how?

- Well, I do keep some of them.

The trailing one there I do keep over winter.

I have a couple of those that are in different baskets because they are so hearty.

Some of them I do buy if I find one that looks really interesting.

Otherwise, yeah, I just keep 'em over over winter in my garage and that seems to be enough to just maintain them.

They don't grow but they do maintain that way.

- What's the story behind your little truck?

- Well, Glen has for years always had an old truck that he drove back and forth to work whatever he could pick up.

And one year our daughter gave that to Glen for father's day.

And as we've had it for many years, it's got lots of rust in the truck box but it still holds water when it rains.

So yeah, he gets put away every winter and bring them back in the spring and he just takes up space there.

- What is the little dish out in the yard here for - Glen made that he drilled a hole through a cup and a saucer and just use the bolt to head into the steel pipe and we put grape jelly in there for the Oreos and they eat it almost as fast as we can put it out there.

And they, but they enjoy it.

They, they must like it and of course the water's close by, which they also like too.

- That's what I was gonna ask.

You have several water features, right?

- Oh we actually have four.

We have three bird baths and that we've collected here and there.

Then we also have a circulating pump made from an old cistern pump.

I think this maybe the noise attracts 'em a little bit that the water noise because they seem to be plentiful back there too.

We like, we like to just sit and watch and see what shows up and the Oreos are so pretty.

- It seems to me like you like to use gates and ladders and stuff.

Where did that come from?

- That old gate actually we hauled home from Kansas.

We were in Kansas, we were coming through Kansas.

Glen has a sister who lives there and a guy across the street is kind of a real, a real collector.

And so we wandered over there just to see what he might have and then he had this gate and so we purchased them from him and of course we were driving our equinox and we probably looked like the Griswolds as we Dr.

Drove home from down there.

It howled all the way home because they wouldn't fit in the vehicle.

We had to tie them on top.

So we had small chunks of carpet underneath so it wouldn't scratch up the car.

But we managed to get it home.

And then the little finials on the top are actually old ones off of bed.

And then of course we have that birdhouse over there.

He's so homely, he's kind of cute.

We do get a sparrows I think pretty much habitat in there I think.

I think they kind of like it in there.

- Barb, there's a nice area over there that I just have to ask you about.

Can you show that to us?

- Absolutely.

We'll walk over there and take a look.

- I have a question.

I'm interested in small fruits and I've heard about err ronia berries.

What are they?

- Okay, so an err ronia berry also goes by the name of black choke berry, which you may have heard of.

There are a lot of different cultivars of err ronia berries that are very easy to grow and they just grow as more of a bush or a shrub.

They're not going to sucker and spread throughout your garden.

So one thing that's really great about aronia berry is it is extremely easy to grow.

So let's say you're somebody who would like to try growing a fruit in your garden for the first time, but you don't wanna have to worry about a lot of diseases and insect pests on your fruit.

Err ronia berry is something that grows very easily.

So these shrubs come in different sizes.

Some of them will grow as tall as four or five feet maximum.

Some of them are bred to grow very short to be maybe a border plant at the front of your garden.

So if you plant err ronia, you should expect a small black berries to form in let's say late summer to early autumn.

So those berries are going to turn very dark blue or black in color before they are ripe.

You are going to harvest those in let's say late August, early September, here in Minnesota, even when they are ripe.

Here's the kicker about err ronia.

They're very stringent berries.

You could eat them fresh but it's not going to be an enjoyable experience.

Typically people grow err ronia too used in jams, jellies, juices and syrups for its antioxidant properties.

And when you do create those preserves out of err ronia and include some sugar in them, it does make a really nice product and it's a very healthy fruit.

- Ask the arboretum experts has been brought to you by the Minnesota landscape Arboretum in Chaska dedicated to welcoming, informing and inspiring all throughout standing displays, protected natural areas, horticultural research and education.

- Barb, how did you make your fence?

- It is actually made out of an old wooden ladder in Alberta.

There's a brush pile north of town that we can haul, haul our fallen branches and things too.

And we hauled branches out one day and lo and behold, here was this huge double ladder.

And of course I told Glen right away, I said I want that ladder.

And he looked at me like I was crazy.

He, and he's got a short box on his pickup and then it kind of teetered and wobbled all the way home.

But we got it here.

We did cut it to, you know, to make the corners.

But otherwise, yeah, it's just, it's just an old wooden ladder.

And the posts I got from my brother at the farm site where I grew up with those, we put in and I have another gate on the other side of this campus grass.

And that actually belonged to a lady who was a postmaster in Alberta for many years.

And after she passed away then I was able to acquire that and, and, and the fence lights up.

They're solar lights so they light up when it gets dark and it really is pretty.

I like it.

And on the, we have a solar light that's actually strapped to the tree and so that sheds light on just the, just the kilo.

And that actually came from south of Starbuck little horse on top came from a garage sale that I don't think I paid very much for and he just fit right in the hall.

So he's been there ever since.

- Barb, what is that metal thing there?

- That's what's called a shear and they used it to cut shingles.

I can't imagine running a machine like that for hours on end.

I, it's, it's terribly, terribly heavy for one thing and it was bolted to a rotted log.

- I love this stone bird bath.

- We bought them at a garage sale.

I don't know who made them, but we always tease everything.

I had glass in the yard, either got hit with something from the lawnmower or the kids playing, so I knew this one.

They probably wouldn't get away with that.

So we've had this one for quite a while and in fact I have the matching pedestal for the mailbox.

But of course we don't use the mailbox part.

We put a bird house on the ledge that the mailbox is supposed to sit on the top actually comes off of it.

It is two pieces it seems to hold up - Well speaking of stones.

Yes.

Have you gotten into stacking stones or what?

Oh - Those actually every year my mother's family, the Murphy family has a family reunion and my mother grew up south of Morris and I have a cousin that still lives on the farm site and one year he brought this stack of rocks to the reunion.

They weren't a stack, it was just rocks he said on the counter.

And for a dollar we could put in weight of the total weight of the rocks, your - Guess?

- Yes, whatever we thought they weighed, anybody could do it.

And first place got like half the pot, half the money that was collected and I don't remember what second and third was, but fourth place got the rocks and I got the rocks and there they are.

So it's kind of fun to have 'em there just 'cause I know they're from original homesteaded land in Stevens County, so, but it was kind of funny, they all laughed at me when I got the rocks and I was actually kinda happy.

- And then what is that?

I assume it's an antique that's sitting close to the rocks.

- Oh yes.

That's a, A sharpener.

Yeah, it was used to sharpen your knives or sickle blades, whatever you needed to sharpen stones in a little bit tough shape.

And it, some of the pieces are missing, there's petals on it that makes the wheel turn and it, I think every farm place probably had one at one time to use to sharpen all their tools.

And this little one right by the yellow cone flowers, that is a butterfly, but it's got, it's all made of silverware and there's one bolt I think in it.

Otherwise it's knives and the handle from the knives and a few things.

So that's just kind of fun to have out here.

And he's rusting as well.

Resting and rusting.

- You know, I see a lot of beautiful plants back over on the east side of your house.

Yes.

What is that?

- That is actually a rain garden that we had with the help of soil conservation service that we put that in and it's pretty maintenance free.

We, we did have to thin down some of the grasses because it got quite, they started to spread.

It really attracts butterflies, although I haven't seen a lot of them yet this year I'm hoping to see lots more.

It grows really well.

And it was in a, a cost share program and they put in what they thought was best for there and butterfly weed that was absolutely gorgeous in there.

This year it was just beautiful orange and it was so thick in there.

But of course now that's done.

Now we're onto different ones, but, - So why was it placed there?

- Well, it's probably the, one of the most open areas in the yard and it collects the water.

It's lower in the center and so if it rains hard, the water will collect there and go down slowly versus it raining, you know, raining right beside your house and unfortunately maybe hitting to your basement and it seems to work fine.

- How do you take care of that in the fall and in the spring?

- Well, in the, we leave it for fall because there's milkweed in there that, and there's seeds on some of the grasses, but the birds feed off of, and in the spring we burn it off, we burn it all off and that seems to really clean it up well and then it, it just comes back from there.

- So after seeing your beautiful yard and your beautiful plants, do you have some favorite plants?

- Well, probably one of my favorites is the, is the cone flowers.

I really enjoy them.

I really like the butterfly bush and I have been able to kind of get them to come back.

They're not normally supposed to come back in Minnesota 'cause it gets too cold.

So I've started stacking bags of mulch, the bag and all just piling them on at over the top and I've gotten several of them to come back.

So that's kind of fun.

They take off a little faster than, than just buying one and putting it in the ground.

But they do pretty well.

But, and I like those because they do attract butterflies and they smell so pretty.

- Barb, thanks so much for letting us come out on this hot day and see your beautiful yard and see all of your great ideas.

- It's just fun to do for me.

It's therapy.

Mary.

I love doing this and I, if people want to come by and enjoy it.

Wonderful.

So I do enjoy doing it.

- Funding for Prairie Yard and Garden is provided by Heartland Motor Company, providing service to Minnesota and the Dakotas for over 30 years.

In the heart of truck country, Heartland Motor Company, we have your best interest at Heart Farmers Mutual Telephone Company and Federated Telephone Cooperative.

Proud to be powering a Sierra Pioneers in bringing state-of-the-Art Technology to our rural communities.

Mark and Margaret Yael.

Jolene in honor of Shalom Hill Farm, a nonprofit rural education retreat center in a beautiful prairie setting near Windham, Minnesota.

And by friends of Prairie Yarding Garden, a community of supporters like you who engage in the long-term growth of the series.

To become a friend of Prairie Yard and Garden, visit pioneer.org/p.