Sowing Inspiration
What began as a small vegetable garden in the corner of M. Wendy and Morley Gwirtzman’s backyard turned into a “labor of love” for some 45 years. Little did the Brighton, New York couple know when they planted the first seed that they were sowing a lifetime of inspiration.
Many Hands Make Light Work
Mrs. Gwirtzman, an accomplished artist who studied art education at Buffalo State College and taught for several years in the West Irondequoit school district, admits that when it came to gardening, she was more her husband’s student in the early days. It was her late husband, along with the various helping hands the couple hired over the years, such as Broccolo Tree and Lawn Care Inc., that made the garden what it is today.
The Gwirtzmans have been a client of Broccolo Tree and Lawn Care Inc., located in Brighton, New York, for more than 20 years. But owner Laurie Broccolo says it’s the other way around. “After working with [Wendy] for years, I’m more of the client,” she said.
Broccolo explains that it was Mrs. Gwirtzman who inspired her to go into garden design after challenging her to come up with a solution for the front yard. Dense shade made it impossible to grow grass and had rendered the space unattractive and unusable. Rather than removing the trees in the front, Broccolo worked with the shade by replacing the sickly grass with shade-loving plants and created a woodland path. The finished product gave Broccolo the confidence she needed to expand her business.
“She really launched my design career,” Broccolo said of Mrs. Gwirtzman.
A Botanical Color Palette
An organic flagstone and redbrick walkway draws you from the front yard to the back. Along the path, custom-made pieces of metal art, commissioned by local artisans, exhibit what inspires the owner’s whimsical nature. Stay on course and you come to a small pond — installed by a landscaper and former art student of Mrs. Gwirtzman — amidst a glade of sun-loving perennials.
A patio made of the same stone and brick as the walkway connects the garden to the home and permits entry to what serves as an art studio for Mrs. Gwirtzman. The studio’s ample windows let in plenty of natural light for painting and offer a clear view of the garden — the perfect backdrop for the watercolorist and her students.