By Grace Scism
Tucked away at a dead-end street bordering Greece Canal Park is a home surrounded by lovingly cared-for gardens that are like being transported to the English countryside. The gardens are JoMarcia Franck’s labor of love.
A semi-retired registered nurse, Franck and her husband, Jim, have lived in their home for 35 years, raising their two children, Benjamin and Jamie, there.
“You know, if anyone had told me when I retired I would be really into gardening and quilting, I would have said ‘no, I don’t think so,’” said Franck. “But when we moved here 35 years ago, there weren’t any gardens.”
Despite having fractured her back 13 years ago, and again three years ago, Franck dug out every garden herself with an ax. Her husband helps carry bags of soil and heavier items, placing them wherever she points.
“I can hear my mother saying, ‘JoMarcia, just remember, when you’re digging up gardens, what you dig up, you have to take care of,’” said Franck. “Now I hear that voice every time I plant something or pull weeds.”
The couple vacations in Florida for about five weeks in the winter, and when they return, the process of getting the beds ready for spring begins. It is not uncommon for Franck to spend six hours a day gardening.
“I don’t know where she gets her energy,” said Jim.
Franck says the gardening has rejuvenated her since fracturing her vertebrae. “I worked for a doctor who said to his patients, ‘You have to keep going because chronic pain, there really is no dealing with it.’ So, when I’m doing something I have a passion for, I don’t feel (the pain) as much.”
A nurse at Rochester General Hospital for 38 years, and another 17 between Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital, Franck is no stranger to hard work. She now works part time, about eight hours per week, as a private nurse.
Jim, a retired polymer chemist for 38 years, makes it possible for his wife to spend so many hours in the garden by helping with the indoor chores. He also built a porch on their Amish-made garden shed as an anniversary gift for her, and then together they created a path winding to their patio.
When the couple is away, Franck’s brother, Christopher Bihrle, makes sure the plants are watered. “So, between the two of them, I’m blessed,” said Franck.
Among the wide variety of plants, which Franck learned about through trial and error and by reading books and magazines, are many bird houses, fairy houses, even Mackenzie Childs-inspired art and a Tiffany shade that’s turned upside down to hold a pot. The couple frequently stop at garage sales, flea markets, and antique shops to find items that they can add to the gardens.
“I love to go for rides in the country and see other homes and their gardens. You get ideas from that too,” said Franck. They’ve even gone on “rock expeditions.” Each garden is bordered with rocks, some found in their yard and many on their country drives.
Franck swears by a natural seaweed fertilizer that she purchases at Sara’s Garden Center in Brockport. “I feed my flowers every 10 days with this feed called Maxsea, and there are no chemicals in it,” she explained. “It really does a good job and makes your blossoms larger and healthier.”
Franck also mulches, taking out some of the old every year and replacing it with new. But she doesn’t remove the leaves in the fall. “I leave the leaves in the fall because it acts as a natural mulch too, and it protects the roots of the plants and bushes.”
The couple’s gardens, even just from the front of the house, attract curious walkers who sometimes ask if they can see more, and Franck obliges. One woman, who stopped at their garage sale, even asked if JoMarcia would come to her home in Hilton and give her some suggestions. “I’m no master gardener, but I said, ‘sure.’”
One might wonder what Franck does with all of her gardening hours in the winter. “In the late fall and winters, I quilt,” she noted. She went to one quilting class and has since made 14. “I can sit down and read a book, but she’s got to be busy,” Jim added.
The couple’s four granddaughters, who range in age from 10 to 15, found their grandparents’ gardens a joy when they were younger, but not the bugs. “They are deeply involved in travel sports and dance at the present time. Hopefully when they get older, they will have fond memories of the gardens,” said Franck.
Photos by Christopher Bihrle.
