Markham Garden
325 2nd Avenue
325 2nd Avenue is a home at the end of Second Avenue, nestled under the westerly shadows of the sand dunes which extend north from the river channel up the shores of Lake Michigan. The home's tiny footprint was the beginning home of Fred and Anna Weida in 1885. Four generations later, that heritage continues under the ownership of Jim and Martha Markham, daughter of Dorothy Weida, second generation. It is a revered history of the lives and times of living in Manistee that Jim and Martha admire. When Dorothy Kaminsky Weida was in her late 70's, she took up oil painting and immediately created pictures of her journey. One of her paintings was the Fifth Avenue pier. A second painting captured the backyard of her childhood home, 325 2nd Avenue, which was filled with flowers planted by her mother, Anna Weida.
Jim Markham entered the family in 1960 when he married Martha Kaminsky, Dorothy's daughter. Jim's roots for gardening go back to his childhood in Manistee and Parkdale. His father, Thomas, always had a garden. His mother, Esther Olson, was a farmer's daughter, which exposed him to more horticulture. Jim's lifetime journey took him out of Manistee to Sparta, MI where has was a teacher until retiring in 1993. Since then, horticulture has played a role during his retirement years. Jim and Martha revere their Manistee legacy with children and grandchildren and spend treasured time there with friends and family as well. Jim has worked to restore what Dorothy remembered in her paintings. Dealing with the landscape of tired soil, he has tried to brings 325 2nd Avenue into the 21st Century with a combination of new garden beds, container gardens, and the palette of plants to "punch up" the yard and still leave room for play and other activities. Thus far, it has been a challenge, but joyful experience.
325 2nd Avenue
325 2nd Avenue is a home at the end of Second Avenue, nestled under the westerly shadows of the sand dunes which extend north from the river channel up the shores of Lake Michigan. The home's tiny footprint was the beginning home of Fred and Anna Weida in 1885. Four generations later, that heritage continues under the ownership of Jim and Martha Markham, daughter of Dorothy Weida, second generation. It is a revered history of the lives and times of living in Manistee that Jim and Martha admire. When Dorothy Kaminsky Weida was in her late 70's, she took up oil painting and immediately created pictures of her journey. One of her paintings was the Fifth Avenue pier. A second painting captured the backyard of her childhood home, 325 2nd Avenue, which was filled with flowers planted by her mother, Anna Weida.
Jim Markham entered the family in 1960 when he married Martha Kaminsky, Dorothy's daughter. Jim's roots for gardening go back to his childhood in Manistee and Parkdale. His father, Thomas, always had a garden. His mother, Esther Olson, was a farmer's daughter, which exposed him to more horticulture. Jim's lifetime journey took him out of Manistee to Sparta, MI where has was a teacher until retiring in 1993. Since then, horticulture has played a role during his retirement years. Jim and Martha revere their Manistee legacy with children and grandchildren and spend treasured time there with friends and family as well. Jim has worked to restore what Dorothy remembered in her paintings. Dealing with the landscape of tired soil, he has tried to brings 325 2nd Avenue into the 21st Century with a combination of new garden beds, container gardens, and the palette of plants to "punch up" the yard and still leave room for play and other activities. Thus far, it has been a challenge, but joyful experience.