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| About Claire... Certain events have happened and evolved since March 2006 and I have now felt compelled to act on the realization of my gifts and many blessings over all the years of my life.
Honestly there is no way to describe my passion for gardening! It stems from my deep loving relationship with my mother, Betty and father, Frank Weiland. The love, patience and compassion of my mother and that my father insisted that we three kids totally respect our mother and fully understand the importance of the words: conviction, hard work and consequences (whether good or bad)!
My parents both were instrumental in my love of gardening. My dad was a big, strong, funny, wild man; everyone says I'm the apple that fell right by that tree! His yard was meticulously cared for and his garden was mostly vegetables with touches of annuals, especially his favorites-- marigolds and zinnias which were perfectly placed. Mom did the flowers around the house and yard; to this day I can't look at a red salvia without thinking of her!
I professionally sang in "Top 40's" rock bands in the Twin Cities from about 1972 to 1989. I've always said it's not fair to others that I had THAT much fun in those young years of my life! The band's names were, Timepiece, where we played a lot at the Hippogriff and I was fortunate enough to perform backup for comedians like Frank Gorshin (the original Riddler), Jimmy Walker ( from the TV show Good Times), Robert Klien, who walked up to me to tell me that my immitation of Melissa Manchester was the best he'd ever heard! Also one of the most memorable moments was meeting an upcoming new talent...Steve Martin!!! What a riot that was, and I ended up performing 2 more times with him there! Tilt-a-Whirl, and RushHour were the next bands I joined, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened when I joined Gangbusters... where I met Lenny, fell instantly in love, and married him 7 1/2 years later in Sept. of 1983. Fifteen wild and wonderful years together in that band alone!
I lost my older sister Mary, who was my second mom, to cancer at 39-years-old in 1988. After my dad died of cancer in 2003, I've helped my mom (who's over 80 now) turn the vegetable garden into a rose, shrub and perennial garden! She loves it!
About fifteen years ago, I started what seemed to be a force-driven puzzle! I picked up my shovel and went crazy! I was rippin' up sod like mad; and in fact, with all the digging and uprooting I've done in the backyard, so far I've broken 3 shovels! My mother would always laugh and call me "possessed", even as a small child. Looking back on it, and where I am right now, I knew she was right all along!
I always put the importance of raising our daughter first, but every second she was at school, I used that time to try to create the most peaceful, serene, easy-care surroundings for her and my husband. I wanted the whole scheme to flow, but also run the extremes of being able to kick-back, relax and have a stunning area to entertain, to having enough grass left to play catch (we're huge into Jamie's Elm Creek softball team), throw Frisbees, have huge bonfire parties, or pitch a tent…now picture that I have less than a half acre to work with in our backyard. I wanted all of this for us, but mostly a place they could care for together if something ever happened to me.
As my passion grew, I researched Minnesota hardy plants and roses during the winter months. There were books all over the place in our house; I also walked on the treadmill while watching garden videos. I will never forget the moment I laid eyes on my first David Austin rose in a magazine…Abraham Darby; it was love at first sight! Over the last seven years or so, I have probably tried at least 50 varieties. I'm glad to have had success with many of them right here in Minnesota. As my project became larger, structure became necessary. My husband, Lenny, is an awesome cabinet maker. He made a darling English cottage playhouse years ago. However, as I kept adding gardens, this one huge soft maple tree was creating almost 10 lawn and leaf bags of seed whirrlies that I had to keep cleaning up. That’s when I went to him with the idea to get rid of the tree and go for the idea I had of my dream gazebo, (we call it my "Ros-e-bo"). I've never seen one like it before and how he made it without any plans to go by except my third grade drawing ability, is beyond me! He has also made my fences and a beautiful white arbor which is covered with roses...he's a genius!
With him creating the physical structures, I wanted to be the only one doing the digging, hauling, designing and planting. Through this enormous project over the years, I was able to utilize my early childhood love of photography which unfolded and encouraged my need for balance and structure. I will never forget Mrs. Stockton, my Home Economics teacher in high school. One of my favorite teachers, she pulled me out of class one day (which freaked me out because I thought she somehow caught me climbing up the counters, reaching for and eating the last class’s cookies) and said to me, "Do you know why I asked you out here?" I replied, "Ah… no..." (as my heart was going to explode…) She then said, "I've literally seen hundreds of kids go though my class through the years and I wanted you to know I've never seen anyone with such an innate sense of balance." (What??) As I shook my head...just looking at my confused look she continued, “Put it this way, someday when you own your own home, the pictures on the wall will drive you nuts!" So as I've seen the progress of this undertaking, I've many times thought of her and understood what she meant.
| | All of this gardening activity throughout all these years has been accomplished by living paycheck to paycheck and sometimes worse than that. I also experienced something no one could have prepared me or my husband for; on April 11, 2003 I had a total abdominal hysterectomy that went so wrong. I knew the second I woke up I was in real trouble.
I was told everything was “ok”, that it just had to heal. All the while I had excruciating pain through my right side to my back. It felt as though I was being pulled over to the right. My body also blew up from toxicity and no amount of exercise (which I'm huge into) could help. I felt like it was vomiting inside my body. I'll never forget also the horror of what my stomach looked like after the bandages came off; it looked hideous to me and I was so afraid to show my husband. After over 8 months of "Oh it'll be OK," from the surgeon who worked on me, I showed our family Dr. just what it was that was causing me what I called "donkey kicks" to my lower back (which would uncontrolably drop me to the floor, in stores, at home and at work). My general health also was deteriorating at a rapid rate. As I dropped the cape, his eyes grew wide, and said "Ahh, no, thats not normal you need to see a plastic surgeon!" All I could think of was to scream.."Thank you.. this is what I've been trying to tell people!" ( I couldn't go back to the original surgeon, I was so upset that she didn't care for me and investigate what went wrong after the surgery, then to wait another 4 weeks while it was healing wrong, and then to wait another 8 months was sheer torture.) In the months to come my family Dr. referred me to at least seven different specialists ranging from backs, pelvic, gynecologist/surgeons, and plastic surgeons. All of them examined me and turned me away because they didn't know what it was, and how to help me. Now imagine how trapped I felt in my own body! One Dr. shed some light on what happened. He said, "She should have removed your cesarian scar before making you a new one." This made sense because the incision was visibly higher on the right, and you could see it pulled deep into my body. It also accounted for the massive twisting that not only he described, but was happening inside of me. It was a hellish nightmare that was spiralling my health downward out of control. Lots of prayers led me to a wonderful surgeon, Dr. David Ruebek, who I had heard excelled in difficult medical situations.
I underwent a reconstructive surgery in August of 2004 to remove what he said was an extensive amount of scar tissue and to try to loosen up the pulling, and also the pain of all the nerve endings that were damaged. However, it wasn't until a few years later the results were that my illioinguanal nerve and my psoas muscle were injured. Let me also say I wasn't prepared for what all of this was doing to our marriage. I found out in February 2007 that these injuries and some pre-existing degenerating discs in my lower back created scoliosis in my back. This explains severe pain in my upper spine and right shoulder blade after having my arms at chest level and above as a regular activity of being a hairstylist. Add to that, the area of my stomach where the surgeries were and standing stationary for hours at my job, causes severe pain and stiffness there and into my hip sockets. I've always had faith in God, but I've never experienced chronic pain and my heart and prayers go out to all who have to live like that, but this was a time in my life where I turned to Jesus for help. My own mother would tell you there is not a happier, positive and wild person you could meet than me, but this tested every ounce of that and more.
I didn’t want to have anyone know that there was something wrong with me and that I was fighting severe pain every day. For the first couple years Lenny had to help me up out of bed every morning to even get going. In 2005, after trying many things to get better, I bought a Health Mate infra-red sauna. The improvement was staggering! I really got into using it early every morning. I used this time to have quiet prayer time with the Lord. I offered up to Him my life with all it's pain, my husband's depression over my situation, my unending fight for happiness for my little family and for courage and strength to hold on to our marriage. On Sept. 24th 2008,we celebrated our 25th anniversary! After years of trials and praying, wer'e commited to go for the next 25! The biggest thing I pray for is in thankfulness for the blessings and total joy He’s given us with our daughter. My improvement with the infra-red sauna was a gift, but one day I realized I leveled out in what it was doing for me. I know that I'll have to deal with this for the rest of my life, but I will never be without Jesus to help me in my life's journey. With His help, most of the time I'm able to work though the pain and do alot of the things I've loved to do. I'll be always grateful for His guidance, and being my Savior. I want to glorify His Holy Name for the awesome experiences of my life, through giving me the idea of naming the gardens... God's Gardens by Claire. | |
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"GOD'S" GARDENS ARE BORN As I continued to improve the gardens, I had more people over to enjoy them. I started having garden parties with friends and my co-workers. I would take photos of them as a gift. They absolutely loved the personal touch! Surprisingly, they commented that they felt something spiritual while standing in the gardens.
I said, “I can't believe you said that because that's how I feel when I'm out here working!" Then they would say, "I love what you've done and you this and you that..." I had to butt in and say, "They're not MY gardens, they're HIS!" I pointed up and said, "I'm just the caretaker!”
At that very moment, I felt humbled as I realized what I said, "They're not Claire's Gardens they're ...'God's Gardens by Claire.' "
Then in March of 2006, while starting my spring clean-up out in the gardens, I walked across the lawn and in the dead center of it all, my whole body was consumed in the same inspired numbness I have experienced before the garden idea came to me. I was given these words, "Why don't you open this up to your love of photography, take pictures for graduations, families, celebrations… and teach people about what you've learned about gardening…" I stood there in utter amazement of the revelation that was just given to me. I remember looking up, in awe, "You mean even my compost and manure will be tax deductable"?! I have never looked back!
At first I wondered if the “God’s Gardens by Claire” name existed legally in Minnesota. I checked into it and went for it now knowing what to do with it if I got it. I soon owned the name and loved the thought of putting God's name first not only in the name, but in all I do.
My two friends, Lorri helped me with business cards and brochures. I remembered the little card table "stores" I had as a kid. Any old things my mom would want to throw away, I would set up a card table in the yard and sell them. Old decks of cards, old toys, etc. My mom said I had "hundreds" of these little card table stores. I guess I've been an entrepreneur since I was an embryo. My eyes filled with tears as I held the first "God's Gardens by Claire" brochure when I realized He is now letting me have my little store back again!
My other buddy RJ (who needs a padded cell of his own) is unbelievable with computers. Both he and Lorri have helped me with my website. With their help I'm working at getting over computer illiteracy one day at a time.
By the way, I thought you would like to see a couple of 'before' pictures...some years ago. 
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