When Dennis Nagan became ill with severe systemic rheumatoid rthritis, he could no longer get to boats or take long drives to north” anymore. So he brought “up north” to his backyard in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Nagan, a member of Fox Cities Wild Ones, created Memory Lake to honor his deceased parents, as well as to create new memories with his friends and family, and particularly with his grandchildren, Jakob, 12; Eli, 10; Easton, 2; and Claire, born in June.
His backyard is now filled with a 20-foot by 40-foot manmade lake that is stocked with perch and home to turtles and frogs, as well as a children’s beach and fishing dock. The lake is surrounded by more than 120 native plants that were specifically selected to create a garden that pollinators, and particularly monarch butterflies, would visit. Last year, he added two carved wooden bears to his backyard, one holding a “Memory Lake” sign; the other holding fish that are engraved with his grandchildren’s names.
than 120 native plants surround the lake.
His garden and pond will be three years old this September, he says, and he has nothing major planned for improvements this year. “I think things will really take off this year,” he says. “I don’t know if I can get more plants in; it’s pretty jammed, but I want it to look like a very natural setting.”
The yard includes a wide variety of more than 115 different monarch native plants, as well as over 24 native grasses. His favorite plants include blazing stars (Liatris), ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata), beebalm (Monarda didyma) and rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium). His yard is also home to blue spruce (Picea pungens) and black spruce (Picea mariana) trees, as well as water lilies.
His yard is already a favorite of pollinators, such as monarchs and bees, and birds, particularly hummingbirds and cardinals, he says. And, especially on bad days, when he isn’t feeling the best, he says he enjoys going out to his yard and just enjoying all of nature’s beauty.
Written by Barb Benish
Photos by Dennis Nagan