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Zeroing In: Wilkes-Barre City Council should rethink sewer authority decision

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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Grandma M&#8217;s garden seems like an enchanted kind of place, and we&#8217;re not saying that just because the gnomes continue to pop up in mysterious spots.</p><p>(Avid gardener Marilyn Voelker strongly suspects her grandchildren, 10-year-old Bo and 8-year-old Von, keep moving the statues around.)</p><p>But if you were to visit Voelker&#8217;s garden in the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre during the hour or so before sunset, you&#8217;d get to watch a dazzling spectacle as dozens and dozens of evening primroses, also known as spinning roses, unfurl themselves like so many tiny dancers.</p><p>&#8220;Like magic, they open up,&#8221; said Marilyn&#8217;s husband, Frederick Voelker.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like something you&#8217;d watch on TV,&#8221; Marilyn Voelker said. &#8220;And the fragrance is unreal.&#8221;</p><p>Every day a new batch of yellow spinning roses blooms and lives out its quick life span.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll deadhead them,&#8221; Marilyn Voelker said on a recent Friday in July. &#8220;And tonight I&#8217;ll get another 200.&#8221;</p><p>The prolific plants were a gift from a neighbor, and Voelker has given some cuttings away to other friends.</p><p>She learned about gardening from her parents, the late Bill and Eleanor Everett, whose soil was made rich by 30 years of compost. After her mother passed away in 2014, Voelker and her husband carted buckets of the rich dirt to their garden, which is in the same neighborhood.</p><p>Here the couple have some vegetables growing, along with asters, Asiatic lilies and a butterfly bush.</p><p>Evidence of Marilyn Voelker&#8217;s ability to nurture things is everywhere &#8212; from the mimosa tree she planted more than 30 years ago to the slender cutting of pussy willow she recently placed in a container of water so it will take root.</p><p>&#8220;She always has a rose under a soda bottle,&#8221; Frederick Voelker added.</p><p>Mother of two and grandmother of six, Marilyn Voelker has a waste not/want not philosophy, evidenced by the barrel that collects rainwater as well as the old pair of hiking boots she didn&#8217;t throw away.</p><p>Rather than toss the boots, she turned them into a planter for cabbage-shaped succulents commonly known as &#8220;hens and chicks.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Frederick and Marilyn Voelker of Wilkes-Barre stand near some of her roses and a sign that tells you you&#8217;re looking at &#8216;Gradma M&#8217;s Flowers.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden1_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Frederick and Marilyn Voelker of Wilkes-Barre stand near some of her roses and a sign that tells you you&#8217;re looking at &#8216;Gradma M&#8217;s Flowers.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The yellow spinning roses in Marilyn Voelker&#8217;s garden begin to unfurl on summer evenings. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden2_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>The yellow spinning roses in Marilyn Voelker&#8217;s garden begin to unfurl on summer evenings. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A pink rose grows alongside the Voelkers&#8217; home in the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden3_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>A pink rose grows alongside the Voelkers&#8217; home in the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The clematis flowers add a pretty touch to Marilyn Voelker&#8217;s garden. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden4_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>The clematis flowers add a pretty touch to Marilyn Voelker&#8217;s garden. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden5_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Marilyn Voelker grows several kinds of roses in her garden. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_voelker_garden5_faa.jpg</photo4><caption4>Marilyn Voelker grows several kinds of roses in her garden. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_marilyn.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lilies, roses, climatis and spinning roses are some of the flowers Marilyn Voelker enjoys. &#8216;It relaxes me to work in the garden,&#8217; she said. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_marilyn.jpg</photo5><caption5>Lilies, roses, climatis and spinning roses are some of the flowers Marilyn Voelker enjoys. &#8216;It relaxes me to work in the garden,&#8217; she said. </caption5><photoCredit5>Submitted photo </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

How does your garden grow: Parsons gardener finds spinning roses enchanting