While my family loves to come to Mackinac Island for the fudge, bicycling the island, walking the shoreline, and the horse-drawn carriages, my favorite thing to do on Mackinac Island is to solve the puzzle at the secret garden.
What secret garden?
Well, it’s not on any tour guide.
And as far as I know, I’ve never seen it highlighted in any off the beaten path posts or books.
It’s a backyard garden, on a side-street off Main Street. And you can easily walk by it and not know it’s there.
I discovered it when I saw the Mickey Mouse head in the white wooden picket fence.
How cute! Then I saw the posted sheet of paper showing photos of items carefully hidden in the garden, inviting me to find them.
I love puzzles and scavenger hunts. It reminded me of my son’s I Spy books and the fun we had searching for items on the pages.
There was no way I wasn’t going to find all those items in the secret garden.
Game on!
And so it began a few years ago.
Each year I’ve returned to Mackinac Island, I make sure to set aside time to visit the secret garden to solve the puzzle.
As I peer under the hollyhocks or through the butterfly bush, I attract the attention of people walking by.
What are you looking for? they ask.
I explain the secret garden, show them the list of photos, and ask for their help.
One year, with the help of others, I found all but one of the items. This year, I found all of them.
And I finally met the owner of the garden this year, who shared the backstory of the garden.
Jeff has been creating the garden for the past several years. Each year he starts fresh with a new design and new plants. In the fall he pulls out all the plants, grinds them, and dumps them in a compost pile which is added to the soil the following spring.
The only plants that remain in the garden from year to year are the trees, lilac bush (over 120 years old), peonies, and a native Michigan apple tree (one of the oldest on the island).
He shares his plants with people on the island, who in turn share plants with him. And he proudly told me visitors share plants with him for the garden.
In the spring, it’s easy to find the items.
By fall, it’s a lot harder as the foilage and flowers can easily cover up the items in the secret garden.
Some are hanging on trees, hidden by statues in the garden, or carefully masked by tall spires of columbines.
For me, it’s a lovely way to spend time on the island and meet visitors.
