Trending
SPREAD EAGLE, Wis. -- The Spread Eagle Garden Club said they were impressed by the size and beauty of the 50 gardens they viewed Friday during a tour hosted by property owner Penny Fitzgibbon at her home on the Wisconsin side of Menominee River.
Along with her husband, Robert, the Fitzgibbons have lived at the Menominee River for more than 40 years now and have no plans to go anywhere else.
The Fitzgibbons previously owned Riverside Liquors, where they sold over 2,000 varieties of wine.
Robert Fitzgibbon, a former teacher, built the A-frame on the property back in 1980 and it was not long before Penny started establishing the gardens.
Despite being 81 years old, Penny Fitzgibbon does not let age stop her from doing what she loves, taking care of her gardens, she said. Other than some help weed whacking along the stones that border the gardens, Fitzgibbon does all of the gardening herself; her husband has other interests that occupy his time.
Fitzgibbon said she got her start gardening when she was in the fifth grade while she was living in Panama, when her father was a colonel in the army. Fitzgibbon and her friends would go into the jungle to get orchids that they would plant.
After 40 years she is happy with her gardens, which have gone through many transformations over the years, Fitzgibbon said.
She now plants her gardens so they are easier to take care of but that still does not stop Fitzgibbon from spending most of her time tending the gardens.
Fitzgibbon is very proud of her gardens and frequently shows them off to people and groups that are interested in gardening.