Summertime is prime time to get out and enjoy the beautiful scenery and flowers and there's a place just south of Eau Claire where you can do both.

In tonight's Wandering Wisconsin, Sarah Stokes takes us to a home where the gardens have grown into a place for anyone to gather.

Sarah: The creators of The Gem Gardens say it just might be the best kept secret in the Chippewa Valley and you can come out and explore it for free, 25 acres of gardens you can stroll through.

Mike McKinley says, "this was all corn field."

That cornfield, is now a field of streams, shrubs, flowers and raspberries.

This is Mike and Deb McKinley's backyard. But when you think of backyard gardens, .do you invision one or two?

They've got more than 30.

Mike adds, they have "7 water features, including man-made stream pump water up hill and let it flow down."

The sounds of soothing water are all around you at The Gem Gardens, creating a sense of peace. It's a setting the McKinleys wanted to share.

"It started a few years ago and just for personal use and then just kept developing a garden a year kind of thing and mostly it started to be as a place for people to come people to relax, pick raspberries, which are a big crop that we have and for people just to enjoy someplace away from the busy craziness of the world," Mike adds.

"It's a nostalgic kind of serene type of place people enjoy it and that's fun for us to see people enjoy it," says Deb.

The McKinleys run their own business, but in the summertime, keeping up the beauty in their backyard is nearly a full time job. They have some help, but say there's always something to do.

Mike adds, "it looks finished but we just planted all kinds of shrubs and 18 trees so you're constantly adding to it and doing it different so it isn't finished."

The gardens each have an identity.

"Mosaic garden that's all rock, maze is always intriguing, there are all kinds of trails through the woods."

Mike adds, "this is a little corner hideaway where people can come to walk around."

People come from all over the place to relax here, some take pictures, enjoy the birds, some read books, some have even gotten married here, including Deb and Mike.

But all are welcome to experience this somewhat secret garden, a piece of ground that may help us all be more grounded.

Deb adds, "we need to learn to stop and smell the roses. Take a little time, we're all so rushed all the time, that's the message we all need to hear."

Sarah: You can come check out The Gem Gardens 6 days a week and Sundays by appointment and the best of all, admission is free.

Address:
7021 West Lowes Creek Road
(South of Eau Claire)
County Road F

The McKinleys say they're hoping someone will buy their property to keep it open to the community forever.

The Gem Gardens also has 50,000 raspberry plants that will be ready for picking in about a week.

For more information, click here.