Well-decorated yard is a sight to behold

moved in. Two years earlier, she had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and subsequently, she found herself spending a lot of time at home, looking out the window at her featureless yard. The yard became her focus, giving her an outlet for her creative energy and helping her build up the strength she lost as a result of the cancer.

At first, she called it her “healing garden” – and after she finally beat the cancer, it became her “victory garden.”

Though it’s not one of the key thematic elements, water is an important part of Meyer’s yard, too.

About 14 years ago, she installed a fish pond 15 feet in diameter. Today, it plays host to fish year-round and also sees visits from bullfrogs, tree frogs, toads and snakes.

“It keeps itself going,” says Meyer. “I just add water every now and then.”

She also has an assortment of water fountains in the front yard made of scrap pieces, galvanized stainless steel and oth- er materials, many of them in the shapes of people and animals – including, of course, elephants, one of them appearing to spray water out of its trunk.

The stone walls on the property have a degree of significance, too. The back wall and the lining for the pond contain pink limestone from the now-razed Ohio State Penitentiary; a friend of Meyer’s happened to be on the work crew the day then-Columbus Mayor Buck Rinehart personally started demolition of the old prison without permission. And the front wall contains 19th-Century curbstones from Neil Avenue in downtown Columbus.

“In 1997, when they did all the streetwork, I got a couple of truckloads of that,” Meyer says.

Filling out the yard is an interesting collection of foliage – a grove of hardy banana trees, 20-foot-tall bamboo shoots and a variety of other tropical-themed plants. The idea is for the plants, in conjunction with the elephants, to provide a jungle-like atmosphere; last summer, Meyer would go out in her own “jungle” to watch Tarzan movies from the 1950s.

Everything in the yard is perennial, Meyer says; all she needs to do is cut down the ornamental grasses once each spring.

Not only is Meyer forever rearranging the decorative elements in her yard, she also makes a point to decorate for holidays. The house’s proximity to Olde Town Park, a walking trail and a nursing home gives it a good audience, and Meyer likes to keep things fresh. She has also had the house on the WesterFlora Garden Tour three times.

Meyer’s yard has weathered all manner of climate conditions, and no matter the season, just looking out at all she’s accomplished since her fight with cancer always makes her happy, she says.

By Christopher Braun