Poetry In Motion

When Laura and John Witty purchased this home, the lot was anything but lush, with little more than a lone dogwood and a few other trees, but all of that would soon change and today the garden is a living testament to what 15 years of hard work, smart stewardship and plenty of love can accomplish.

The view of the rear perimeter garden highlights a whimsical spinner that moves with the wind and is surrounded by more than 25 varieties of daylilies, many of which were given to the Whittys by a friend who moved to Florida.

“There were no trees, a few shrubs, no fence and no flowers when we moved in,” Laura shared.

At about one acre, the lot offered much promise, so the Whittys were excited about the possibilities. Also, there’s something to be said about having a blank slate to work with. Today, there are no other houses visible from most of the garden spaces, despite the fact that the home is located in a subdivision in the Glenview neighborhood near Lime Kiln Lane. There are at least 25 varieties of ferns, 50 varieties of hosta and 24 different Kentucky wildflowers represented here, including Kentucky Ladyslipper and bluebells.

A Swallowtail butterfly alights upon purple coneflowers in the Whitty garden.

“Guests typically enter the garden through an arbor with climbing roses, honeysuckle and American hollies,” Laura said.

The property’s remarkable transformation took place in part thanks to help from Tommy Bachman of Goshen Gardens, who supplied a variety of trees and shrubs over the years that were already well-established when planted, including a European beech, a Bloodgood Japanese maple, a Bur Oak, three Willow oaks, a Japanese cedar, three Amur maples and several arborvitaes, to name only a few. Of course, the careful ministrations of Laura, along with those of her friend and garden co-conspirator Betsy Green, were also essential to help the plantings not only survive, but thrive.

An American yellowwood tree takes center stage here in front of the substantial perimeter garden, from across the expanse of deep green lawn, while the wrought-iron table and chairs offers a perfect place to enjoy a cup of tea, a book, a visit with a dear friend, or all three!

“Tommy said to water the trees weekly for three years, so we did,” Laura revealed. “Also, the soil was terrible and mostly clay, so we added sand and manure to increase its fertility. We also released 1,500 lady bugs, along with 500 praying mantis babies and 10 praying mantis cocoons that can produce more than 3,000 insects, to eat aphids and other pests.”

This patio area and screened-in porch were added by the Whittys after purchasing the home and today it serves as the ideal vantage point to relax and enjoy the many fruits of their labor. Here, American hollies and viburnum are visible in the background, while a Bloodgood Japanese Maple from Goshen Gardens is surrounded by daylilies and hardy geraniums, and the bed to the left in this view is home to Carolina allspice bushes and hostas.

A favorite stop on the last year’s annual Kilgore House & Garden Tour, which takes place every year in May, the Whitty garden is also home to campanula, yellow chamomile, bee balm, phlox, helenium, heliopsis, Russian sage, rudbeckia and Beauty Berry, along with several varieties of goldenrod, lavender, knockout roses and oriental poppies. A shade garden (not pictured) was also established under a stand of pine and hemlock trees in the back yard, and it is easily both Laura and Betsy’s favorite area, having been a work in progress for several years.

The fullness of the perimeter garden beds serves as silent testimony to the time and care that has gone into their creation. Here, we can see a playful spinner just waiting for the wind to make it dance, along with a birdhouse and a massive Oak Leaf hydrangea, Shasta daisies, columbine, anemone and coreopsis.

“Nearly everything is hand-pruned by Betsy,” Laura shared. “This is much her garden as it is mine. When I don’t know something, she does, and vice-versa.”

A Kousa dogwood tree springs from a thick bed of multi-hued coleus and holds several birdhouses, while the wrought-iron fence that encloses much of the garden is just visible here through the lush greenery.

Establishing and maintaining a garden like this is definitely no easy task, but it’s one that both ladies are more than up to handling. As with any worthwhile endeavor, the rewards are greater than the sweat equity required to make it happen, and the beauty of this garden is sure to continue unfolding for years to come.

Color and texture abound in this section of the garden, which spans the rear perimeter and is home to a wide variety of plantings, including several types of euphorbia and stonecrop, which is a type of sedum. There are also irises when the time is right, three ninebark shrubs that turn a variety of different colors throughout the year behind the birdbath, Oak Leaf and Tardiva hydrangea, kerria, daylilies, coneflowers, butterfly weed, peonies and hollyhocks, all hemmed in by gently rounded hand-stacked creek rock borders.

Meadow rue in a delicate, soft lilac hue is found in the shade garden.

Situated under a Kousa dogwood and surrounded by colorful coleus, this cheerful toad welcomes one and all to the Whitty garden.

Creating a type of natural barrier that’s beautiful to look at and also affords a fantastic amount of privacy, this view shows one of several birdbaths located throughout the garden, a magnificent pine tree in the distance, red and orange lantana, Oak Leaf hydrangea, marigolds and a variety of other annuals.