Secret Gardens
BY LAURIE EAGER
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With mild winters and sunny, warm summers, San Joaquin County is an ideal climate for cultivating countless varieties of plants. While evidence of our agricultural success abounds in the fields and orchards outside of Stockton, inside the city there are wonderful gardens hidden behind fences and gates in every neighborhood.
Take a peek into these hidden gems, which range in style from casual and intimate to more formal and grand, showcasing everything from azaleas to zinnias.
Parkwoods homeowners Kim and Terri Tutt share a passion for gardening. Their lovely yard is dappled with sunlight filtering through a giant heritage oak. Motivated by visits to gardens throughout the world, they created a garden replete with many species of blooms, including peonies, hydrangeas, and alstromerias.
But most impressive is the couple’s collection of hybrid roses, numbering 85 at last count. Many varieties are gifts from family and friends, and Terry fondly recounts the story behind each rose. She has successfully propagated roses to share with others as well. Kim and Terri both enjoy relaxing and unwinding while watering their many pots of flowers.
A Morada couple employed a landscape architect from Canton to design their Chinese-styled garden. Over 150 tons of rock were brought and carefully placed to create a meandering pathway and edge a koi pond. A Chinese pagoda sits on the highest spot, providing a shady place to rest and enjoy the soothing water sounds which fill the garden. A tumbling waterfall is inscribed with Chinese characters that read “Enchanting Garden.”
In contrast to a Japanese garden, which emphasizes serenity, a Chinese garden is more vibrant. Meticulously clipped evergreens, bamboo and iris are all at home in this Asian-inspired landscape. The scene shifts dramatically after sunset when landscape lighting creates a magical effect.
Tucked away behind Bill and Susie Giffen’s home off Oxford Circle is a romantic, shady, Carmel-like retreat. A decades-old, gnarled cedar tree provides the backdrop to a cozy garden filled with azaleas, ferns, potted flowers and charming birdbaths. Trickling fountains provide peaceful background music. Bright fuchsia and fragrant citrus blossoms punctuate varied shades of green, and hummingbirds are frequent visitors.
My personal favorite garden style is the potager, or French kitchen garden. Typically located close to the kitchen, it is a mixture of herbs, vegetables, and salad greens with flowers mixed in to add visual appeal. I created mine in raised beds in a sunny corner of my side yard, and I love to grab a handful of fresh herbs to add to whatever I’m cooking for dinner. By late summer, I’m seeking out new ways to use the abundance of basil and tomatoes.
A garden is a labor of love, providing the benefits of physical exercise, a perfect de-stresser for today’s hectic lifestyles, and a sense of accomplishment. Pair that with the pleasure of cutting a bouquet of flowers for your home or biting into a vine-ripened tomato, and you have a pastime with enduring appeal.
Take a peek into these hidden gems, which range in style from casual and intimate to more formal and grand, showcasing everything from azaleas to zinnias.
Parkwoods homeowners Kim and Terri Tutt share a passion for gardening. Their lovely yard is dappled with sunlight filtering through a giant heritage oak. Motivated by visits to gardens throughout the world, they created a garden replete with many species of blooms, including peonies, hydrangeas, and alstromerias.
But most impressive is the couple’s collection of hybrid roses, numbering 85 at last count. Many varieties are gifts from family and friends, and Terry fondly recounts the story behind each rose. She has successfully propagated roses to share with others as well. Kim and Terri both enjoy relaxing and unwinding while watering their many pots of flowers.
A Morada couple employed a landscape architect from Canton to design their Chinese-styled garden. Over 150 tons of rock were brought and carefully placed to create a meandering pathway and edge a koi pond. A Chinese pagoda sits on the highest spot, providing a shady place to rest and enjoy the soothing water sounds which fill the garden. A tumbling waterfall is inscribed with Chinese characters that read “Enchanting Garden.”
In contrast to a Japanese garden, which emphasizes serenity, a Chinese garden is more vibrant. Meticulously clipped evergreens, bamboo and iris are all at home in this Asian-inspired landscape. The scene shifts dramatically after sunset when landscape lighting creates a magical effect.
Tucked away behind Bill and Susie Giffen’s home off Oxford Circle is a romantic, shady, Carmel-like retreat. A decades-old, gnarled cedar tree provides the backdrop to a cozy garden filled with azaleas, ferns, potted flowers and charming birdbaths. Trickling fountains provide peaceful background music. Bright fuchsia and fragrant citrus blossoms punctuate varied shades of green, and hummingbirds are frequent visitors.
My personal favorite garden style is the potager, or French kitchen garden. Typically located close to the kitchen, it is a mixture of herbs, vegetables, and salad greens with flowers mixed in to add visual appeal. I created mine in raised beds in a sunny corner of my side yard, and I love to grab a handful of fresh herbs to add to whatever I’m cooking for dinner. By late summer, I’m seeking out new ways to use the abundance of basil and tomatoes.
A garden is a labor of love, providing the benefits of physical exercise, a perfect de-stresser for today’s hectic lifestyles, and a sense of accomplishment. Pair that with the pleasure of cutting a bouquet of flowers for your home or biting into a vine-ripened tomato, and you have a pastime with enduring appeal.