80 Plano Profile / aPril 2006

Beyond the Garden Gate

The Hill Country comes to Plano – 2300 Willow Bend Drive.

The Plano Garden Club showcases the Special Gardens of Willow Bend Country

Rake the clutter off your calendar and look Beyond the Garden Gate April 22 - 23. The Plano Garden Club (PGC) invites the public to attend its biennial garden tour that raises money for scholarships. This year's tour, themed "Special Gardens of Willow Bend Country," will highlight six Plano plots chosen for their beauty and variety.

"Each garden is unique in its design and feel," said Dana Serafine, co-chair of the event along with Bunny Barrett. "There is a Texas Hill Country estate with a wildflower meadow and abundant statuary; a more formal English-feel garden with sculptured hedges and patterned gardens; a Southern plantation-style home with lots of outdoor living rooms for fun and recreation; another Hill Country-style home with a dry river bed and putting green; a lakeside home, which is more like an arboretum with the abundance of plants the homeowner selected himself; and a sports-inspired home with a pool, tennis courts, and lots of room to play."

Barrett said that the tour gives people ideas for landscaping. "It's educational, but it is also for the better cause of scholarships. I want the community to be aware that this tour involves volunteers who don't get paid. All the money goes toward scholarships."

To date, the PGC has raised $13,000 for students studying horticulture. The 80-member club planted the idea to showcase gardens for scholarships in 2002, so this marks the third tour.

"Special Gardens of Willow Bend Country" will be open to the public on Saturday, April 22 from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 23 from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and

By Britney Porter

aPril 2006 / Plano Profile 81

$15 at the gate. Raffle tickets will be on sale for two Italian stone-like pedestal urns, donated by Calloway’s Nursery (off Preston Road.) The urns stand approximately 3 and 4 feet high, respectively, and are valued at $250 and $300.

"Plano Garden Club expects this to be the most successful tour to date!" Serafine concluded.

Carol and George Kondos2300 Willow Bend Drive

Take a drive through the Texas Hill Country and one becomes inspired by the wildflowers and rustic homes. Natural and comfortable are preferable to contrived and rigid. This project embodies the spirit of the Hill Country from its stone-and-log fence, through its wildflower meadow, to its metal-roofed stone cottage.

Brimming with natural beauty, the wildflower meadow is low maintenance and interesting year-round. Bluebonnet, Indian paintbrush, daisy, and black-eyed Susan – among others – bloom intermittently throughout the season. Spent wildflowers may be mowed in fall to reveal bluebonnet seedlings, which form a lovely, native ground cover foliage for winter.

Peppering the manicured turf and incorporated into planting areas are several Texas-style bronze statues. Scenes of the Old West are played out among the clipped hedges and flowering plants. Tulip and daffodil foliage emerge late winter to early spring, followed by daylily and canna. All are low-maintenance, perennial bulbs, meaning they return year after year. Also low maintenance and perennial is the hardy rose. Together, the wildflower meadow, statues, and colorful bulb flowers lend to the relaxed Texas theme.

Carolyn and Mark Speese5600 Champions Drive

The palatial fountain and circular drive are the combined gateway to this formal garden. Pass through to the backyard, and awaiting are a collection of outdoor rooms and a hint of Versailles.

Clipped hedges and irises line the fairway of the first "room," leading to an allée of Bradford pears, regal urn planters, and brick pathways. Beneath this canopy of cheerfully fragrant blooms, several irises persist throughout spring until early summer. Companion plants include liriope and spirea. Annuals, such as pansies, cascade over the urns and illuminate this shady area. Follow the brick path to the outdoor dining room bedecked with human-size stone statues.

This beautifully designed garden offers a retreat from the hectic 21st century into the classical grandeur of the 17th century. Its formal layout creates outdoor rooms underscored by subtle, pleasant sounds of gently moving water. Sweet-scented blooms and pastoral green fields contribute to the tranquility found here, rare in bustling suburban residences.

Sherry and Dale Dodson2504 Beacon Crest Drive

Outdoor living spaces connect by way of pathways to a large open area, the focal point of this formal, yet sporty, property. To the left is a formal room defined by emerald green turf, tightly clipped hedges, and pink-flowering Indian hawthorne. Concrete urns bulge with annuals of various hues and textures. To the right is a sanctuary area, complete with fragrant roses

Poolside color in the Dodson’s backyard.

5600 Champions Drive.

Profile photography by Mike Newman

• Calloway's Nursery - 1621 Custer Rd.• Cobwebs Antiques - 1400 Avenue J• Garrison Gardens - 1817 Avenue K

Where can I purchase tickets?• Plano Garden Club members• A Rare Find - 4001 Preston Rd. • Calloway's Nursery - 1000 Preston Rd.

• Smith & Hawken - 5805 Preston Rd.• Wells Brothers - 5001 Avenue K• Stacy's Country Store - 111 N. Central Expy., Allen

82 Plano Profile / aPril 2006

and a swing. Surrounding the pool area are nandina, boxwood, and variegated liriope.

Adjacent to and beyond the pool is a cabana. With its outdoor kitchen, bar, fireplace, and sitting area, this room is designed for entertaining. Beyond the cabana are steps leading down into the sports room. Tennis or basketball, anyone?

Pamela and Ignacio Martin5701 Arcady Place

Enormous magnolia and stunning redbud trees welcome visitors to this Southern plantation-style home. Like many estates reminiscent of Tara, this garden pays homage to our country’s English heritage by planting multicolored perennials against a backdrop of evergreen hedges. Rocking chairs and planters filled with holly, boxwood and petunia on the front porch capture the feel of the deep South.

2504 Beacon Crest Drive.

The simple yet elegant swimming pool complements the proper English garden. Continuing this theme of formality-meets-whimsy are the large fountain and statues, alongside various species of lily, azalea, gardenia, phlox, and hollyhock. Large planters explode with mature roses, and berm areas are highlighted with barberry, crape myrtle, holly, and English ivy.

Benches in the east garden invite one to sit peacefully and enjoy nature. Squirrels frolic in the towering trees. Butterflies flock to the black-eyed Susan, stargazer lily, and butterfly bush.

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5701 Arcady Place.

Reflecting on nature, a visit to this garden feels like heaven on earth.

Trudy and Bob Wright5705 Cottage Circle

This project takes the casual attitude of the Texas Hill Country to a new level. Large stones emulate rock outcroppings found in Central Texas. Framing the pool and backyard garden is the guest cottage, a symbol of Central Texas’ prolific bed-and-breakfast industry. The sand trap and tennis court represent that area’s recreational activities. Also symbolic of that region is the dry creek bed adorned with river rock and white boulders. Entertaining – also integral to Central Texas culture – takes place under the cabana in the outdoor kitchen or next to the outdoor fireplace.

In the garden, there are diverse species of perennials and naturally shaped evergreens. Artemisia, which is mound-shaped, retains its silver foliage year-round. Its delightful fragrance and low-water/low-maintenance qualities make it a durable, dependable addition to any garden. Gaura, verbena, and various species of salvia add vibrant color without increasing watering or maintenance requirements. These characteristics are imperative to gardening in the Hill Country.

Profile Photography by Mike Newman

5705 Cottage Circle.

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5705 Cottage Circle.

Paulette and Mike Eberhart5504 St. Andrews Court

Unique views, impressive stone designs, and classic European-style gardening depict the charm of this Old World home. To retain integrity of this style, and to look as natural as possible, bushy and fragrant plants such as coral honeysuckle, bridal wreath spiraea, and Carolina jasmine are incorporated. Also included are Okame cherry trees, forest pansy redbud, and three varieties of azalea. More than 3,000 bulbs of fresia, tulip, daffodil, Dutch iris, and crocus signal the arrival of spring. To usher in summer are geranium, dahlia, acidanthera, canna, gladiolus, gayfeather, bleeding heart, daylily, and agapanthus, among others. Chinese fringe flower also adds color to this garden, along with Maid of Orleans jasmine, yellow bells, lantana, nandina, amethyst, and Nanho butterfly bush. Leather leaf mahonia creates dramatic evergreen foliage.

F r u i t - b e a r i n g plants revive Old World values. Strawberries and apple and plum trees are featured in this garden.

In the modern era, gardening with native plants is becoming more popular. Eastern wahoo is found in the thickets and forests of Texas. The natural distribution of chinquapin oak covers the eastern two-thirds of Texas, and Texas mountain laurel spreads naturally across Central Texas. Abundant species of salvia and gayfeather – along with numerous pots filled with surprises – connect Old World with New World values, European with modern American gardens.

Garden descriptions were provided by Christy Tinsley-Ilfrey, founder and owner along with her husband, of Nativedave.com. Both are longtime residents of Plano. For more information on "Special Gardens of Willow Bend Country," contact Dana Serafine at 972-781-6636.

5504 St. Andrews Court.

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aPril 2006 / Plano Profile 85

Roses, Roses, Roses!

On May 6 - 7, the Collin County Rose Society invites you to enjoy five extraordinary private gardens that blend hundreds of roses into the landscapes.

Do you have questions about roses? This will be the perfect time to get them answered by members of the Collin County Rose Society, master gardeners, and consulting

r o s a r i a n s . These experts will be on hand to offer advice, show you how to grow roses the easy way,

and introduce you to beautiful roses well suited for this area.

Times are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 6; and noon - 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 7. Tickets are $10 (good for both days); children under 12 are free. For more information about the CCRS tour, call 214-797-3443 or visit www.collincountyrosesociety.org for a map and descriptions of each garden.

Tour includes five gardens:• Claude and Pam Graves 2204 Canyon Creek Plaza,

Richardson• Dean and Carol Oswald 5500 Cavendish Court, Plano• Loring and Kathleen

Hutchinson 8816 CR 864, Princeton• Debra Bagley 1704 Glenwick Drive, Plano• Lynn Martin 1409 Hillside Drive, Plano