THE EVER-CHANGING GARDEN

Learn how one gardener transformed an erosion-prone landscape into a striking flower-filled oasis.

- Marisa Reyes

When Joyce and Jon Householder moved into their Kansas home in 1988, they didn't inherit a garden-just an overgrown lawn and a few shrubs. But with a lot of hard work Joyce has transformed this blank slate into the ultimate reprieve from everyday life.

She prefers a laid-back approach to gardening and allows plants to grow where they please, creating beds and borders full of life and color. In the next few pages, you can learn about the challenges she has faced and take a walk through this unique and resilient garden.

TERRACED BORDERS

Over the years Joyce has transformed her 1 1/4 acres into the garden oasis it is today. It all started in the front yard, which sits at the bottom of a steep slope. While this was a fun sledding hill for her kids in the winter, it was a pain to mow. After a few summers of struggling with the lawn, she decided to install terraced flower beds instead, and that was the project that started it all.

RETAINING WALLS ARE THE GARDEN'S FOUNDATION Enlisting the help of neighbors and friends, the couple ripped out the existing junipers and railroad ties and chopped up the original sidewalk leading to the front door. Then they brought in topsoil, leveled out three terraced beds that range from 12 to 20 feet wide and 5 to 12 feet deep, and installed limestone retaining walls to hold the soil in place. These beds, which you can see on the previous page, hold colorful perennials that bloom throughout spring and summer, such as coreopsis, purple coneflower, salvia and baptisia. Shrubs and small trees, such as panicle hydrangea, Drift roses and Japanese maple, add structure and a backdrop all year.