Urbandale Garden Part Of Tour
An Urbandale resident’s interest in creating overwhelming beauty in small spaces landed his yard among the featured stops on the eighth annual Extraordinary Gardens by Ordinary People tour set for Saturday.
The event includes gardens in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Urbandale and Clive. Each site was designed by a Polk County Master Gardener.
“My backyard has been in constant transformation since we moved here in 1979. I add things, move plants if they aren’t doing well and play with the landscaping. One of the main features of my yard is the retaining wall I added,” said King.
The two dispel the belief that good fences make good neighbors. Friends since Borchardt moved to the neighborhood in the 1980s, the two share plants and ideas, and they collaborate on landscaping to be sure it complements the other’s yard.
Krogulski’s yard boasts a garden filled with nearly 125 hosta varieties. Adding to the beauty is a rock-water feature and a dry stream bed that creates a natural divider between the two gardens.
For Borchardt, who volunteers for the Urbandale Demonstration Garden, the thrill of gardening comes from its maintenance.
“I hope people take away from our two gardens that gardening is enjoyable, that it should be an addition to your life and not a chore. For me, it is my little bit of reverie; it’s a stress relief to go out and pull weeds,” Borchardt said.
Tags: county master gardener, demonstration garden, des moines, dry stream, fence, fences, good fences make good neighbors, hosta varieties, Landscaping, master gardener, natural divider, ordinary people, overwhelming beauty, plants, polk county, retaining wall, reverie, rock water, s yard, small spaces, stream bed, stress relief, urbandale, water feature, weeds, west des moines0
Friday, June 20th, 2008
