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Gardening Family Creates A Showplace

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By MONICA BRANDIES, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 28, 2007

Updated: 11/26/2007 06:16 pm

Everyone old enough has heard of the Kennedy compound, but we haven't seen many photos. I'm sure they have gardens, but I would bet they don't come within a mile of matching those of this family compound in Plant City.

Alice and Wayne Lord live in the house where she and her sisters were raised. She moved back in 37 years ago to take care of her mother.

"We always had flowers around the house," said Alice Lord, "but we just started the back gardens about 15 years ago."

All in the family agree that Alice Lord orchestrates the gardens that grow as a unit - so much that they are uncertain where one ends and the other begins. Lord said she cannot take all the credit.

"We've done it all together," she said. "Wayne built the trellises, and we laid all the stones and brick edging ourselves."

The gardens were awarded the Plant City Garden Club's first Garden of the Year Award.

Alice Lord's sister and brother-in-law, Margie and Joe LeHeup, moved next door in 1992, and the two couples started coordinating their efforts. Both houses face the street but are long and narrow on narrow lots. They put a paved, one-lane driveway from the street to the garden entrance that looks like a private street. Both houses have side porches, as well as garages that face the drive, and the Lords also have a covered area or carport often used for family functions.

When the house beyond LeHeup's went up for sale in 2001, their daughter Diane Metzger bought it and moved in.

The plants around the houses would be enough to qualify them as excellent gardens, but the shaded area that stretches across the back of all three properties is a series of wonderful, whimsical gardens with excellent design and amazing flair, especially in the use of garden furniture, fences, signs and displays of antique treasures among the thriving plants.

When asked about those holding up in the weather, Alice Lord said, "Sometimes I paint, use spar urethane or do nothing. It's amazing how long they last, even when you do nothing. You call them antiques; I call them other people's junk. Ninety percent of all the items in the gardens come from yard sales, thrift stores, discarded items by the side of the road or gifts from family and friends.

"Our gardens are very cost effective," she said. "All of the stone paths, brick edging and patios were bought at a seconds yard. This is something anyone can do. I also root some of our plants. Some multiply, and we separate. Friends and family give us plants."

The hot weather that lingered right up until their gardens were showcased in the Plant City Garden Tour in October didn't cause damage.

"It's never too hot for me to work in the garden," Alice said.

Between the buildings and the property-line fence, among many lovely plants is one of the neatest potting areas you'll see. It includes sinks, rain barrels, a mailbox painted with flowers and the words "Garden Tools" and a large aluminum table that Wayne Lord found for $25.
Margie LeHeup's section of the back garden includes a pomelo tree that was loaded with large fruits during the garden tour. "We've just been waiting until after the tour to start picking and eating them," she said. "But our gardens are always open, and anyone is welcome to visit." (Got to www.gardensflorida .com for the address.)

"We follow the rules and only water once a week, except for hand-watering. We don't fertilize much," Alice Lord said.

When asked the secret of their success, she pointed to the heavens and said, "He makes it grow like this, the great master gardener."

Today's Pick

Alice Lord has had a Vanilla Ice bougainvillea for about four years, and it is growing in a large container. She prunes it to keep its shape, which she sais isn't needed often. It blooms for about eight months, from October until May or June.

"I do give that plant Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster, and I water it every day in dry weather," she said.

Because bougainvilleas are not reliably hardy in this area, I'm sure she also covers it when frost threatens, but that is easy because it stays relatively small and compact. Bougainvilleas need full sun, but they are fairly drought-tolerant.

Now's The Time To ...

•Relax and enjoy the cool weather, when we can garden any time of day and weeds are growing slowly. Keep an eye on containers and newly set plants, and water as needed.

•Maybe if we get our boxes and sheets ready, frost won't come. If it does, water well the day before. Well-watered plants have much more resistance.

•Some of us are noticing much more fungus disease and insects on our green beans and tomatoes this fall. Never touch bean plants when they are wet because this can spread disease. Ours got it anyway. I am hoping they will do better in spring.

•Prune shrubs a little bit when you have time, except for azaleas and any that are about to bloom.

Monica Brandies can be reached at monicabrandies@yahoo.com.

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