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Hensons' Whimsy Blooms

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By PENNY BRAGG, Special to the Tribune

Published: January 30, 2008

Updated: 01/28/2008 07:13 pm

PLANT CITY - The Plant City Garden Club beautification award for December goes to Jewell and Bill Henson of 2706 Aston Ave. The tall pines and the live oaks in the front yard have been there for many years, but the Hensons have added a lot more landscaping in the 10 years they have lived at the home.

The Hensons used to own The Christmas Shoppe, and their artistic sense of humor is still alive and well and can be seen everywhere.

As we followed the little circular stepping-stones from the front around to the back of the house, our first chuckle came right away. There is a grouping of wine bottles "planted" in a patch bordered by mono grass along the screened lanai. Bill Henson calls it his vineyard. Not far from them are gem-colored bowling balls snuggled up against a tree. He found the bowling balls about to be discarded and rescued them. He thought they would add a touch of color and humor to his garden.
Hanging from trees or resting on the ground are painted gourds. The Hensons bought plain gourds at a gourd festival near Ocala; Jewell Henson has turned each one of them into a piece of art. Some have faces on them depicting a variety of expressions, and others are adorned with designs or flowers; all are enchanting.

In the Hensons' garden you see things you don't expect to see, and you see them in odd places, including a mobile of teaspoons. Close by, a staghorn fern shares a hanging space with an orchid and another type of fern. There are blooming and nonblooming bromeliads stuck in trees at various heights. A golf ball collection serves as a drain field at the end of a downspout.

The back yard is a forest of specimen plants and trees. The Hensons have a way of putting things outside that you usually see inside; the 40-foot ficus tree and 25-foot schefflera were once houseplants and are now giants in the back yard. Several sculptures, most often seen perhaps on a bookcase or a mantel, have been reassigned to the outside, where they contribute to the scene.

The plants are numerous and varied. Among them you will find: bird of paradise, a magnificent angel trumpet with large yellow bells and a prayer plant. There is an oversized firecracker plant near a tibouchina and a day rose. Among the plants found in the ground or in pots are oyster plant clusters, night-blooming orchid cactus, crotons, caladium and crown of thorns, to name a few.

In another part of the yard, we again find ourselves amid the whimsical nature of the Hensons' gardens. A rock has become the canvas for a hand-painted caladium, and on the trunks of the trees lining the front walk there is a lifelike, 8-inch lizard and a realistic looking 4-inch elephant beetle nearby. Several "tree faces," made up of eyes, nose and lips tacked up to form the face, hang on the trees above a coontie plant that has become a hedge with large orange seeds.

The Hensons know how to enjoy their gardens. Bill Henson used to create a game for his granddaughter when she was little; he would tack up odd things, like showerheads and telephones, in the trees for her to find. They don't do that anymore, but the Hensons know how to surround themselves with a mixture of fun and beauty.

Penny Bragg is a member of the Plant City Garden Club.

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