ParadiseFound – Part 1

‘Paradise Found’ is the title of an article I wrote for the September issue of Alabama Gardener Magazine. It’s about Barry and Connie Methvin’s garden and how Connie bedazzles it with trash. The article is mostly about Connie, so I thought I would use the blog to show bonus pictures, describe the layout of the garden a little better and mention some things that didn’t fit in the article. The pictures are in the same order you would see them if you came to visit.

Barry got tired of the UPS man missing his house, so he traced himself and made this to sit by the road and point the way up the drive. (Even though the garden is mostly Connie’s, Barry makes a significant contribution with all his ironwork.)

  Just up the driveway is this old hydraulic wood splitter that Barry made. When they moved to their current house, it didn’t have a fireplace, so Connie repurposed it as a work of art.

 This is the view to the left at the end of the driveway. You can see the main house in the background. To get there you cross a wooden bridge (the post on the right is part of the handrail for the bridge), pass Connie’s tree house studio and go down the stairs.

 This is the view to the right of the bridge. You can see Connie’s studio and fabulous Smith Lake in the background. Barry made ‘Bongo Boy and the Dancing Girls.’

 Keep turning your head right and you’ll see this little storage shed that Connie’s mother made. When her mother moved, Barry borrowed a forklift and relocated it here.
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 I think these are ADORABLE! They hang from the storage shed. On the right is an asparagus fern, and on the left is a spider plant. In the spring, Connie buys the biggest spider plant she can find and splits it up to use in the garden. She says they do great outside in the shade. She doesn’t have room in the 800 square foot house to overwinter things, so she treats them as annuals. (I think I’ll go visit Connie just before frost and see if I can find some salvage of my own.)

 This sits on the landing halfway down the stairs to the house. Connie’s fond of using the figurines from trophies to top her sculptures. I asked Connie if she used only bowling trophies as toppers or if she had other sports as well. She said, “I really like the metal bowling trophies, but never plastic. I do have standards.” And then she laughed.

 This is the most unique garden I have ever seen. I LOVE this area!! I just descended the stairs you see on the left, and right behind me is the front door. The big stones used as the base for the retaining walls were the foundation of an old home in their previous life. They were found stacked by the road.

There’s more to see, but this blog is long enough already, so I’m splitting it into a part 1 and a part 2.