Wednesday, July 23

A garden scrapbook

Timeless treasures fill the O'Connors' Irwin acre

A cherub tends a basket of ‘Johnson’s Blue’ geraniums in the O’Connors’ Irwin garden. Photo by Kim Carpenter/The Daily Journal

Mary O'Connor's love for all things green was cultivated from a tender age. One of seven children, she tended the family garden with her mother. Back then, gardening was a necessity -- work done to feed a big family. Even in the midst of caring for everyone, though, Mary's mother found time to tend a flower garden, which Mary recalls fondly.

After she and her husband Jerry had a young family of their own to raise, money and time were still scarce, but Mary knew that, one day, she would have 'a yard.'

"When we first built this house, it was surrounded by dirt," Mary says. "For a long time, we didn't even have grass!"

Now, 43 years later, Mary has her yard - and a spectacular one at that. Carved into an acre of farmland in Irwin, it is a showpiece of mature trees, lush grass, abundant blooms and paved walkways -- all of which read like an outdoor scrapbook, full of love and memories.

"That Seven Sisters rose came from my mother's farm," explains Mary. "And the wild roses came from my grandmother's home."

Clearly, Mary's heart is in her garden.

A Russian olive and evergreens were gifts from Uncle Bill O'Connor and the thornless hawthorn and Chanticleer pear came from her son, Ron, a landscaper and owner of Clean Cut Lawn Care. The abundant paver-work is Ron's handiwork also. Iron arbors came from the O'Connors' days as antique dealers in Kankakee, as do myriad other antiques scattered throughout the garden. Also tucked into the property are two enchanting structures, a pergola and a potting shed, which Jerry designed and constructed himself.

Clockwise from top: The pergola that Jerry designed and built serves as a centerpiece for the garden. Constructed of cedar, its sides are made from windowless doorframes that are open to prairie views and breezes. This unnamed rose has survived more than 20 winters in the O'Connors' garden. An old kitchen worktable has been transformed into a potting table, its zinc countertop now covered in rosemary, petunias and sweet potato vine. Settled in among her plantings, the potting shed that Jerry designed to scale from Mary's favorite birdhouse looks as if it sprouted there naturally. Photos by Kim Carpenter/The Daily Journal and Mollie Uftring.

These structures and others make it evident that the O'Connors have mastered the concept of outdoor rooms. Mary has furnished the space beneath Jerry's handcrafted pergola with antiques. One of them, an apple green chair, invites visitors to sit and enjoy the view. It also makes a perfect retreat for having that morning cup of coffee. Scrambling up the side of the pergola is sweet autumn clematis, a fast growing, late bloomer. Next door sits the potting shed, which Jerry designed to scale from Mary's favorite birdhouse. Reminiscent of the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs, Mary has filled its attached window boxes with colorful annuals.

An old iron arbor, covered in a mature yellow trumpet creeper vine, acts as a doorway to the O'Connors' outdoor sunroom and, surrounding the patio, are Mary's well-tended plantings of Autumn Joy sedum, Purple Dome aster, iris, hydrangea and boxwood.

A brick and iron fence, softened by Boston ivy, surrounds the pool, creating another outdoor room. The O'Connors hired a local craftsman, Pat Kennedy, to create the iron gates and arbor. Mature climbing roses have staked their claim here, developing thick canes that reach for the sky. To keep color coming after the roses have finished blooming, Mary interplanted them with Jackmanii clematis, which has carefully woven itself among the thorny prickles. A flowerbed inside the fence bears Johnson's Blue geraniums, daylilies, peonies, coralbells and lamb's ears. Outside the fence, Mary experiments with using germander as an evergreen perennial foundation plant. Several seating areas and a built-in grill complete this outdoor entertainment area.

One element that makes the O'Connor yard so stunning is its precision. Crisp, perfectly-rounded borders demonstrate the power of a well-executed landscape. Circles that aren't quite round or curves with unnaturally flat sections could distract the eye from the artistry within these garden beds.

Sprinkled abundantly throughout the yard, container plantings are a garden in themselves. An antique flower cart draws its load of purple Wave petunias near Jerry's potting shed. Closer to the house, old terracotta pots overflow with geraniums, violas and verbenas. Throughout the yard, hanging baskets adorn any available post. These containers and their abundant blooms provide structure and season-long color. They also represent the O'Connors' dedication to their garden. Caring for so many containers requires daily attention. Jerry often wanders through the garden, deadheading plants, as he enjoys his morning coffee and Mary spends at least two hours in the garden every day. But waking up to this garden would be a dream come true for many gardeners. It's also a gorgeous example of what can be accomplished through commitment and teamwork.

Editor's note: Visit our Photo Galleries to view more photos of the O'Connors' garden.

Mollie Uftring developed a green thumb as a teenager working in the perennial beds at Hornbaker Gardens in Princeton, Illinois. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in ornamental horticulture, she worked as a landscape designer in Ohio before returning to Illinois.