Isabelle Graham has enjoyed gardening throughout her life. When she moved to Columbia from Sumter six years ago to be closer to family, she left a home with a traditional southern garden of camellias, azaleas, and hydrangeas on Swan Lake Drive near beautiful Swan Lake Iris Gardens. By relocating to a cottage in Shandon, she etched a whole new garden plan.

Since she likes to sit outdoors with a view of plants and birds, she created a front garden and back garden, each with a porch view. The front garden is a colorful perennial mixed border outlined in knockout roses and colonized with candytuft, snapdragon, iris, Shasta daisy, daylily, rudbeckia, cannas, bee balm, cleome, phlox, and begonia.

Passersby are enthralled with the eye- catching assortment of textures, shapes, and colors. Containers of impatiens and trailing yellow petunia sit atop the front patio. Overlooking the porchview garden from a swing, Graham loves to watch the joggers and bicyclists go by.

Shandon's shade trees provide natural air- conditioning for Graham who is not overly fond of central air- conditioning. From a screened- in back porch she views the plants she chose for the shady backyard including small understory trees and shrubs like dogwood, Japanese maple, sasanqua, azaleas, crepe myrtle, and hydrangeas.

New Dawn climbing rose is one of the few shade tolerant roses. She brought some hydrangeas from her Sumter garden and credits Lori Watson of Millcreek Greenhouses for helping her procure the rest. Hostas and ferns are interspersed beneath the shrubs. Rudbeckia and begonia give color all summer and into the fall.

Confederate jasmine covers the arbor entranceway to the backyard garden. Another prodigious climber, New Dawn, and one of the few shade- tolerant roses, grows prolifically around both sides of a white lattice trellis. The blush pink fragrant flowers bloom continuously until frost.

Graham plans the gardens, selects the plants, visits greenhouses, garden centers and other gardens, and watches garden TV shows to garner ideas. She monitors her garden daily to keep plants deadheaded and beds clean.

Crape myrtle is a natural sculpture. At the age of 87 she needs help with installing plants. Dawn Taylor of Garden Design and Quality Care in Columbia has been her garden angel for installation and major maintenance.

Graham is looking forward to touring the upcoming Columbia Green Festival of Gardens in Forest Hills May 14- 16. She returns to see the delightful gardens in Sumter each spring as well.

Graham's colorful perennial border stops passersby. Cool hydrangea in a nook in the shade garden. Confederate jasmine covers the arbor entranceway to Isabelle Graham's backyard garden. Containers of impatiens and trail ing petunia are on the front porch.