Ina Minter’s front yard stands out from all the rest in the neighborhood with meticulously manicured island and border beds arranged with a changing seasonal carousel of plants chosen for textural and color interest. The foundation windowbox beneath the front windows has been home to the same red geraniums, Pelargonium, for 15 years. Heavy mulching and a pro- tected southern exposure keep them alive overwinter.

But the garden that meets the public eye is only the “tip of the iceberg.” Crossing under an arbor of New Dawn roses, one enters the wondrous backyard world of a designing woman. Raised on a farm and accustomed to sustained physical labor, Minter still awakens at 5:30 am to work outdoors in the garden. When discovering her soil was clay, she ordered truckloads of farm soil and Dixie mix to incorporate into the naturalistic ornamental mixed beds and borders she creates.

Frog just hopped in one day Minter instructs, “It is important to have a good bedline.” After she determines the depth and curvature of beds, she outlines them with chalk spray.

A pine tree canopy provides dappled sunlight to the backyard. Hence, only plants that thrive in partial shade are selected – bear’s breeches, dwarf boxwood, fatsia, ferns, creeping fig, ivies, hosta, azaleas, loripetalum, viburnum, and hydrangea. Hydrangeas are her favorite, and she has a large collection of oakleaf, mopheads, and panicle from Millcreek Greenhouses. Minter uses 10–10–10 around the base of each plant before spring leaf emergence.

Minter added singular specimens of deciduous understory trees to feature special characteristics of each: goldenrain tree, tallow tree, dogwood, yoshino cherry, and river birch. The goldenrain tree has yellow flowers, lanternlike seed pods, and golden fall foliage. The tallow tree has top–shaped leaves and decorative white popcornlike fruit. Instead of attempting to dig beneath trees with shallow roots such as dogwood, she puts plants in pots around the dogwood and mulches with pine straw.

Lady Banks rose on garden shed A rare treelike shrub called the beautybush, Kolkamong watzia amabilis, produces a profusion of yellow–throated white bell flowers on arching branches in spring.

At the center of fern glade is a fountain surrounded by Japanese painted, tassel, autumn, holly, and dry wood ferns interspersed with hosta, palm, cast iron plants, and mahonia to achieve interesting textural effects. Several macho ferns, Nephrolepsis biserrata, grow in huge containers. With fronds resembling giant swords, these ferns can become six feet tall.

Yard art complements the garden. A trio of frogs plays instruments behind hydrangeas. A ceramic bird nesting bottle from the gardens of Williamsburg, Virginia, attracts Carolina wrens. A colorful mosaic stone bench sits a corner of gardenias, lamb’s ears, geranium, boxwood, and Shasta daisy.

Minter’s potting shed is draped with Lady Bank’s rose at the entrance and a red climbing rose trailing along sidewalls painted in hollyhocks. One Mother’s Day her son–in–law built her an outdoor potting table with sink and workbench.

The designing woman of Pinewood Park can achieve just about anything with plants.