Carla Uherka and Carmen Ouverson live a few doors apart on a quiet cul-de-sac off of Rice Lake. They share a passion for growing things, and for over a decade they’ve created gardens that the rest of us dream of having—quiet places of beauty and rest, packed with color, texture and aroma.
Uherka and Ouverson met in their neighborhood about 15 years ago and formed a growing bond through gardening. “We’d rather go plant shopping than clothes shopping,” says Uherka. They journey to garden stores around the Metro area at least two full days each year. “She’s jealous of my shade and I’m jealous of her sun,” says Ouverson, “She grows poppies where I can’t. We are opposites. She’s a nuts gardener.” “Carmen is more adventurous than I am,” Uherka defends. “She’s got spectacular gardens,” Ouverson retorts. And on it goes with encouragement and admiration of the other’s creations.
In a neighborhood that displays a lot of garden-rich yards, theirs have the largest. Both women have participated in the Maple Grove Days’ Maple Grove Garden Tours and attend it yearly. “We collect plants for the sheer beauty of it,” says Ouverson. With these gardens, you get the distinct impression that the love of variety knows no bounds. The sheer number of plants is mind-boggling. One bed that hugs the back of Uherka’s garage displays six varieties of columbine alone. “It’s a lifestyle. It’s my main hobby. It’s where all my money goes,” says Uherka. Ouverson agrees, “It really does require time, and you have to love it.”
The two began very differently. “When I was 4, I was planting 4’o’clock seeds,” remembers Uherka. Beginning with a bed of cast-off flowers she came across, she soon moved around the borders of her property. Both women deal with wet yards and stress the importance of raised beds. Uherka expanded by digging 10 inches of clay-laden soil into five-gallon buckets and hauling them to the Maple Grove Yard Waste Drop-Off Site to exchange for compost. Mixed with peat and sand, the new soil is retained by colorful, stacked rocks. “I have no idea how much dirt I’ve moved over the years. All I know is 14 buckets fill my van,” she chuckles. “The dirt’s cheap; it’s the effort that costs.”
Uherka’s effort has resulted in a sunny garden, peppered with fairy statues and Asian accents. A six-foot Nishiki willow, whose bough serves as a resting place for a birds nest, overlooks a small pool. The orange poppies are in full bloom—harbingers of color soon to emerge everywhere. When asked of her favorite, Uherka mentions beard’s tongue iris with a smile and notes both the shape and colors are what make them stand out.
When another gardener offered Ouverson a plant 15 years ago, “I didn’t know what a perennial was,” she assures. “I said, ‘You don’t have to plant it every year?’” Thus began her love affair with growing things. Russian sage ranks as one of her favorite plants.
Approach on a moss-covered, stone path through an arbor and you’ll spy Jack-in-the-pulpit and bumblebees going about their pollinating duties. Birds chirp and a cool breeze carries the sound of falling water to your ear before you see its source. Statues of mostly children and animals nestle among varieties of hosta and shade-loving flowers. The beds are anchored with shrubs and large rocks. Ouverson spends 20 to 30 hours a week tending thousands of plants. “My husband does the laundry and dishes and my kids don’t get fed,” she says. “We joke that if we ever move, we’ll list: ‘Gardener wanted—house included.’”
Both gardens on this street are lush and full, even before the buds have emerged. You would never guess that these women recently culled out over 1,500 plants for their annual sale, held on the third Thursday of May. Prices average $3-$6 per pot. “Just look for the neon signs that say ‘Plant Sale Today,’” says Uherka. Gardeners return each year looking for new things to try, and each plant comes with a load of gardening advice—a free bonus courtesy of Uherka and Ouverson. These neighbors enjoy sharing their expertise with others. As they’ve learned through one another, it’s just not as much fun to grow alone.
Hints from the Garden Whisperers
For beginners:
- Always start with good dirt.
- Gardeners often share plants. Take them up on it.
- Start with one bed and add on.
- Expect 20 to 25 percent failure; even established gardens loose plants.
- For established gardeners:
- Move plants as they outgrow a spot or act differently than you expected.
- Label a plant’s placement on a quick sketch and keep its plastic marker in a notebook.
- Garden Gate Magazine (gardengatemagazine.com) has no ads and very helpful hints.
- Spritz Preen® on new soil amendments to keep weed seeds from germinating.
—Carla Uherka and Carmen Ouverson
Garden within a Garden
At the heart of Ouverson’s garden is another one full of intrigue and enchantment. Both children and adults alight to it at first glimpse and drop to their knees in wonder. At the foot of a stately ash tree lays a blooming, moss-covered carpet that serves as yard to a castle and miniature kingdom. Fairies play amongst bunnies and miniature versions of plants found in the garden proper whilst gnomes walk along sparkling pathways of glittering pieces of tile. A fence marks the yard of a hobbit cottage surrounded by dwarf shrubs, and a foraging pig makes his way over to the village waterwheel. The Lilliputian creatures even have a wee wheelbarrow so they can tend their garden. Miniature gardening has become a new rage with accessories available at local garden stores. Entire micro worlds can be created within a single container. If you have a small space, think small!
