At the end of a short road in Indianola there is an extremely charming and inviting garden created by Jeanne Simmons and Tony Bartling. They have even encouraged and worked with their neighbors to turn their small neighborhood into a little piece of heaven and sharing.
Simmons and Bartling met in a ballroom dancing class. Simmons says, “I only took one class.” Bartling responds, “That’s all I needed.” What they really mean is they fell in love at first meeting, and now have been married for 30 years.
She taught kindergarten and first grade and he worked installing fire alarms in commercial buildings. Both lived and worked on the East Side, commuted for a time from Kitsap and happily have lived in Indianola now for more than two decades.
Their Indianola home, built in 1909, was barged to Miller Bay from West Seattle before they purchased it. They’ve owned the home and property for 28 years. Simmons and Bartling not only purchased the home and land, but also the vacant property across the street. They love to garden and needed room to expand their love of plants from areas along the shoreline and surrounding the home to the land across the street, which was just waiting for more wonderful gardens to evolve there.
The couple have spent hundreds of hours renovating and remodeling their home, which included adding two rooms and replacing the roof and, as Bartling says, “It went on and on.”
The areas surrounding the home have several small patios for sitting and visiting. There are also wonderful places in the gardens across the street for relaxing and soaking up all the beautiful surroundings.
Bulbs, Shrubs, Trees and Treasures Galore
Every fall, Simmons and Bartling put in bulbs everywhere. Tulip bulbs don’t provide blooms every year. But species tulips do rebloom every year. Simmons says she chooses only species tulip bulbs, with one exception — she loves the peony tulip bulbs and always plants them, too.
Woody shrubs abound, along with lots and lots of hydrangeas in every shade and leaf texture, as well as multiple varieties (colors, shapes and sizes) of roses. The couple also has two greenhouses.
“We started with one greenhouse, but we inherited our son Jonathan’s greenhouse and we use that, too,” Simmons says. Two espaliered apple trees serve as a fence to screen their composting area. One tree is a red variety and the other is a transparent. “I like the color of them,” she says.
Both greenhouses are used for overwintering plants, propagating plants and for shelter for their lemon and lime trees in containers. Geraniums throughout the property are cut back and put into the greenhouses, along with tuberous begonias. Containers of sedums are found throughout the property and those also go into the greenhouses for shelter and survival in the wintertime. Simmons and Bartling use heaters set on low to keep the plants from freezing.
This hardy couple can be found outside in their gardens nearly every day, and stay inside only if it’s rainy or too snowy. They have a gardener who helps with mowing and sometimes other tasks. But mostly they do all their own work on their property. They have a motto: She directs and he performs. Bartling says, “She points and I dig.”
Ever-Changing Seasons of Beauty
In January, Simmons cuts back all the foliage on the hellebores, leaving the blooms to be enjoyed. In February and March, all the bulbs spread beauty throughout the gardens. Day lilies are blooming profusely in July. August brings the phlox, which smell exquisitely. Hydrangeas are also in full bloom in August.
In spring and summer, they enjoy blueberries, raspberries, asparagus and lots of tomatoes during summer and into fall. During October and November, all the winter- and spring- blooming bulbs are planted. The fall-blooming bulbs are planted in May and June. All year long, they deadhead spent blooms and trim back dead foliage and prune whenever and wherever needed.
Containers filled with petunias, geraniums, lobelia, verbena, sweet potato vine and ornamental grasses are nestled and featured throughout the property. Clematis and climbing roses add textural interest and color to trellises, fences and gates on the property. A favorite clematis is Clematis Montana, with sweetly scented blooms of sugar pink.
Other favorite bulbs of Simmons include:
- Hesperantha coccinea in shades of red, pink, salmon and white
- Acidanthera (called peacock orchid and fragrant gladiola)
- Tricyrtis (toad lily) in shades of purple, white and yellow and with variegated leaves
- Snowdrops (Galanthus), lovely white blooms
- Lily of the valley, also with white blooms
A favorite shrub with scented, white, tiny, bell-shaped blooms is Osmanthus delavayi. This shrub can grow from 5 to 25 feet tall. It usually blooms in April with sweetly scented blossoms. Leaves are evergreen. It’s one of the shrubs recommended by “Great Plant Picks.”
Simmons and Bartling also recommend Lonicera nitida (box honeysuckle), spirea (with chartreuse leaves) and Chamaecyparis (a conifer that comes in several sizes, forms and shades of green).
Bartling also likes gunnera, an awesomely huge plant in the area he calls “The Dinosaur Garden.” This garden area is across the street and the gunnera grows near a charming water feature. It gives the feeling of stepping back in time. There is also a charming seating area nearby for soaking in all the beauty surrounding the space.
Simmons and Bartling also lovingly and enthusiastically cultivated all the plantings in their gardens to frame and enhance the deciduous and evergreen trees that were already nearby.
Cultivating Joy and Community
When a driveway between their home and the home next door had to be repaired and replaced, Simmons and the neighbor decided to work together to create a garden space between their two properties. A new neighbor around the corner asked Simmons for advice on planting up the areas surrounding her newly purchased home.
Simmons and Bartling have also welcomed garden club tours into their bit of paradise. They both love gardening and love sharing their garden with others.
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