By
Jim Weiker
Henk and Ruby DeRee’s backyard offers a commanding view of the ninth fairway at Muirfield
Village Golf Club, but all the couple saw between their house and the course last winter was a sea
of mud and mulch.
Working with John Reiner of Oakland Nursery, the DeRees transformed the space into a luxuriant,
serene Japanese retreat, complete with a sand and rock garden, multiple elevations, a fairy garden,
a babbling brook, sculptures and a low-maintenance mix of small evergreens and perennials.
“We wanted something rich and different and relaxing,” Ruby DeRee said. “John suggested
something Japanesque. It was exactly like we wanted; it’s amazing.”
The DeRees’ garden will be among 13 stops Saturday during the Columbus Landscape Association
Outdoor Living and Landscaping Tour.
The tour — the third in four years sponsored by the association — features a cornucopia of
outdoor spaces, including the DeRees’ retreat, a formal European garden in Bexley and a
family-friendly setting with a bocce court in Upper Arlington.
“It’s really different strokes for different folks,” said tour chairman Jason Cromley, one of
the owners of Hidden Creek Landscaping, which created two projects on the tour.
“The idea behind the tour is to try to educate the common homeowner on the types of things
people are doing in their backyards,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know what we do because it’s
hidden behind the homes.”
In addition to 11 recently updated landscapes, the tour features Ohio State University’s
Chadwick Arboretum Learning Gardens and Hope Hollow, the Northwest Side center for relatives
of cancer patients and the beneficiary of the tour proceeds.
For many of the homeowners, the outdoor renovations have transformed the way they use their
home.
“We’re out here all the time,” said Chuck Kegler, whose backyard is on the tour. “It’s an
unusual day we don’t have breakfast out here; and when we don’t, we’ll come out and say, ‘Is this
great or what?’ ”
Kegler and his wife, Twi, worked with Wood Landscape Services to replace two old concrete patios
with a 1,300-square-foot paver patio featuring a 25-foot-long stream that cascades down several
levels to the ground below.
The patio features a gas-fueled fire pit as well as a built-in kitchen counter with a grill,
refrigerator and space for a trash can. More than 100 people have gathered on the patio at one
time, the Keglers said.
The renovated space, coupled with the removal of two large hackberry trees, allows the couple to
take full advantage of the striking view of the Scioto River behind the home.
An Upper Arlington home on the tour also backs up to the Scioto but takes advantage of the view
in a different way. The home sits on a rise overlooking a large field and the trees along the
riverbank.
Behind the home are patios and gardens that provide a variety of spaces and perspectives. A
traditional trellis on the side of the home opens to a bocce court and patio made of Vermont slate.
Behind the home lies the main patio, made of tumbled paver stone and centered on an oval pool
planted with lily pads and grasses and featuring a shooting fountain.
The gardens, with their understated blend of organized plantings, complement the Colonial home
they surround.
And that’s the point, Cromley said.
“You really have to give people a reason to go outside,” he said. “These projects try to give
these people, through the use of different materials and elements, a true extension of the
home.”
jweiker@dispatch.com
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