By Rose Lane
OKC Friday
Six of the citys most beautiful gardens will be featured during the 2013 Nichols Hills Garden Tour, which also celebrates the 30th anniversary of Nichols Hills Parks, Inc.
Elyse Hatcher is the chairman of the June 1 event, which will benefit Nichols Hills Parks. Gardens will be open 1-4 p.m.
On the tour will be the following gardens: John and Sharon Bozalis, 1604 Elmhurst; Andres and Terry Carlson, 6634 Avondale Drive; Kelly and Amy Gray, 1503 Guilford Lane; Mike and Mary Mahaffey, 7308 Lancet Lane; Cliff and Diane Stockton, 1503 Drury Lane; and Patricia Rother, 7310 Lancet Court.
Tickets are $15 if purchased by May 31 or $20 the day of the event. Advance tickets are available at Mockingbird Manor, New Leaf Florist Mid-Town and Casady Square, No Regrets, Precure Nursery and Garden Center, TLC on Memorial, Wilshire Garden Market, Nichols Hills Drug and Nichols Hills Pack and Ship.
John and Sharon Bozalis
1604 Elmhurst
The Bozalis home at 1604 E. Elmhurst was designed by noted architect Raymond Cater for WKY-TV station manager Buddy Suggs in 1949. Dr. George Bozalis purchased to home in 1954 and it remains in the family today.
Fifty years have passed since the gardens were first featured in the nichols Hills Garden Tour. In the late 1990s, the Bozalis commissioned John Fluitt to re-imagine and update the gardens. Inspired by English garden design, the landscape is a changing palette of perennials set against a verdant backdrop of evergreen and deciduous shrubs and trees.
Brick terraces, steps and borders echo the graceful architecture of the house into the landscape. Magnolias, hollies, junipers and boxwood provide year-round greenery. The changing seasons are revealed in the deciduous components — lackbark elms, weeping willows, sweet gums, Trident maples and Japanese maples. Flowering shrubs such as crape myrtles, wisterias and roses complement the blooms of the mixed perennials and deft touches of seasonal annuals.
Anders and Terry Carlson
6634 Avondale Drive
Anders and Terry designed and built their home and Terry has designed all of the hardscaping and gardens.
In all the gardens Terry designs, she strives to achieve a balance between low maintenance, sustainability and beauty. She tries to adapt the garden design to the home and personality of the homeowners. Her personal garden fits that criteria.
Outdoor living is very important to the Carlsons. With a large extended family living in Sweden, they purchased the lot behind them and demolished the house to build a guest house for visitors. They have also constructed a large cabana with a fireplace, wood-burning pizza oven and a big screen TV.
Terry designed a new zero edge infinity pool and converted their old pool into a fish pond for Japanese KOI.
As gardener, Terry said she is blessed to have her own potting shed and greenhouse to house her collection of English-inspired garden containers and urns which she likes to fill with topiary boxwoods and succulents.
About 40 English climbing roses were planted last year and as time goes by, they will provide the design look she loves, which is a home covered in English roses and clematis.
Kelly and Amy Gray
1503 Guilford Lane
Kelly and Amy Grays two-year-old home was designed by Mike Mahaffey for their active, young family.
Roger Runge created for the Grays a landscape that is both beautiful and livable. A sweeping drive leads to broad front steps between massive stone piers topped with impressive bowls of seasonal color.
Live oaks, yaupon hollies, Indian hawthornes, boxwoods and a mature pair of Will Fleming hollies establish an evergreen structure. Cedar elms, fragrant sumac and a vibrant October Glory maple mark the change of seasons.
The backyard is a big playground for both children and adults. the generous lawn, trampoline, diving pool and an open-air shower are definitely kid magnets. A broad terrace and outdoor kitchen offer ample room for entertaining and relaxing on the comfortable furnishings.
Nellie R. Stevens hollies, live oaks, crape myrtles and a pair of Cathedral pears feature prominently in back. Climbing roses, dwarf Don Egolf redbuds and oak leaf hydrangeas mix with Indian hydrangeas, yews and seasonal color closer to the house and pool.
e: This is a contemporary courtyard garden set in any British or Irish City centre. It is hidden from the city around it, yet the design is a response to its urban setting. The garden is designed with a couple in mind who simply want to sit and relax there. The use of metal, wood and concrete derived products are a response to the buildings around it, while a central canal adds movement to the garden. The vertical metal water feature acts as a backdrop to the canal and adds sound to the garden.
Theme: In a man-made world, industry and hard landscaping have had a big impact. However, we now realise the importance of the rest of the world around us and start to allow nature and life back in. Nature takes this opportunity and grows. This garden illustrates this metamorphosis of space.
