Photo by Brandon Dill
Judges complimented the Zaners on doing so much with a small space on their Countrywood property.
Photo by Brandon Dill
Ann Zaner has more than 100 varieties of hydrangeas growing in the rambling, shady gardens of her home. She recommends varieties that max out at 3 feet.
Photo by Brandon Dill
This cottage, with a cozy front porch providing a view of Ann and Jim Zaner’s huge backyard garden, doubles as a storage shed.
Photo by Brandon Dill
The Zaners pose on one of the winding walkways that pass through the many hydrangeas in their backyard garden.
Ann and Jim Zaner, both master gardeners, have built a series of garden rooms throughout their Countrywood property, truly maximizing every bit of their space.
Their garden was selected as a runner-up in the ornamental garden category for The Commercial Appeal’s 2012 Garden of the Year contest.
“I liked the fact that it was a very small space, but they had done so much with it,” says contest judge Kim Rucker, greenhouse manager for the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. “You went around the corner, and you were in a totally different room. It was like a house the way they had it laid out.”
The Zaners work together in the garden with Jim concentrating on hardscaping and Ann handling design and art. The garden includes a raised deck area, a garden shared with neighbors, a pond with waterfall, a fountain and a brick fireplace, as well as a bathroom and shower. The property holds a hydrangea collection of about 100 different varieties, as well as extensive hosta varieties.
Ann selects her favorite hydrangeas based on length of bloom time and how attractive the blooms remain after being on the plant for a while. She used peat moss when building the hydrangea beds, and she amends the beds with lime and azalea fertilizer. “A perfect pH balance makes purple,” Ann says.
Some of her favorite hydrangeas are Incrediball, Forever Pink, Limelight and Nikko Blue.
“Forever Pink is stunning throughout the fall, and it only gets 3 feet tall,” Ann says. “You really have to appreciate those. If you are planting close to the house, you want hydrangeas that max out at 3 feet tall. You don’t want the 6-footers.”
Ann likes to paint dried hydrangea blooms and use them for holiday decorating. “Incrediball is beautiful, and it stays beautiful through the fall,” she says. “It would look like that through winter, other than it will lose its leaves. I tend to cut them off about November and make my Christmas wreathes. Incrediball is the perfect one to do that with. If you spray a little spray glue on it and put on some glitter, it’s even prettier.
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