Garden-Lou Visits Pat Hazen and John Moore

Pat Hazen and John Moore have lived in their secluded Belleville home for three years. One thing that helped sell the house was the view out of every window. Pat is an interior designer, and every view is an essential part of the room’s design as much as the furniture or artwork.

Mornings are spent on the spacious, inviting patio, surrounded by birdsong, color, and lush plantings. “Friends love to sit on the patio,” Pat says. A large water feature babbles next to the raised patio and reflects the mature tree canopy above. It’s impossible not to relax here.

The previous owners, Bill and Ann, did most of the extensive hardscape surrounding the house which included over 150 roses. “We didn’t have time for that many roses,” says John. “So, when Bill and Ann moved, they moved 150 roses with them,” Pat and John have made the garden their own by adding personal touches with more plants and sculptures. Lush, diverse plantings fill every nook be it shade or sun. Arbors, bridges, and gateways connect the multiple paths that wind through the terraced levels, where there really is something hiding around every turn.

Pat finds remarkable garden statuary on Facebook Marketplace. “The pieces are usually too heavy for most people to move.” When asked what her favorite garden tool is, Pat replied, “the leaf-blower and Facebook Marketplace!”

Two to three hours, three times a week, is spent keeping the garden pristine. Bindweed and moles are an ongoing problem, but surprisingly not deer despite proximity to a park next door and open fields. One professional gardener occasionally comes to help with specific projects. Still, most maintenance is done by Pat and John, including the mowing, which Pat enjoys–but not as much as seeing her grandkids. “Besides putting designs together, grandkids are my passion.” The family enjoys visiting the garden and relaxing on the patio. Even in inclement weather, the garden can be enjoyed in every room.

The garden was recently on the St. Clair County Garden’s in Bloom Tour last June. No stranger to tours or media exposure, Pat was featured on “The Home Garden,” a weekly TV segment for KTVI with Janice Murrey when she still lived in O’Fallon, IL. It seems no matter where Pat goes, a garden will follow.