Garden-Lou Spotlights the Garden of Marcella Hawley

If one could be like Alice in Wonderland and shrink down to a tiny size, the perfect place to do it would be a particular Webster Groves garden. Imagine wandering about under lush, gigantic foliage with a rainbow of chattering flowers towering over one’s head. (Who criticize your outfit like they did poor Alice.) However, if the flowers in this garden could talk (and who knows that they don’t?) instead of being critical, they would, without a doubt, glorify the hard work, encyclopedia-like knowledge, and unmatched painterly eye of the garden’s creator, Marcella Hawley.

Marcella, (pictured above with her Stepdad, Steve Smith and Kippy) like most gardeners, has worn many hats over the years. As a talented graphic artist and illustrator, Martha Stewart and Mary Engelbreit snatched her up for their teams. Her design clients and Power Poppy on-line business keep her busy, as does developing a new platform: The Perennial Optimist, coming soon. She’s a writer, an artist, a wife, a mother, a stepmother, a stepdaughter… and a skateboarding enthusiast. She’s also given up alcohol and is a breast cancer survivor.

That’s a lot of hats, and some of them not so pretty.

So, when her mother, Susan Heard Smith, an avid Kirkwood gardener, passed away, she decided to try on yet another hat-one that would take HOURS of backbreaking work and determination, detailed planning, and a little help from some knowledgeable plant-geek friends. Marcella decided to take the euonymus-infested hillside that was her entire front yard and turn it into ‘The Slope of Possibility’, one of the most spectacular memorial tributes I’ve ever seen. “Missing my mother, wanting to feel close to her, and wondering if I planted the flowers that meant so much to her (especially rare and unique daffodils), I could capture glimmers of her. I began digging up our yard in Fall 2018. The entire thing was covered in evergreen groundcovers and honeysuckle. It’s five years later, and I have now dug up every last patch of it and put in plants or paving.”

Hellebores, pansies, and narcissus start the excitement in early spring. Soon afterward, Hyacinths and fritillaria share the space with emerging tulips, iris, and alliums. Lilies and peonies pop up among hosta and heuchera. “I try to take harmony and rhythm into consideration in my vignettes. This kind of color play makes my heart sing! It doesn’t always work out how I’ve imagined, and sometimes nature has better ideas than I do, so I try to learn from that. I experiment with color schemes, mixing in different foliage plants like hostas and heucheras, along with lilies, peonies, and iris.”

There are no ‘gap times’ in Marcella’s garden, only layer, upon layer, upon layer of bright colors, hidden treasures, and tiny vignettes. “I love any part of the garden with interesting color echoes when my plant selections and nature mingle to create something unexpected. For example, I have a yellow-flowering Hellebore planted next to Hakonechloa ‘Aureola,’ which has arching, variegated yellow foliage. At the base of this vignette are tufts of native, yellow-flowering Corydalis lutea that self-seeded in and among this combination. I’ll add in a contrasting color, such as purple or blue tulips, alliums, grape hyacinth, or pansies.”

*Narcissus* ‘Kedron’ with Spiraea ‘NCSX1’ DOUBLEPLAY CANDY CORN

In the intimate backyard her husband, Doug Scronce, refers to as ‘Your Terrarium,’ cozy charm meets Marcella’s brilliant eye. She started in 2002 when she was five months pregnant with daughter, Tallulah.

“I began digging the beds, laying the pathways, and planting trees, shrubs, and perennials. “I love to stand at our back door with a cup of coffee and look straight back to the little brick patio I recently put in, with water bubbling in the fountain (an antique apple-cider kettle with a great patina), looking out to the curved back of the Lutyens-style bench. I added a few Blue Point Junipers and Japanese Plum Yews lining the back fence. It is a serene focal point that brings me deep pleasure!” Seating areas surrounded by the sunny character of her garage, potting shed, and house shelter more botanical goodies like Virginia bluebells and a cherished 20-year-old dusty-pink tree peony.

“I do everything myself, from planning and designing to making plant labels to spreading every wheelbarrow of mulch, building every rock wall, doing the weeding, etc. It has become at least a part-time job for me; I’m out there constantly either because I have something to do out there or because I just want to be IN the garden, observing, enjoying.”

Marcella is currently writing a memoir about the creation of her garden and the spiritual and therapeutic elements gardening holds for those lucky enough to create and nurture them. “I hope it will be as visually alluring as the story is interesting and fun to read! I also am developing a venture called the “Perennial Optimist,” which will have cool gardening products as well as information, articles, and inspiration.”

The best part is neighbors, friends, and family all get to enjoy the garden as well. The sidewalk in front of the house is always busy. Neighbors make a point to route their daily walks past the garden on North Old Orchard, taking in the colorful and fragrant changes that happen quickly this time of year. Her son, Finn, and his friends took their prom photos there. Every dog owner within a 5-mile radius seems to find themselves walking (very slowly) past, including her stepfather Steve Smith and dog, Kippy. (Pictured in top photo.) If she is out, an ever-cheerful Marcella greets everyone, including all the dogs-by name. Her husband, Doug, isn’t into gardening. “He is very supportive of the floral madness I have surrounded us with. Even though he doesn’t like it when plants touch him as he walks from the garage to the house.”

Marcella and her husband, Doug. *(Photo courtesy of Marcella Hawley)*

Every gardener looks back and considers what they’d do differently. “I love the rich, full look of foliage overlapping in abundance. What this means is that I’ve created a survival of the fittest situation in much of the garden. I should be more vigilant at rescuing and moving plants that get covered up by other plants. That said, I feel that the way things were done was the way they were supposed to be done. I learn from my mistakes, and they’ve made me a better gardener. It is all a process, and every little bit of it is a part of the learning experience, which is the life experience.”

Quick facts;

-How old is the garden?– I moved to this Webster Groves house in 1999 and started the back garden from a blank slate in 2002. I began digging up our front yard in Fall 2018.

-Favorite Gardening Tool- My two favorites: A drill outfitted with a 3″ diameter auger bit for going around like Johnny Appleseed, planting tulips and daffodils. Right now, I have a 24″ Power Planter attachment for a battery-powered drill, and I love it. The other game-changer was getting an Eley free-standing hose reel and their no-kink hose. I do not have a watering system; it’s just me and a hose. Having this setup, rather than the multiple cheap hose reels I’ve had through the years, has made my gardening life much more pleasurable.

‘Daydream’ and ‘Apricot Foxx’ tulips mix with *Cotinus coggygria* ‘Royal Purple’ and *Spiraea* ‘NCSX1’DOUBLEPLAY CANDY CORN

-If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have ONE plant to keep you company, what would it be? It doesn’t have to be a food-bearing plant since this island has a free buffet!

-As much as I am obsessed with daffodils and peonies, the one plant I’d want is Begonia grandis, a gorgeous perennial Begonia that thrives in dry shade. (October Perennial of the Month-Hardy begonia (garden-lou.com))

It has the most exciting bright green, serrated leaves. The leaves alone are striking with tactile, red veins that are raised and very intricate. In late summer, when most other plants are finishing up, up pop delicate pink flowers on tall stems rising up over the leaves. The flowers look almost like little butterflies! After the flowers finish, they are followed by super-interesting, succulent, triangular seed pods which dangle from the stems like an Alexander Calder mobile. The seed pods last well into late winter. Plants self-seed and pop up all over the place. Flowers and leaves are gorgeous and exotic in flower arrangements, lasting for weeks in a vase. Begonia grandis is a delightful plant that I hope I’m never without!

-Is there any other garden or gardener that inspires you?

– I am HIGHLY inspired, energized, and captivated by Great Dixter, Christopher Lloyd’s garden in East Sussex, where Fergus Garrett is now head gardener. The playful experimentation at Dixter, the sheer love of plants, the art and craft of gardening is all happening in the most incredibly fertile, imaginative environment. Someday I hope to be an intern there! I’ve become friends with a very talented gardener in the UK who worked for years under Christopher Lloyd, named Ed Flint, and he inspires me as well, with a deep understanding of plants and gardening. Another favorite is Chanticleer in Pennsylvania. They call it a pleasure garden, which I just love because that is what gardening brings to me: a sense of wonder and satisfaction, learning, mystery, desire, joy, AND pleasure. Lastly, my friend Sharyn Sowell is an artist, gardener, and creative spirit who lives in Skagit Valley, Washington. Her sense of whimsy and wonder in and out of the garden gives me many ideas and endless enthusiasm. Of course, it all started with my mom, Susan Smith, my stepdad, Steve (pictured in top photo), and their garden in Kirkwood. They designed and built an incredible garden that was the envy of all, featured in several local and national publications on a number of garden tours.