A Garden-Lou visit to the Keith & Cheryl Kowalczyk Garden

Inspiration can come in many forms and from many places. For Keith and Cheryl Kowalczyk, it’s apparent that one of the biggest influences in creating their Sunset Hills garden was travel, but in the case of the Kowalczyks, that means travel to an impressive 60+ countries.

The couple’s love for Asian culture is evident throughout the garden. Textures are layered with a painter’s palette of evergreens, Japanese maples, groundcovers, stone, and water.  Meticulously pruned trees surround the koi pond and patio areas, ranging from mature pines towering overhead to bonsai specimens dotting the patio.

Accentuating all this Asian-inspired, tranquil beauty are the statuary pieces collected over the years, such as the one brought back from Vietnam that creates a focal point under a solitary Japanese maple.

“Keith was surprised with the bridge for Christmas one year; it’s a custom design,” says Cheryl. For the past 10-15 years, the couple has tailored their travel locations to visit gardens. Japan is a favorite, but closer to home, Cheryl finds the Philadelphia area very inspiring. “The Missouri Botanical Garden is a gem, but we’ve attended the Philadelphia Flower Show held in March three times! Ti Farrar, a gardener and artist, living in New Hope Pennsylvania is also inspiring.”

Maintaining the garden back home is a team effort, according to Cheryl. “The Bonsai pots are watered two times a day. We spend 15+ hours a week on average. Less in summer, more in spring and fall.” Ongoing chores are redoing pots from the deer, and weeding. Pests, besides deer, include raccoons, moles, voles, chipmunks, and a few rabbits. “The newest pests to visit the garden are an armadillo, ground hogs, and a beaver!”

Once a year, there’s repotting bonsai and rewiring. “A more substantial structure to overwinter the 45 bonsai specimens in is next on the “To-Do List”.  Landscape architects have been consulted about structures. Previously, the bonsais were placed in a portable greenhouse for winter, and heaters with a thermostat, similar to those used by beer brewers, kept things warm-but not too warm. “No heat is used unless temperatures fall below 32°F. The pots are too shallow,” says Cheryl.

The Kowalczyk Garden has been featured on the St. Louis Water Garden Society’s Pond-O-Rama multiple times, and this year, they were featured on the Eastern Central District Vignette Tour. Family and friends also enjoy the garden. “We had our grandson’s first birthday party here, with a duck race in the pond,” says Cheryl.  “We all wore bathrobes and shower caps!” But the couple gets the garden all to themselves, too, enjoying a bistro table and chairs in the front during the morning, and the back patio in the evenings, where they can enjoy the pond and all the inspiring beauty surrounding it.

Quick Facts

-Year garden started. 1991 Built the house. In 2010, the front was redone. Keith won’t move, so we keep redoing things, such as the kitchen, etc. I thought installing a pond would throw him with the cost, but he wanted a bigger one!

-Size of Garden: Half acre

-Do you have any other passions besides gardening?

Golf. Artistic rollerskating-Keith got bronze for his age group. Silver for me. Keith pretends he doesn’t like travel, but it’s my thing!

-Any special plants or features in the garden with special or sentimental meaning? The statue we brought back from Vietnam, and the custom red bridge I gave Keith for Christmas.

-Favorite gardening tool? Keith=Bonsai tool. Cheryl = weed picker, long-handled fork.

-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!)

So hard to answer! Whatever is in bloom. Bonsai trees. Japanese maples.

-Comments or questions? Email Garden-Lou at gardenloustl@gmail.com

Words and photos by Jo Batzer

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