Garden-Lou Spotlights the Garden of Fred Ortlip

There are people with ‘green thumbs’… then there are the people with ‘magic thumbs.’ One glance at Fred Ortlip’s garden, and it’s apparent he is one of the latter-he’s created a botanical showpiece of color, texture, and unique combinations that inspires and delights.

Fred and his wife, Rory, moved into their Kirkwood home in 1979, but it wasn’t until getting into golf that he noticed the attractive landscaping on some courses. In the late 1990s, when some extra money became available, he decided to do something about an area around the shaded front sidewalk where grass wouldn’t grow. “I’d heard about garden consultations offered by Sugar Creek Gardens near me and made an appointment. The designer came up with a plan and had it installed, and I was hooked.”

The rhythmic combination of cranesbill and epimedium from the original front-yard design now has sentimental meaning. “I wasn’t all that impressed with them when they were planted for me back in the late ’90s. But they’ve been the most reliable and easy to grow plants in my yard and look great year-round.”

Fred worked for the St. Louis Post Dispatch as an editor, admitting he didn’t know much about gardening. “I’m sure I consulted various gardening guides but learned hard lessons about soil amendment. I thought I was doing a great job breaking up that clay soil, so I had a bit of an ah-ha moment when I realized that donated hostas from a neighbor really liked their new home under my massive sweetgum tree in the back yard. Grass never grew there either, so every spring we had it mulched, and 20 years of token mulching turned that into some very happy soil.”

He created a shade garden under the sweetgum tree, then added beds around the yard’s perimeter. An 18′ x 40′ bed along the side of the front yard is called “The Landing Strip” by Rory. It’s filled with the creative combinations that are Fred’s trademark as a designer.

“The turning point for me was being admitted into the St. Louis Master Gardener class of 2007. I’d already learned a lot by then, but this really took things to the next level. In 2008 I joined Sugar Creek Gardens as a seasonal worker and in 2009 started doing consultations for customers looking for the kind of guidance I once was.”

The garden has evolved over the past few years, but no garden is ever ‘finished’. There are always ideas floating around inside a designer’s mind. “I really like the newer columnar trees and shrubs for the statements they make in smaller spaces. Small ponds and waterfalls are always appealing in a garden, so those would have been one thing I’d aspire to, except making it all look natural would be a budget-breaker.”

Designing and installing is one thing, but maintaining a garden is never-ending. When a garden is your passion, the hard work is worth it. “I don’t even want to know how many hours a week I’m out there from March to the end of May,” Fred says. “Collecting gumballs isn’t fun, but it’s good exercise, and there’s the usual cleanup of leftover leaves and bed litter. I tend to do a lot of what I call moving furniture because always looking for ways to enhance a bed in some way.”

Many homeowners feel once you reach a certain age, it’s all over for gardening, but not Fred. “One of my biggest beefs is when I’m reading a story where age is relevant, and it’s not reported. I’m 72.”

Fred was featured on the 2012 Master Gardener Tour and tours sponsored by Sugar Creek Gardens. “In the earlier years, as the beds matured and my gardening skills improved, my annual joke with visitors offering compliments was, “In five more years, I’ll be on a garden tour.” And finally, I was.”

Quick Facts:

-Favorite gardening tool? Hands down, a soil knife. I have a bad habit of not re-holstering it, and one year I put it on the ground and didn’t find it until some point the next spring.

-What is your favorite part of the garden? I’m not sure I can identify a specific favorite part, but my favorite thing about gardening is the creative aspect. I’m always looking for ways to tweak a look or a section, and it’s really easy to do now with so many hybridized plants that offer colorful foliage. You don’t have to focus as much on flowers when the foliage can carry the day. And as with all aspects of perennial gardening, plants can get too big or not big enough or be eaten by critters or get crushed by falling tree limbs or just die for no apparent reason.

-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! I’m a big fan of Amsonia, which I have growing in multiple places, and I couldn’t resist the newer dwarf ‘String Theory.’ Like ornamental grasses, easy, reliable and interesting for most of a calendar year.

-Is there any other garden or gardener that inspires you? Mass plantings are impactful, and no one does it better than the Missouri Botanical Garden. Beginning gardeners should take note, but it’s a big hurdle spending a lot of money on one plant type just to get started. It keeps the consultants busy though.

-Any other passions besides gardening? In addition to being a photographer, I’m an adjunct instructor at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park working with the student newspaper staff. I’m the longtime editor of the bimonthly publication of the Volkswagen Club of America. And I oversee a fantasy hockey league that started in the mid-1980s.

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

Words and photos by Jo Batzer. Additional photos graciously provided by Fred Ortlip.

© Jo Batzer, garden-lou.com-2023, All rights reserved.