Garden-Lou visits Tim and Mary Wanner

The sounds of birds, insects, frogs … all the sounds of nature that begin with one essential element–water.

Tim and Mary Wanner moved into their west county home 21 years ago. “There was only grass,” recalls Tim. “The garden was 15 years in the making.” Now, no matter where you stand in the garden, you see water. The streams and waterfalls that meander throughout the backyard look like one continuous natural feature when actually, there are four separate ponds. If given a second chance, Tim would have merged the two larger ponds into one. Such is the nature of an evolving garden that grows naturally over time.

Tropical foliage, mixed with Japanese maples and hydrangeas, thrive among boulders and pathways that wind along the perimeter and back to the house and deck. Colorful containers filled with tropical foliage or bright annuals repeat throughout the sitting areas. The deck, a focal point centered in the backyard, gives the space a tropical resort feeling.

The ponds currently contain bluegill, minnow, and goldfish after losing koi to an otter last March. “We saw the otter on the trail cam,” Tim says. Otters are making a comeback in Missouri and, like minks, are fond of koi. “We added bluegill and minnows, but Mary thought we should have some goldfish since we were going to be on the pond tour.” Tim and Mary have been on the St. Louis Water Garden Society annual tour, Pond-O-Rama, numerous times.

A firepit area is Tim’s favorite. Like the deck, the firepit is completely surrounded by water and color. The recent room addition lengthens the seasonal enjoyment of the garden, where you can see and hear the water from indoors and the sounds of frogs, especially in spring.

Tim and Mary like to travel to Florida in the winter and have a neighbor that checks on the pond. In spring, things get busy in the garden, but during the growing season, a twice-a-week clean-up is all that is needed. Tim’s favorite garden tool is a hand-held claw with teeth, and scissors for trimming foliage. He credits his grandparent’s farm near highway 141 and Big Bend as the first spark that inspired him to garden. “We would gather cut flowers and put them in coffee cans near the road to sell along with cucumbers and tomatoes. It was all on the honor system. People would buy the flowers on Sundays.”

Tim has learned a few gardening tricks since then, like planting impatiens in the shallow, bog-like edges of the streams. “It doesn’t work with Sun-Patients, though, “ he says. Another trick is planting madevillas in hanging baskets hung from long chains, then letting them climb up the chain for a column of bright color and texture.

A favorite tree is the Japanese maple planted the year Tim and Mary moved in. The tree guards over the deck, and water features like a protective father that has watched a complete paradise spring up around it over time.