Of all the gardens on the tour this year, the garden of Nancy Griswold (DCMG 2018) is decidedly the most traditional in that it includes both a large vegetable garden and ornamental plants in equal measure in this back yard space.  Unusually, however, it is the vegetable garden here that takes pride of place in the sunny center of the yard.

Laid out with precision but without pretension, Nancy’s vegetable garden should be the envy of all who aspire to produce the abundance and variety of crops that she grows in it.  In most years, she grows a wide variety of annuals ranging from potatoes to peppers, cantaloupe to collards, and kohlrabi to kale, plus a dozen more.  Her perennials include artichokes, sorrel, fennel, and chard, as well as thyme, curly leaf parsley, oregano, and garlic chives among the herbs.

Occasionally, Nancy trials varieties that are new for her, such as the time she tested broccoli rabe.  However, not every newcomer in the garden plot is successful:  she has yet to find a variety of this cruciferous vegetable, also known as rapini, that has an appealing taste.  Meanwhile, while she constantly works hard in the vegetable beds on the regular and experimental crops, ordinary self-seeding zinnias pop up spontaneously here and there and everywhere in the garden every year and serve as great attractants for pollinators.

The garden’s trellises and wooden frame boxes for the raised beds were constructed by her husband John.  He has also installed hoops (arcs) of PVC pipe that serve as supports for plastic sheeting that is put in place to create makeshift greenhouse “tunnels” which protect tender plants from freezing weather.

Unsurprisingly, Nancy and John are avowed vegetable lovers, and the continual bounty of produce from their garden ordinarily keeps their table well supplied year-round.  John’s personal favorite from the garden is jalapeño peppers, from which he makes “poppers.”

The featured central vegetable plot occupies the entire back yard, which is surrounded by a border of ornamental plants around its perimeter.  The border plant collection includes traditional garden favorites such as Snowball Viburnum (Viburnum x carlcephalum), Bridal Wreath Spirea (Spiraea x vanhouttei), and Oak Leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) as well as Texas natives such as Texas Sage Cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens), Esperanza (Tecoma stans), and American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana).

At the first suggestion of springtime, green hordes of frilly and fringy seedlings of garden poppies and larkspurs sprout in profusion in the spaces between the stepping stones of the vegetable garden.  When they herald the arrival of spring by bursting into blossom, the garden is splashed with bright colors that are captured by Nancy and fellow watercolorists who are members of Artists Out and About DFW (AOA).  This group seeks out inspirational outdoor scenes for painting en plein air, which include Nancy’s beautiful garden.  Their bloom finished, these self-sowing annuals shed their seed and disappear until the performance of their progeny in the following year.

The Griswolds have lived at this address effectively twice.  They first moved into the original c. 1942 house in 2013 and spent a couple of years renovating and improving it, but eventually they concluded that the old house did not suit their needs and so decided to demolish the old and to rebuild the now-existing brand new house upon the same site.

The house’s most distinguishing trait is its remarkable location in The Peninsula neighborhood near the north end of White Rock Lake.  The beautiful shoreline of the lake is easily visible from the front yard of this home.

When asked what she loves most about her garden, Nancy replies that it is the simple pleasure of “seeing things grow.”  Go and see this beautiful garden to share that simple pleasure.

The upcoming DCMGA Garden Tour on May 18 will feature eight beautiful gardens, including the garden of Nancy Griswold. Please watch the DCMGA website for more information and purchase tickets here.