Paradise in Pulaski County
Posted on Saturday, September 20, 2008
P. Allen Smith has gone from boy next door to national gardening celebrity. His gardening spots appear on television across the country and he is a regular on the Today Show and the Weather Channel. His latest endeavor encompasses a vast amount of space which he’s turned into a gardening oasis. Gardeners have eagerly followed the progress of Smith’s Garden Retreat in western Pulaski County via his Web site and TV programs. Arkansans will be the first to get an opportunity to tour the space when the gardens and home officially open Sept. 27 and 28. Smith had always dreamed of owning a farm with plenty of land to plant whatever his heart desired. For years his gardening skills had to be reined in on a small downtown Little Rock lot. Every inch of his urban landscape, the setting for many of his TV programs and books, is planted to the nth degree. Finding space to add a new plant often means relocating something else. Now, having room to plant isn’t a problem.
Thirty acres of beautiful property overlooking the Arkansas River near Roland are devoted to gardens, home, studios, pasture and paddock. This is a farm, complete with chickens, horses and sheep. From the beginning, the design work was planned to meld with the property. Great pains were taken to work with what Mother Nature provided and expand on it. A statuesque old oak tree was chosen as the focal point of the property. The views from the second- and third-level porches of the house are amazing. To deal with the sloping land, terraces were constructed for the gardens.
While stunning, the home also embraces the use of stateof-the-art construction materials and is energy-efficient. There are two outbuildings — an art studio and a summer kitchen with fabulous Viking outdoor appliances. A wide range of farm buildings are on the property including a tractor barn, a milk barn and several storage structures, which blend with the overall design.
The garden is a symbiotic part of the retreat. Just as there are rooms in a home, Smith’s garden has rooms as well. Walking down stone steps to the center of the garden, there is a circular area highlighted by a water feature with a small fountain. Flanking this are large Vitex trees covered in purple blooms. To the east and west are two wings of the garden, one featuring plants with hot colors — orange, red and yellow — while the other wing has a cool color palette of pink, purple and blue. Both gardens are extensively planted in annuals, perennials, roses and shrubs. A wide range of vegetables, herbs and espaliered fruit trees add interest. The espaliered gala apple and Kiefer pear trees are loaded with fruit and help break up the space.
Late-season torrential rains have taken their toll on many gardens in Arkansas, but Smith’s has lots of color to enjoy. From fragrant Sarah van Fleet roses to asters and a beautiful yellow-foliaged Sunshine Blue Caryopteris, you will stroll by many plant trials. Smith’s gardens are testing sites for Proven Winners plants, Bonnie Plants and Ferry-Morse Seeds, along with about 100 other new plants he’s picked up in his travels. Having the space to try out plants is one of the highlights of this new site. What Smith learns will be passed along to his viewers and readers.
Some exciting new plants that you will see in bloom include Fireworks Goldenrod, “Angel Face” Angelonia, Giant Burgundy Fountain Grass, “El Brighto” Sun Coleus and Vista “Bubblegum” Supertunias. All plants will be labeled, so bring a notepad to write down your favorites.
The gardens are ornamental but utilitarian as well. Vegetables and herbs are interplanted with flowers, and organic gardening is the way things are grown. Fall planting is still under way, but harvesting is ongoing with okra, asparagus beans, Holy Moly peppers and herbs galore. Flowers are chosen for their long blooming ability but also as a cutting garden for indoor floral displays.
To leave these garden wings you will cross under arbors covered in grapevines. On the east end you enter a circular garden with a giant fig tree at the center. The fig tree was found on a nearby hilltop and moved with great effort to the garden. Miss Big Fig, as it has been aptly named, is recovering gracefully from the move and even has some figs on it. Hydrangeas and roses round out the gardens. The western beds end in a large cast-iron urn planted with a variegated agave with loads of color surrounding it.
Behind the first terraced garden is an orchard with 16 varieties of heritage apples. Wildflowers are planted beneath the trees. The garden also has a Victorianstyle greenhouse where many of the plants are started from seed. In the spring, Daffodil Hill to the south of the house will be alive with more than 100, 000 blooms, and wildflowers are scattered throughout the fields.
It has taken Smith five years of time and effort to create his crowning glory, and he could not have done it without the generous support of sponsors who came from all over the country to help. Instead of painting his garden ideas on a small canvas, as was the limit in his previous garden, he now can use a large brush and expand his gardening palette, and all gardeners will benefit. In the Garden Retreat, Smith is able to showcase the beauty of Arkansas to a national audience.
The retreat is not open to the public on a regular basis, but if you are unable to attend the opening weekend, groups of 40 or more can arrange tours for a fee. For more information, visit www. gardenhomeretreat tour. com. Coming next week:
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