Donna Everly’s love for gardening started as a child when she hung around a local nursery every day after school. Her experience, however, began the day that nursery finally put her to work repotting seedlings.
As a child, she always had a garden at her parents’ home and she carried on the tradition as her own children grew up. There always seemed to be a need for a garden since her children were active in 4-H Club. As life changed and the children eventually left, Donna continued to find a reason to garden.
When she moved to Dayton, she found herself with a yard that had “no bones,” as she puts it. She put in shrubs, evergreens, Japanese maple and blue spruce trees to create a structure. She too loves the evergreens because they catch the winter beauty that comes after flowers fade.
Various herbs are sprinkled throughout her garden. Parsley serves as a welcome mat to butterflies to lay their eggs and thyme is grown for her own personal cooking. Potted plants are strategically positioned around the yard while plants like hens and chicks spontaneously pop up in her retaining wall.
Donna had a pergola and fence built on the perimeter of her garden to create a natural border. Still, their open design allows her garden to breathe.
A bench beneath her pergola has become a favorite resting spot for not only her, but also her dogs. It’s there that she is able to survey her garden’s beauty and take in small details like the webs left behind by big garden spiders. The spot is a wonderful place to meditate, relax and observe the work of her hands.