RETREAT HISTORIC CLIFFSIDE

from 417 Home | Gorgeous Gardens | Spring 2023

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD

Amid Glenn and Beverly Blake’s garden rich with natives, annuals and shrubs, there are a few landmarks that tell stories of the past. For example, a log cabin from the 1880s o ers a glimpse into what life was like during the bygone days in the Ozarks. From their patio, they can see the James River and the circa 1920s steel bridge that was originally part of Sunshine Street. Their home also sits at the former site of Aunt Martha’s Cli House Restaurant, which was the precursor to the now-shuttered Aunt Martha’s Pancake House in Spring eld.

Since they became the owners of the property two decades ago, the Blakes have stewarded the land and its history well, and they’ve added plants and landmarks that tell stories of their own past. For example, a deck with trees that blanket all sides was a surprise Glenn built for Beverly. “One time, we were walking in the woods, and I said, ‘Gee, it’d be nice to have a deck in the woods.’ Shortly later, I went o to a high school reunion, and I was gone for about three or four days. When I came home, he was in the process of building the stairs. I just barely mentioned it, and the next thing I knew, I was surprised with stairs, and then he built a beautiful deck.”

Gardening is a hobby the Blakes enjoy doing together, and they’ve found a way to split the duties that works well for them. Beverly handles the planting of the annuals, and Glenn manages the digging, weeding and pruning.

The Blakes aren’t sure whether this log cabin was original to the property or whether someone relocated it to the land at some point. They invited members of a local historic preservation society to study the property, and they determined it was built around the 1880s.

The two love sharing the beauty of their garden with visitors. “Sometimes [when the garden] is really looking nice, I’ll send out an email or sometimes post on social media and invite people over for a walkabout,” Glenn says. “If you come here for any reason, you have to take a mandatory garden walk.” And if you do come over for a garden tour, you’ll most likely see an arrangement by Beverly made with trimmings from their land inside the house, like orange lilies in late summer or berries and holly in the middle of winter. “There is not a day in the year that I can’t go out and pick enough stu to make a beautiful ower arrangement for the living room,” Beverly says.

To maintain a healthy garden and make sure their native plants can thrive, The Blakes eradicate invasive species like winter creeper and Japanese honeysuckle.

In addition to lavender—a favorite of visiting butterflies—you can also find elderberry, Ohio buckeyes, nannyberry, rose mallow, false indigo, hazelnuts and other edible species growing on the property.