Above: Yellow daylilies give a pop of color to Lori Nitchals’ front yard. Below: A rhododendron begins its bloom. them just plopped in the middle of the landscape; you want them where things need screening.” She’s also not happy with snowberry and Russian sage, which “spread out roots and shoots and just take over.” The same with catmint, which “spreads like wildfire.” Nitchals also has a large, net-covered area for raspberries and blueberries. Her favorite place in the garden, she said, is the water feature. It holds about 20 goldfish, and the sound of running water helps drown out neighborhood noises. “I can’t feel down when I’m outside in my yard,” she said. “If I’m not having a good day, I go out there and watch the fish, watch the birds and watch the garden grow.” Nitchals, who doesn’t use chemicals in the garden, noted that her yard can be labor intensive, but worth it. “I have crawled on my hands and knees on every inch of this property,” she said. “There’s nothing better; then you take a shower and go out with a glass of wine and look out and say, ‘Wow, I did this.’ “To me, it’s like I’m a caregiver for this piece of property and I want to make it beautiful. Gardening and being out here soothes my soul.” F 20
Foothills
September / October 2015