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added one last water feature several
seasons ago.
Karen Root pauses to admire one of
her prized blooms, a whipped cream
callas lily. “I finally felt like I’d gotten
to the point in the garden where I
could start putting bulbs in ... until you
really pretty much get your plant material
in place, then you can start ... what
I call the layering. Everything that I
grow usually has two or three layers.”
One circular bed in front of the
house blooms with daffodils, then
amaryllis, then lilies followed by summer
bulbs. The flowers bloom continuously
by season so there is always
something coming next.
“In every composition you want to
have a lot of different textures—you
want your needle texture, you want
your large needle texture, you want the
round balls, you want the pyramids,
you want the spikes—you want to
have everything contrasting,” she says.
“I under plant everything with anemones,
muscary and crocus because
one of them will be in bloom.” She
is referring to the annual Cape Fear
Garden Club’s Azalea Garden Tour
each April. Karen’s garden has been
showcased twice, in 2005 and 2010.
Hers was also a featured garden during
the Cape Fear Water Garden Tour
to benefit the New Hanover County
Arboretum last year.
As effortlessly as the tender pink
petals that flutter in the breeze, falling
silently to the footpath or the delicate
aroma of the fringe tree that greets the
nostrils long before the tree itself comes
into view, Karen easily recites plant
names as if she were introducing guests
at a party, identifying each species as
she meanders through her garden.
When she gets stuck, she conjugates her
own variety: Road-aside-um Smell-em
Good-em, she quotes laughing.
As the rushing sound of water
pours steadily over rocks and splashes
into pools, Karen Root pauses just a
moment to reflect beyond the beauty
of her own creation. “The colors on the
marsh as the sun goes down are stunning,
just stunning.”
In the twilight as the wild birds call
and respond, settling down for the
night, so do the Roots in their living
room nestled in the lush landscape.