Linda Heatherman has taken a page from poet Robert Louis Stevenson's 1885 classic "A Child's Garden of Verses." Stephenson saw the garden as a place for children to explore, imagine and learn. Linda's modern version serves the same purposes for her grandchildren, 5-year-old Evelyn Kay Bastin and 1-year-old Ethan Cole Bastin.
"She knows how to do it, even better than her mother," Linda says laughingly. "Evelyn told her mom, 'I'll show you how!' She takes the plants out of the pots, loosens the root ball, tamping them down after they are planted. She's a real little gardener."
It doesn't bother Linda if a child steps on a plant, or even picks one. "It will grow back," is her cheerful response.
A play mat of colorful rubber squares lies atop the mulch under the swing set, with toy trucks and a sandbox and a child-size picnic table nearby. All are hidden from the road by large grasses and a beautiful Colorado blue spruce.
Low walls separate the yard from the road, and because they are only a few blocks in height, they are a distinct, yet safe, barrier between safety and danger for the children. Linda has used the walls around garden beds, delineating between flowers and grassy areas, as well.
There's a vegetable garden around the corner. The children are welcome to harvest lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, green and hot peppers and spinach. Evelyn planted the lettuce and spinach, and she enjoys eating what she has planted. Always gardening with the children in mind, grandma decided to skip the cucumbers this year.
"They are such a viney mess, and so prickly. I didn't think that was good for little Ethan to play around," Linda explained.
Like Stevenson's poetry, Linda's gardens flow smoothly. And Linda's gardens, like the poems, are enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Sara Busse of Charleston is a master gardener. Contact her at sjbu...@gmail.com.
Linda Heatherman has taken a page from poet Robert Louis Stevenson's 1885 classic "A Child's Garden of Verses."
Stephenson saw the garden as a place for children to explore, imagine and learn. Linda's modern version serves the same purposes for her grandchildren, 5-year-old Evelyn Kay Bastin and 1-year-old Ethan Cole Bastin.
Linda takes care of the two youngsters each day for her daughter, Dr. Crystal Bastin, and son-in-law, Shawn Bastin. Obviously, the children and the yard are her two loves, and she's combined the needs (and whims) of the children into her landscape seamlessly.
Her green thumb is evident throughout the corner lot in South Charleston's Southern Woods subdivision. There's a plant for everyone here - astilbes and yarrow and daisies and broadleaf euonymus and ferns and low-growing, red-tinged sedum - and they all blend to make a gorgeous landscape.
But the unique beauty of the landscape lies in the way the children's toys and play areas blend into the garden beds, obviously an integral and important part of the yard, but not obtrusive in any way.
Somehow Linda has managed to make Little Tykes plastic toys fit in with the beds of lilies and evergreens like they were planted along with the shrubs and flowers. There's even a hot-pink baby pool on the patio that seems to fit in with the lovely plantings.
And there are plenty of spots for grandma to sit and observe the play areas. A pretty bistro table and two chairs make for a perfect morning coffee spot, with a clear view of the yard. Linda's mother lives with her, making the yard a four-generation favorite.
Linda has included the children not just in the design but in the implementation of the garden, as ell. Little Evelyn planted the petunias along the road.
"She knows how to do it, even better than her mother," Linda says laughingly. "Evelyn told her mom, 'I'll show you how!' She takes the plants out of the pots, loosens the root ball, tamping them down after they are planted. She's a real little gardener."
It doesn't bother Linda if a child steps on a plant, or even picks one. "It will grow back," is her cheerful response.
A play mat of colorful rubber squares lies atop the mulch under the swing set, with toy trucks and a sandbox and a child-size picnic table nearby. All are hidden from the road by large grasses and a beautiful Colorado blue spruce.
Low walls separate the yard from the road, and because they are only a few blocks in height, they are a distinct, yet safe, barrier between safety and danger for the children. Linda has used the walls around garden beds, delineating between flowers and grassy areas, as well.
There's a vegetable garden around the corner. The children are welcome to harvest lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, green and hot peppers and spinach. Evelyn planted the lettuce and spinach, and she enjoys eating what she has planted. Always gardening with the children in mind, grandma decided to skip the cucumbers this year.
"They are such a viney mess, and so prickly. I didn't think that was good for little Ethan to play around," Linda explained.
Like Stevenson's poetry, Linda's gardens flow smoothly. And Linda's gardens, like the poems, are enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Sara Busse of Charleston is a master gardener. Contact her at sjbu...@gmail.com.
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