For this gardening interview, I knocked on the door of Beaumont-Wilshire residents Jim and Annette Johnson and invited myself to wander through their lovely front gardens and lush back yard, which connects to Wilshire Park. Jim laughed when I asked if I could feature their garden in the May-June issue, but sportingly agreed to share some stories from his garden. Whatever avoidance techniques the Johnsons may employ, the result is a veritable spring parade, worthy of a closer look. Here is my interview with Jim:
How would you describe your gardening style?
More than anything, we strive for a low-maintenance yard. That’s why this interview is so ironic! We like to mix ornamentals with edibles like blueberries, and we have a small herb garden in the backyard. Rosemary is my favorite, and our parsley is doing really well this year. We also have several types of sage and some thyme. Also, we’re gradually working towards having color throughout the summer, but haven’t quite achieved it yet.
What is your favorite thing about your garden right now?
This spring the colors have just been glorious. The wisteria and dogwood tree have filled in really nicely.
Least favorite?
Our soil is heavy clay. We have to amend and work it really frequently to break up the clay.
What is on your gardening list for May and June?
To work towards our color goal, we’re going to add some azaleas. We may be getting our first crop of blueberries, too. We have three different kinds, but I’m not sure what they are (my wife picked them out and I just put them where I was told). Some of our bulbs will be coming up too, including crocosmia.
How long have you lived in this house?
We moved here 19 years ago from Garden Home because we wanted to be closer to work. The house was a project house, along with the yard, and we’ve had projects in both the house and yard every year since we moved in. Finally we’re really enjoying the way the house looks! I hope we’re not going to get priced out of our own neighborhood. We have a lot of teardowns going on around us.
One of our significant upgrades was to extend the porch to match the width of the front of the house. That was a major improvement. It really added a lot of character and distinguished it from the way it was before. We were then able to add the trellis in the front, where the wisteria is now flourishing.
What’s it like to live alongside Wilshire Park?
Every fall I pretend those oak trees are part of my yard. The colors are just so beautiful. We love the kid noise from the baseball field in the spring evenings and in the fall during soccer season too.
Last year there was a family of four hawks—two adults and two juveniles—that moved into the trees right behind our house. I think they were red-tail hawks. Although the squirrels and small birds suffered, it was fascinating to watch the juveniles learn to hunt and fly. It was just remarkable.
How did you learn to garden?
I’m self-taught, but my wife grew up with parents who were very avid gardeners. They always had a nice yard. She learned a lot from her parents, and I’ve learned a lot from her.
What gardening tips can you share?
Don’t be afraid to prune. We did that last year and that’s part of why things look so good this spring. They came back quite nicely!
Thanks to Jim and Annette Johnson for welcoming me into their garden and for telling their garden story. The pleasure was truly mine!