On Saturday, June 26, the Bristow Garden Club conducted its 2021 Garden Tour. Local gardeners signed up to host the tour, sharing their beautiful gardens with participating garden tourists and becoming eligible to win the title of “Best Garden” and a $25 prize. As they completed the tour, garden tourists were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite garden.
Upon tallying all votes, the club declared Kris and Bob Wyatt’s garden the winner. Despite winning, the Wyatts say they did not join the tour to compete with anyone; instead, they joined simply to share their love of the outdoors and peaceful garden of respite with others, a lush garden many locals deem an “oasis.”
Bob and Kris love spending time outside. Whether gardening, relaxing in the abundant shade of their natural arboreal canopy, hunting, fishing or listening to the birds and watching the butterflies, they feel at ease in nature. Thus, they worked to enhance the existing foliage and landscape when growing their gardens.
As to how they came to create their sanctuary, Kris said that when they purchased the home in 1995, they first identified areas of desired change. They pulled away the screened-in porch and removed honeysuckle, discovering hidden landscaping long forgotten. Bob described the overgrowth growing on the property as “mountains of honeysuckle.” Once they removed vegetative overgrowth and dilapidated or unwanted structures and found the landscaping, they began to craft their own tranquil sanctuary.
At the time of purchase, their property already contained a vast array of botanical life. Kris and Bob began filling it with additional species and varieties. Today, their garden contains more than 80 species and varieties of plants and roughly 17 species of trees. Some of their trees include water oaks, maples, catalpa, avocado, lemon, pine, pecan, redbuds, and others. At one time, they had a pawpaw tree, which has since died. Their garden also includes several grape mahonia bushes, hostas, ferns, flowers, and fruits. In reflection, Bob shared a thought: “This place could be an arboretum. We have so many species of trees and plants.” Asked how they managed such a feat, Kris humbly and matter-of-factly stated “I’ve learned not to fight with nature.” Bob shares her mindset, attitude of gratitude, and appreciation of nature. For those reasons, they run their household and garden with the environment in mind.
Kris and Bob utilize many conservation and preservation practices within their household and garden, exerting their efforts to preserving nature and reducing their environment-negative footprint for years to come. Many in the community know that Kris worked diligently to bring recycling to Bristow. In their home, they recycle to reduce waste and reuse items to preserve natural resources. Additional environmentally friendly practices they employ include collecting rainwater for their yard and gardens, mulching to retain moisture, and composting to enrich the soil and keeping useful refuse from being wasted. To nurture the wildlife, they feed the birds and grow plants with pollinators in mind.
The garden proves a haven for wildlife. As Kris and Bob shared their story, a Carolina wren sang in the background, hummingbirds flitted and darted from bushes to feeder and back again in seconds, cardinals flew about the property, robins hopped along the ground, a brave squirrel tottered along the top of their fence, and a sparrow ate heartily at a nearby feeder. Meanwhile, about 40 feet away, butterflies danced, floating on the soft breeze and landing among the blooming echinacea. Bob smiled as he confirmed two other visiting and resident avian species to their garden: catbirds and brown thrashers. A purple martin house stands tall at the south end of their garden; sadly, no martins have made it their home. Instead, the house serves another resident: sparrows. Comically, Bob dubbed it the “sparrow mansion.”
For those who do not know Bob, he enjoys outdoor sports such as hunting and fishing, but do not let that fool you. He is quite the gardener as well. In fact, the garden beckons visitors as soon as they reach the deck. A few botanical ushers stand ready to welcome all who visit. The greatest of these ushers is a large philodendron. Its tallest leaf reaches toward the sun at heights taller than Bob. As a matter of fact, Bob brought that plant home more than 40 years ago. A colleague gifted it to him around 1978. Not only is it still living, it produced offspring, which Bob and Kris gifted as well. An asparagus fern softens the glory of the philodendron, ushering in visitors for a time of rest and healing and bidding them a soothing farewell as they leave. Although they did not join the tour to compete or win, Bob and Kris fulfilled their goal of sharing their beautiful, peaceful, and natural garden space with others. Because of their efforts and willingness to share, the Bristow Garden Club is honored to award them as winners of the voters’ choice for “Best Garden” this year.