Friday, Aug. 29, 2008

Retreat in Secret

``It was the sweetest, most mysterious looking place anyone could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with . . . climbing roses which were so thick they were matted together . . . she was inside the wonderful garden and she could come through the door under the ivy anytime and she felt as if she had found a world all her own.''

-- Frances Hodgson Burnett from ``The Secret Garden.''

By Elaine Gaston

egaston@thesunnews.com

Rounette Fonteyn and Bob Rowan don't have far to venture to enjoy the respite an out-of- town vacation provides for some folks.

They simply amble out into their backyard, where they've created what they deem their secret garden or their ``little piece of paradise.''

``We don't even like to go out to dinner,'' said Rounette Fonteyn of the Glenmere subdivision near Socastee. ``We have cocktail parties out here and our friends come over. We just love our backyard.''

A belt-tightening economy punctuated by high gas prices is forcing some families to forgo out-of-town vacations and instead stick closer to home. As a result, more folks are spruc ing up around the house to better enhance their stay-at- home living experience, includ ing creating private outdoor gardens that resemble exterior rooms.

``I like to think of secret gardens as nature escapes, and the reason for this is I have found that the more natural you make it, the more of nature you can incorporate, the more relax ing and satisfying it looks and feels,'' said Garry Dougherty of NatureScapes of Conway.

``Gardens of this type are art forms, for they are designed and created to reach the senses and stir the emotions of anyone who enters through their gate.''

Many of the naturescapes Dougherty has created for clients almost always include a variety of elements, such as a garden gate, a stream, a place to sit and relax, flowering and fragrant plants, climbing vines, fountains, statuaries, meander ing trails and a pond with fish.

``One of the greatest assets of the secret garden is the sense of well being it can provide through the connection with nature itself,'' Dougherty said. ``A well-designed and thought- out secret garden or backyard escape is able to awaken the senses of smell, sight and feel ing.''

Fonteyn and Rowan said the peace and serenity they've created in their backyard using plants, whimsical elements, comfortable places to relax, music, moving water and items to attract wildlife delivers a daily dose of relaxation that so many people seek on a weeklong holiday.

``It's our little secret garden,'' Fonteyn said. ``No one in this neighborhood would believe it's back here. We have a little piece of paradise.''

The couple did all the work themselves, a little at a time. The first project was a koi pond, which features a waterfall surrounded by lush plants and water lilies.

The backyard faces a lake and is buffered by plants the couple located all along the edge of the property. An island in one corner of the property also helps to establish privacy.

Fonteyn's niece, Meredith Sypolt, who lives with her aunt and is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, said the back yard has been therapeutic while she's battled her disease.

``It's really helped me,'' she said.

Sypolt said she enjoys all the various sections of the back yard, including the portico, just off the den and through sliding glass doors. It's covered with wisteria vine and has seating for four.

``Around the bottom edge there is hostas growing, which makes a nice cozy space to unwind at the end of the day,'' Sypolt said.

Another favorite space is the cabanna off the couple's bedroom. It includes comfort able seating, lights, a coffee table, music and lots of potted plants.

A whimsical garden is opposite the pond and is filled with containers plants, birdfeeders, stained glass pieces fashioned by Rowan, seashells, statuaries, a water feature and whirligigs hanging from the branches of a red maple centered in the bed.

``This is not a formal garden or one that is kept free of grass,'' Sypolt wrote in an e-mail about her aunt's back yard. ``But it is truly a calming and healing garden. It has given me new spirit and hope just watching all the birds, butterflies, fish and flowers bloom.''

The couple say they use their outdoor space daily. They have coffee there. Grill. Enjoy cock tails in the cabana. Or just sit back and enjoy the mingling with nature.

``I just love sitting here,'' Rowan said. ``I like watching the birds and the ducks. We very seldom go out. We both cook and cook pretty decent food.''

``We get all the entertainment we need right here,'' Fonteyn added.

Creating a secret garden can be as simple as tucking a garden bench, some container plants and garden ornaments in a corner of your yard. Or it can be as elaborate as Fonteyn and Rowan's backyard or landscape architect J. David Utterback's backyard. Utterback has designed seven different gardens around his Myrtle Beach 1950s brick bungalow, which are all connected by winding paths that meander through the shaded half-acre plot. ``It has a leading-on effect,'' Utterback said. ``We try to have multiple focal points to entice you on through the garden.'' Utterback and his wife JoAnne were married in one section of the garden several years ago and both enjoy frequent strolls through the space, which is hidden beneath a canopy of 21 oaks and other evergreen trees and behind privacy fencing, brick and stone walls and expansive plantings. ``This time of year it's very warm and comforting,'' Utter back said. ``During the winter, it becomes open.'' One garden features wooden chairs and a table, potted plants, a four-columned pergola and a fountain that serves as a focal point. An adjacent garden features a circular bed and a bronze sculpture of three young boys playing. ``I call this the `Little Boys Garden,''' said Utterback. ``I have three sons and I was one of three boys.'' Nearby is a rock waterfalls that trickles into a small pond filled with plants and decorative floating balls that reflect light and objects. A wrought-iron Charleston gate hung between brick columns beckons a strolling visitor into the ``Dixie Perennial Garden'' that features a gravel walkway surrounding a porkchop-shaped flower bed filled with lush plants, such as ``Red Torch,'' ``Garlic Lilly'' and sago palms. Other gardens include an herb garden, a camellia and azalea garden and a palm garden. ``The whole yard is a cross between a West Virginia hollow, Key West and Charleston,'' Utterback said, referring to his native W.Va., homeland and visits to Key West and Charles ton. ``I've always liked the gracefulness of plants in the tropics.'' Utterback's garden is three years in the making and he enjoys it for its sustainability and low maintenance, some thing every do-it-yourself gardener should consider when creating their own secret garden, Utterback said. For him, the paradise he's created provides peace and quiet from the busyness of life. ``I try not to leave here,'' he said. ``I feel very blessed.'' For someone desiring a small secret garden, Utterback suggested choosing a small corner of the property. Start with a container pot that features a nice plant, such as nandina, at the garden's entrance; encourage ivy to climb along a wall; use flagstone for a walkway; add a fountain to serve as the focal point near the rear of the garden; add statuaries for added whimsy and surprise; and edge it with evergreens and other plants. ``In a small space you want to create this false sense of depth,'' he said. ``You want it to play with your mind. That's the escape you get with a small garden.'' Contact ELAINE GASTON at 626-0299.