CROSS JUNCTION — When neighbors and friends drive past Sharon and Jim Pitzvada’s Frederick County home, they often pause to admire the burst of color spilling across the yard. The Pitzvadas’ garden has become more than a patch of flowers — it’s a neighborhood landmark and a labor of love.
“I would describe my garden as an ever-changing place of color,” Sharon said.
The flower garden began modestly. “When we first moved here, we started with three raised beds,” Sharon explained. At one point, they planted 500 tulip bulbs. “They were absolutely gorgeous,” she said. “Then we realized tulips need to be dug up and replanted every year, and that just wasn’t practical. That’s when we went from tulips to the irises.”
Today, their yard is filled with irises, coneflowers, butterfly weed, blanket flowers, bee balm, dahlias, fire plants, and many others. But zinnias are what Sharon enjoys most.
“It’s hard to say what my favorite flower is,” she said. “I do love zinnias because they are so colorful and they’re the type of flower that if you keep them trimmed, they keep blooming all summer long.”
Those zinnias have also become a gift to others. A woman who tends flowers for a local church comes by weekly to cut stems for the sanctuary on Sunday mornings.
“Yesterday, while I was working in the garden, a lady stopped by and said, ‘Can I buy some of your flowers?’ and I said, ‘Absolutely not. You can have some of my flowers,’” Sharon recalled. “She came back later and cut some of the flowers.”
Neighbors often stop to share how much joy her garden brings them. “People will stop when I’m working in the yard and say how much pleasure they get driving by and looking at our flower garden,” Sharon said. “That brings me joy because I think about flowers like love and kindness, and we’re not supposed to keep those things to ourselves, right?”
Neighbor JoAnn Root shared her admiration for the Pitzvadas’ garden: “Their garden is a breath of fresh air, and it’s been fun watching all they’ve done with it,” she said. “I especially love the vibrant colors.”
Behind the beauty is plenty of hard work. Sharon spends several hours each week in her garden, and more in the spring.
Her biggest challenge is managing the perennials. “Our zinnias are about our only annual plant, other than some petunias,” she said. “Since most perennials multiply quickly, the challenge is keeping them from overrunning one another.”
Deer are another obstacle. “My husband and I researched what plants the deer don’t usually eat. So they don’t bother irises and zinnias,” Sharon explained. “I’ve planted a lot of daylilies, and those are a dessert to deer.”
Future projects are already underway. “Our next major project is to dig up the irises, bring in fresh soil, and create a mound so water runs off instead of pooling on top,” she said. “Then we’ll replant the irises.” With nearly 200 to move, it’s no small job.
Sharon also collects zinnia seeds each fall and replants them in the spring, creating hundreds of blooms. “The zinnias that we grow, I harvest the seeds every year, and I reuse the seeds from last year for this year’s garden,” she said. “We also give away zinnia seeds. I’ve got tons of them.”
Despite the scope of the garden, Sharon remains humble. “I consider myself a beginning gardener because there is so much that I don’t know,” she said. “I’m just fortunate in that I’ve been able to pick the right plants for our location.”
Her husband, Jim, plays a role too. “My husband is pretty artsy and creative, so a lot of it has been his brainchild, and I get to maintain it,” she said with a laugh.
Sharon encourages new gardeners to start small and be patient. “Be patient with your flowers and with yourself because it does take some experimenting and figuring out what works in your particular soil, what works with the amount of light that you have,” she said, adding, “Don’t be afraid to try some plants and then understand they might not be suited for your location, and try another one next season.”
For Sharon and Jim, gardening is more than a hobby. It’s a source of peace, joy, and connection. “Gardening makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something,” she said. “Going out and pulling a weed, or planting a seed, means I’ve accomplished something that day.
“The beauty of the flowers, and knowing that they bring joy to other people, makes it all worth it — all the hours of sweat and the blisters on your hands. It’s so worth it when you see that you can help make part of God’s creation a little more beautiful.”
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