“My Garden is My Favorite Place” | Volunteer Gardener

We tour a home garden that’s been 40 years in the making, by a woman who says gardening brings her joy. There’s no mowing in her backyard, as it is full of garden beds, pathways, container combinations, a pond, and some gorgeous mature shrubs and trees. There’s a progression of dominant colors in this space, and it’s all a sight to behold.

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Produced by Nashville Public Television, Volunteer Gardener features Tennessee gardening experts who share their passion and knowledge with the novice grower as well as the experienced plant enthusiast.

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– [Tammy] Don’t you wish you lived next door to this garden? And it is a front yard garden here in Nashville at the home of Jeannine Briley. Jeannine, I wanna live next door to you. – I would love that. – This is so beautiful.

Tell me what you’ve done here in your front yard. – Thank you. Years ago, I decided that I could not mow the bank, and so I decided it would be a good place to plant a few flowers. And so, it grew into this over the years,

Which is, you know, that’s a good thing and a bad thing, but it was fun to do this. It’s been fun to do. – It’s gorgeous! – [Jeannine] And my neighbors love it, and they come by, and if I’m working out here, we always have conversations,

So I find out what’s going on in the neighborhood, which is a good thing too. – [Tammy] Absolutely. – [Jeannine] And I’ve just got a variety of plants here. – You do, and I think that’s why it’s so interesting, because it’s a nice mixture of things. Let’s talk about your yucca.

– [Jeannine] Isn’t that gorgeous? – I think that’s the most beautiful thing ever. – [Jeannine] I just love that. It’s probably five or six years old now. – [Tammy] Wow. – [Jeannine] And it has bloomed just like that for all these years. I have three plants there,

But only one has bloomed this year. I think it’s because of the weather, maybe. – Right. – That cold spell that we had. But all in all, it’s just a variety of things. I have herbs. This baptisia was gorgeous about two or three weeks ago. – And it’s huge. – It’s huge.

It is huge. It has reseeded. I planted two plants here, and this is all reseed from the years. – And you said that the birds have given you plenty of other plants that you did not count on. – [Jeannine] The arum that’s out in the front is very evenly spaced,

And the birds planted every one of ’em from that wire up there. It was fun to watch that too, so. – [Tammy] That’s fun. What’s your favorite part of this front garden? – [Jeannine] Oh, I don’t have a favorite. I think I just like all of it.

And I love the spiraeas, when they start to bloom. And this is a little annual bed in here that I always try to do right in the middle so that it gives a little color. And it’s just a fun little spot. – [Tammy] And you said your granddaughter likes pink,

So we’ve got some pink going on. – [Jeannine] Yes, we’ve got pink. I have a seven-year-old granddaughter, and everything is pink and purple. – Of course. – Yes. – Of course. – Absolutely, absolutely. – [Tammy] It’s beautiful. Jeannine, you said that there were no trees

On this property, but now it’s covered in trees that you have planted. – [Jeannine] Exactly. This maple, this Japanese maple, I planted several years ago, and it was maybe three, four feet tall at that time, and it’s just grown, and just in the fall, it’s absolutely stunning. It’s just so beautiful.

It’s just, it’s one of my favorite things, especially, this little garden I like, because I’ve got so many ferns. And the hellebores was beautiful earlier in the year. And I usually put some annuals in here to give me a little color. You gotta have a little color. – You do.

– And so, this is one of my favorite places. And my friend from years ago heard that I was gardening. And I worked with him, and he said, would you like some rocks? And I said, well, of course I would like some rocks. So, I came home the next day,

And he had all these rocks that are on the pathway lined up over there, very neatly. And then my son, Rob, came and laid them down for me. So, Rob did a good job, and so did the man who gave me the rocks to begin with. – And it’s beautiful! – It’s gorgeous.

It’s just, it’s so natural. – Yes. – It’s not formal at all. It’s very relaxed, and very casual. – Well, it just fits with everything that you’ve got going on here. And obviously, I love rocks anyway. I love the sound of water, and you’ve got bird baths, and you’ve got a fountain.

Tell me about your fountain. – That fountain was a gift from a friend. I have good friends. – Yeah! – [Jeannine] Gardening friends are great, and a few years ago, he had that commissioned by an artist in Clarksville who did that for us, and then he came and installed it for me.

The birds absolutely love it. I’ll see them perched on top of that little flowing water every once in a while, and they just have a little bath up there, and have a drink, and just fly off, and just come back later. – [Tammy] They’re happy. – [Jeannine] They’re happy birds, happy birds.

– [Tammy] Jeannine, you have so many nooks and crannies in your garden, and I want to transition. The front is not the only gem. You’ve got a backyard that is stunning. – Well, I have a backyard that’s big, and it seems big. It seems big.

It seems the older I get, the bigger it gets. – [Tammy] I understand. Let’s go explore your backyard. – [Jeannine] Okay, all right. That sounds good. – Jeannine, you must love to garden with pots. – I do, and as I have gotten older, it seems like I buy more pots.

Everywhere I go, I look for pots. – They’re fun, aren’t they? – Yes they are, and it’s estate sales, you can find good pots. I’ve found several of these at estate sales, and I just enjoy them. It’s easier to do than having to bend over, and get down in the dirt.

– [Tammy] Right. – [Jeannine] It’s just so much easier. – [Tammy] Well, you can move ’em where you need color. – [Jeannine] Exactly, and I just love ’em, and just all kinds. You can actually put some little evergreens in some of them. – Like this one? – Mm-hmm.

It’s just a fun thing to do. – I love pathways in a garden, and you’ve got lots of beautiful pathways. – I do, I do. – Because it gives you access to your garden. – It does, but it also gives you some structure in your garden too. – Absolutely.

– [Jeannine] And people can walk through, and admire what you have planted on either side of the pathway. It’s good, I like them. – [Tammy] And did you create all of these? I’m assuming this used to be a grassy yard. – It was, and I did this

So I wouldn’t have to mow the grass, which was probably, well, obviously was a mistake. – But that’s okay, look at the joy. This is so much more fun than grass. – Oh, absolutely. – Isn’t it? – [Jeannine] It is. To me, gardening is very therapeutic. When you come out here, and you work in the dirt, and it just gives you a good sense of life,

And what it’s all about. It’s just so much, it’s just fun, too. It’s just a great experience for anybody. Even if you don’t like to garden, you can come and view somebody who has a good garden. – [Tammy] Absolutely. – [Jeannine] I’m thrilled when people do want to come see my garden.

– Well, and it’s a good kind of tired at the end of the day. – Absolutely, absolutely. – You’ve bent stuff that you didn’t know you could bend. – Like my back today. – So Jeannine, do you have a perfect spot back here? ‘Cause you’ve got so many little vignettes. Do you have a spot that has been a challenge for you to garden, back here? – [Jeannine] Well, actually the whole thing was a challenge, because it was just, I did little gardens.

I did this one first, and then I did this garden. Then I put the pond in, and then it just kind of spreads out, you know, once it’s, it was all little pieces. I didn’t try to come and do it all at once. I did it in pieces. – Right.

– [Jeannine] And that makes it a little more manageable as you’re doing it. But, all of it has been pretty much a challenge. – So this has been an ongoing, for how many years? – Absolutely, probably close to 40 years. Yeah, it’s about 40 years old, in that neighborhood.

– And when you first started, did you ever dream that it would grow into this? No, no, no. Over the years, it was a good weekend activity. I stayed busy, and at the end of the day, as you said, I’m tired. And it’s just relaxing.

It’s just, it’s been my therapy for many, many years. – And obviously, it’s treated you well. – Well, thank you, thank you. – [Tammy] And it has responded to your loving kindness, I believe. – [Jeannine] It’s my favorite place. I don’t have one place that I like better than another.

I can go sit in on that bench, and it looks so pretty from this way, and I can come up here, and it looks pretty from that way. So it’s just, I don’t have a favorite spot. It’s got a lot of light in here. It’s not a lot of sunlight,

But there’s a lot of light in here. So you can grow things that typically grow in a shade garden. And you’ve got things in spots where you can grow sun things. So, I’ve been very fortunate that I can do both. – [Tammy] This is one plant. – [Jeannine] Absolutely, it is. – Unbelievable.

Did you plant this as well, or was this already here as a gift? – No, I planted this. This oak leaf hydrangea is probably 25, 30 years old. And I don’t do too much to it. It just comes back like this every year. It’s just gorgeous. It’s one of my favorites out here.

– [Tammy] You know, sometimes when we mess with things, we mess ’em up. – [Jeannine] We do, we do. I don’t do anything to this. Occasionally, I’ll take some dead pieces out of it, but other than that, I don’t do anything to it. I haven’t fed it anything special or anything.

It just likes this spot. – It obviously does. – It found its home. So, and it’s gonna stay here. – It is quite stunning. – Well, thank you. – And it’s huge. – Yes, it is huge, it is huge. And it, you know, it blooms.

I found that when the white things bloom out here, there’s a lot of white blooming, and then it’ll transition to yellow, and then it’ll transition to purple, and then it just goes through the seasons. It’s just, it’s kind of fun to watch that. – Just the little rainbow happening through your garden.

– Uh-huh, yes. The whites have been blooming lately. – [Tammy] And you’ve got, obviously, birds that you love, and a frog that loves you. – [Jeannine] Yes, I have frogs this year. I think I have two. I’ve seen two back there this year. They’re just, I just love the sound of the frog.

It’s another one of those therapy things. – I love it, and this garden is just a favorite of mine. And I know my husband always says, when I do these garden tours, okay, what’s this gonna cost me? Because I come home with all of these ideas.

But you have so many beautiful ideas, Jeannine, that you have inspired me to go home and do some more planting. – [Jeannine] Oh, well I’m always inspired when I go to someone else’s garden. I’ll come home with an idea from someone else’s garden, and try to put it into this garden, as well.

So, it’s a two-way street. You know, you can always find something new you want to do. – Absolutely, you are a treasure. – Oh, thank you. – Thank you so much for letting us come, and explore, and sharing your beautiful garden and home with us, and just your love of nature,

And gardening is inspiring. – Well, thank you. It’s been my pleasure to have you here.