JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — With enough dedication, a backyard can become an oasis from the stress of daily life, six John Creek homeowners proved.
Nonprofit Johns Creek Beautification unveiled “secret” gardens during a May 9 fundraising tour. Sales from the Secret Garden Tour will support a major public sculpture honoring Native American and Indigenous heritage.
The organization works to enhance community well-being and natural beauty through landscaping initiatives and public works of art.
Liliana Brenner, nonprofit president and chair for the tour, said visitors were astounded by the dedication and gardening prowess on display. Hidden in the backyards of nondescript homes, the gardens provide their owners a natural escape from the suburban world and channel for creativity.
“They love gardening. They love their yards,” Brenner said. “They’re proud of them. They want to share them, and so we are so very, very thankful that they said yes.”
Knous Garden
When Kirk Knous moved into his home, caring for his yard seemed like an impossible task.
The lot was so steep and shady that grass had trouble growing. Mowing posed another challenge, frustrating Knous and eventually convincing him to get creative.
“It’s a corner lot, and it was very steep,” Knous said. “A lot of people thought this lot was unbuildable.”
Now, the backyard is anchored by a long, winding waterfall of flat stones and riparian plants. Bubbling from a source near his deck, it terminates in a wide clear pool that is perfect for meditation and relaxation.
“I’ve always liked waterfalls,” Knous said. “I don’t know why I have the attraction for that.” Flanked by a natural stream, Knous’ yard has fully embraced the aquatic influence. Water sculptures fill the space with a gentle gurgling, and ornate, spinning sprinklers cast droplets through the air while nourishing plants.
Knous and his wife didn’t stop there. Once they decided a lawn wasn’t their only option, they embraced a wilder theme, planting 30 varieties of hydrangea, a thicket of azaleas and all manner of bushes and trees to give the yard a more natural feel.
For Knous, a self-described backyard engineer, the garden has posed a rewarding challenge and escape from the suburban landscape.
“To have this oasis to come to after a hard day at work, it’s a huge benefit,” he said. “It’s very quiet, secluded.”
Morel Garden
Michele Morel placed nearly every single stone in her garden.
A 27-year-old labor of love, the garden surrounds a central patio paved that meets a mossy waterfall that might be at home in an old-growth forest.
By design, it is a garden that is simultaneously wild and yet impossibly curated. It is home to a staggering number and variety of plants, including 19 varieties of Japanese maple.
Each place, or “room,” in the garden as Morel describes them is meant to have its own unique identity.
Visitors easily lost themselves walking along the stone paths that meander through the steep, shaded landscape. They stooped beneath overhanging branches and paused to remark at creeping vines, mossy rocks, hidden sculptures and other countless tiny details waiting to be discovered.
More said she approached the creation of her garden with seriousness.
“When I bought the property in the middle of the Olympics, August 1996, it was just a hole in the ground,” she said.
Morel took on the project bit by bit, adding plants, reshaping the terrain and laying each stone personally to ensure they were in just the right place.
“I had a vision,” she said.
A stone path meanders through Michele Morel’s garden May 9.
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Spicher Garden
Inspired by a classical landscaper, Sarah Spicher’s garden looks as if it was torn from 1700s England.
“There was a classical landscaper named Capability Brown, and he moved landscaping away from these very symmetrical formal gardens to a more natural look of rolling hills,” Spicher said.
Small but packed with ornate detail, Spicher’s garden embraces a traditional English cottage style. Manicured hedges are accented with purple and pink floxgloves, and a stone “folly” with its Greek-inspired white columns stands on a small hillock, bringing everything into focus.
Spicher said she ordered the ornate ornament, which resembles the ruins of an ancient architecture, from alibaba.com and used a crane to lower it into her backyard.
“It was hand carved in some little village in China and shipped over here in nine crates,” Spicher said. “It sat at the end of my driveway for about six months uncrated because I couldn’t figure out how on earth those poor delivery guys would get it in.”
Spicher, a real-estate attorney, said her garden by design has no purpose other than to please her. In her free time, she spends hours pulling weeds and planting.
“That’s how I relax. I get down on my hands and knees, and I hyper focus on little nitpicking,” she said. “It’s just my creative outlet. It’s my therapy.”
Visitors look at plants in Sarah Spicher’s garden May 9.
JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA
Peterson Garden
Flowers abound in Julie and Ron Peterson’s backyard.
An iron gate leads visitors from the driveway into a manicured lawn surrounded by rows of flowering hedges and bushes. Roses, azaleas, hydrangeas offer splashes of color along pathways that connect a covered patio to a rear pergola.
“We planted it so it’s year-round,” Julie Peterson said. “So instead of having just a block in the winter, it’s beautiful all throughout the year.”
Under the shade of a patio, the Petersons often host guests on outdoor seating by a massive stone firepit. The couple more often than not opens the windows to their home, allowing in fresh air and natural light and blurring the line between the interior and exterior spaces.
With their children now grown, the Petersons said the garden is part of their plan of settling into their home permanently.
“We love Johns Creek. It’s why we chose to stay,” Julie Peterson said. “I told my husband, I’m not moving.”
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Miskell Garden
Jane Miskell’s garden exudes serenity.
Old-growth trees tower over shade-loving shrubs and flowers. Sculptures and toys Miskell has found hide among the leaves, and ground cover plants knit together stone and mulch paths. Wild mushrooms and toys she has found while digging serve as eclectic accents.
Although she has come to love it, Miskell’s woodland aesthetic was a solution to a problem, she said. Drainage issues and abundance of shade made growing grass difficult, so she decided to embrace a more unique and natural feel.
After removing an old playground, Miskell started adding flowers, plants and paths. The work has been a welcome escape from the professional world.
Now, she delights in taking “laps” along the paths, looking for ways to improve the space.
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“I usually get up in the morning with coffee and just walk,” she said.
Barnhill Garden
Designated as a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat, Nancy and Grady Barnhill’s yard embraces the trees that surround it.
A central swimming pool provides a welcome opportunity for exercise and a focal point for a space that is easy for visitors to forget is in North Atlanta.
Located on several acres, the property is nestled in a healthy margin of undisturbed forest. In the place of traffic, natural birdsong and rustling treetops create a peaceful ambience.
Nancy Barnhill, a former teacher, said she thinks about science when planting. She eschews artificial chemicals and instead opts for organic nutrients like bonemeal to provide her plants their necessary sustenance.
Barnhill, who loves flowers, has planted numerous roses, camellias and irises around the property, providing splashes of color and havens for birds and pollinators.
“Immersing yourself in nature is what makes humans feel connected,” she said.
Nancy and Grady Barnhill stand in a gateway at their home’s garden May 9.
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