Garden Guru

Rather than having grass and a single tree like her neighbors, Sammy Eber’s front yard is a sea of flowers, foliage and paths.

This is only the introduction to her abode, however. Small streams of multicolored lilies and red poppy mallows flow into an estuary of cacti.

Nestled between tall rows of flowers and shrubs is a pathway of intricate concrete. Eber handmade each stepping stone with different floral designs topping each.

These steps lead under a wooden lattice archway, drawing attention to a massive honey locust tree. An elegant orchid cactus, with red flowers leaking from its stems like petal droplets, hangs from a branch of the tree.

The thorn-covered body of the honey locust creates a sharp contrast to the delicate image of the flowers surrounding it. This large bark-covered guardian blocks the sun from Eber’s backyard garden of Babylon, 12 years in the making.

No mystery or myth surrounds Eber’s garden, however. The feel of the grass and the fragrant aroma of flowers is a tacit treat to the senses. Dozens of large white hydrangeas, pink and white impatiens and a palm tree are only some of the vegetation Eber has cultivated.

The garden appears at first glance to be a solid piece of greenery, with flowers and plants covering every inch of her backyard.

But birds of all types, squirrels and other hidden items such as Mexican pots from her travels can be found with close examination.

A water garden with a miniature waterfall her husband built houses several fish. On the opposite end of the garden, hydrangea bushes hide a wooden bench, sitting on top a carpet of bright green Mazus, which Eber said sprouts violet-colored flowers when it blooms.

Potted plants can be found everywhere throughout the garden. Some are waiting to be put in the earth; others serve as another object of interest.

Branches of various trees intersect above the garden, creating a natural canopy.

“The squirrels use the tree branches as a crossroads,” Eber said.

Eber’s husband, Jerry, makes bird houses as one of his hobbies when he’s not practicing his profession as a veterinarian.

Eber said that she enjoys seeing the birds nesting and just recently had a family of bluebirds move out.

“The birds shop around all the houses to find which one they like,” Eber said. “It’s really cute to watch.”

Eber said she inherited her love for gardening from her grandmother.

“I’ve gardened since I was a child,” she said. “I’m always planting something.”

Her lavish lawn started as a group of compost heaps that she got from a friend.

“She works in a horse barn and started giving me manure from the farm,” Eber said. “I started making a few flower beds, and it got out of hand.”

Eber enjoys her garden so much that she said the thought of it rarely leaves her mind. She travels two weeks each month to visit relatives. But when she is out of town, Eber said she is always thinking of what she can find to add to her garden.

“I buy plants everywhere I go,” Eber said. “My daughter lives in Denver, and I can tell you where all the nurseries are.”

Eber spends nearly eight hours each day for the two weeks each month that she is at her home planting, pruning and remodeling.

“Everybody thinks I’m crazy because I spend so much time outside, but I like doing it,” Eber said.

The garden serves as her scenery for almost every part of Eber’s day.

“We eat all our meals out here,” Eber said. “My husband, Jerry, even bought a large patio umbrella so we can eat out here when it rains.”

While she is away, an irrigation system set up throughout the garden keeps the plants healthy. With so many to water, Eber said that the system is a necessity.

A homemade greenhouse sits next to Eber’s house.

When the chilly air of winter moves through Columbia, Eber covers the greenhouse with plastic to keep the plants warm. They can’t all fit in the greenhouse, though, so Eber’s house becomes an extension of her garden.

Eber said she thoroughly enjoys changing and adding to her garden. But she expressed some discontent with her addiction to digging in the dirt.

“I have too many plants because I can’t throw any away,” Eber said. “I always say I’m not going to buy more, but I keep finding things I’ve got to have.”

Eber’s garden seen one day could be totally different from the way it looks the next. She said she takes entire sections out at a time to replant and rearrange to give the garden a fresh look.

Her garden isn’t the only thing that she sees changing each year. Eber said she is the only original resident of her neighborhood still living there.

She moved to Columbia in 1963 and to her current residence on Cardinal Drive in 1972.

Before retiring in 2003, Eber worked in the research chemistry department at University Medical Center.

Eber is trying to downsize her garden by replacing many of the flowers with shrubs. She said they’re easier to take care of and will help with the future of the garden.

“One year I’ll get too old to do this, but it hasn’t happened yet,” she said.