Wheelbarrow Lane…Re-purposing to Produce the Perfect Blend – by Kay Faught

My Neighbor’s Garden, June 2014 – Bonnie Selvitella

Ordinarily, my column is about the “style” of a garden. This month, the “style” I encountered was not at all what I expected. It’s amazing to me how gardens “evolve” and how one’s gardening side naturally pops-out. Bonnie Selvitella will be the first to tell you she’s not a gardener. She is, by nature, a designer, a user of old junk and a re-purposer of treasures. While visiting her ½ acre backyard on Hueners Lane, you find a garden filled with surprises, walkways of adventure, fun elements, and, (I hate to disagree with her) a wonderful garden!

Bonnie moved into her “cottage” 14 years ago, with a background in designing and re-purposing old treasures and started restoring the old place. One summer morning, when she awoke and saw the massive back yard, she realized, “I need to do something with all that!” She began with a plan and designed 3 main patios for sitting and dining with large, stone walkways placed throughout. An old, restored redwood cover she found ended-up covering her dining patio. A huge 15-foot umbrella satellite dish placed by her back patio became the frame for a white wisteria vine. Thanks to a girlfriend who was learning to weld, a shed-shaped frame she’d fallen in love with ended-up in the back as a spot to show-off more restored pieces.

Next, she knew she wanted a look of “it’s been here forever,” and with only one huge English walnut in the back yard, she had fast-growing cypress trees planted by the pedestrian path to create privacy and shelter. She also wanted an herb garden, so the area closest to the back patio then found a purpose. Her love of water features then provided an excuse to re-purpose old sinks, tubs, faucets and even a canoe! With three features in back, and two in front, Bonnie had more places to express her design style. When I pointed-out how pretty a patch of lithodora was near one water feature, Bonnie looked puzzled and asked, “That? I don’t know the names of most of them.”

It took me a while to really understand the approach Bonnie has taken. She doesn’t think of gardening first. Rather, she comes first from a re-purposing point of view with the item she’s found, be it a door, an old gate, a tool box, or watering can. She creates the scene, and the final “aha!” is that it needs a plant to complete it! Bonnie created a bedroom scene with an old rusty bed, a wooden mirror and funky side table, and then allowed ivy to “blanket” the bed. It was the result of a natural design in her head that was driven first by the restored art and the scene she created. “The scene directs me,” she said, “and then when I’m done, I usually need to plant something.” The design element is always what drives Bonnie, not any idea of planting. “I find the color and shape I like in a plant, ask if it will take sun or shade and get it… and if it doesn’t grow there, I just can’t help it any!” She notes, “Recycled and restored is what I’m really about I guess.”

Easy-to-grow chives pop-up in old buckets, an element repeated throughout the yard while happy ground covers, vinca minor (which she selected) and wild strawberries are left to take their own paths. Creeping Charlie hides and ducks and shows-up in random spots as do thyme’s, hens and chicks, all tucked everywhere…all easy and happy! She does have a love of certain plants like roses, rock roses, sedums, zinnias and poppies. Masses of orange poppies throughout her back create what she likes, which is the wild and natural “English garden” look. She also adores Johnnie jump-ups tucked in her metal buckets and pots!

The tour of Bonnie’s garden was fun, as was noticing that whether her plants become secondary or last, they all somehow fit and become a part of her personal garden statement! I’d say, “Careful Bonnie…your design is spilling into gardening and in fact, you are a gardener, even if it is secondary!” Thanks for the adventure of imagination… I encourage you all to pop-by “Wheelbarrow Lane” and take a stroll with Bonnie, who loves to share her one-of-a-kind creation!