My Neighbor’s Garden – by Kay Faught

Helen and Ray Forsyth live on Main Street in a home that’s tucked only 50-feet behind their hair salon. Helen’s garden is a carved, hidden treasure in the middle of cement and street lights. Her goal eight years ago was to transform the bare area to an oasis in the midst of commercial surroundings—it is now a garden area that offers a cool, refreshing, and artistic experience.

Helen has an amazing talent for turning any container or reclaimed treasure into a hiding place for anything green! She can repurpose anything into a garden item and will plant anything. No matter your taste, you’ll fall in love with the outcome! Her knack of turning “cutesy” into artful creation is done through a gifted eye and gift for perfect placement. She places things where you least expect them and the joy is abundant!

The home’s entry includes a welcoming arched fence-gate onto a secluded front deck, where a fern-laden sitting area has plantings in, on, and over everything! Not a spot is left unplanted. Into their side yard, which is predominantly white, soothing colors pop throughout. As I walked through this part of the garden, I was amazed by how every detail and every inch was meticulously used. Pathways flow as an adventure, drawing you through the garden. Porcelain and trumpet vines, and iceberg roses are allowed to “find their place” in the garden, according to Helen. They drape fences, creating a purposed jungle of protection and cool calm. In the garden with added water features, you are unaware of any outside noise or surrounding buildings. In this 20’ x 50’ side space of garden, a world of total escape is created with walking paths that allow and encourage exploration. Old drum bases provide homes for herbs while repurposed treasures tuck in among perennials, each one holding a living treasure. Tiny succulents placed in drilled holes of a birch log lay next to the pathway rock edging.

Miniatures in the Forsyth’s garden

Through a back gate near the “working area,” I was immediately pulled away to the narrow walk along the back of the home, where potted arborvitae offered a calm break and a sitting area. There, a row of soft pieris line the walkway, while grape vines shield the back fencing where you can stop and rest and feel the calm before the next surprise. To me, the most fun in this garden is difficult to explain without conjuring up a “junkyard” image… which is the FURTHEST from Helen’s creation! A repurposed two- person hot tub is tucked along the back fence. Filled with soil to its top edge, a miniature garden village of paths, plantings and cottages, thrills you! At waist level, an entire miniature world evolves and changes depending on recent “finds.” A garden within a garden… I could have spent the afternoon just playing!

The last piece of Helen’s garden is a private retreat you discover passing through a vine-covered arch. Here, you enter a place reflective of the true joy and serenity she gets from gardening. Tucked on the other side of the home in the shade of persimmon and cherry trees, two lounges face each other beside a fountain and statuary. Helen shares this area with few people… it is her escape, (only 50 feet from work!) to find solitude.

I love this garden and it is one I will want to visit again, to sit and drink tea and then explore what else may be hidden. Helen takes pleasure in inspiring others in the garden…and she has created as close to garden heaven as you can get.

Kay is the owner of Blue Door Garden Store, located at 155 N Third St. Specializing in paraphernalia for the home gardener, she carries garden gifts, decor and a wide variety of pots, tools, gloves, and organic product.