Feature Garden: Laughter is a key component of this garden
26 Jun 2018
Mirth Makes Merry
By Carol Brock Photos by weinrauchphotography.com Someday Valerie Yates might like to garden herself. But for now she’s content with just having a garden, especially one brimming with mirth. “My garden is playful; it makes me laugh,” Yates says of her Mapleton Hill landscape. Indeed, few gardens boast surprises like life-size statues of a crocodile, a rhinoceros and a tortoise, not to mention countless butterflies, bunnies, frogs and dragonflies, and likenesses of dogs, cats and wildlife. Unlike the formal landscapes in the neighborhood, it’s OK to be a little wild, a little unshorn in Yates’ yard.
A play space for animals
Boulder tree sculptor Lueb Popoff carved a rotted silver maple in Valerie Yates’ front yard into a hiding/play space for wooden animals, including a fox, a raccoon, an owl, a bear and a squirrel.
A blooming arbor
Valerie’s arbor vines have been slow to blossom. “What surprises me most is when something that’s barely been creeping along suddenly makes a dramatic appearance, like the clematis and the honeysuckle,” she says. “They’ve been in place for years, but only recently started to bloom.”
A croc in a mirror
A lifelike crocodile statue admires itself in a mirror. Landscapers used a Bobcat outfitted with a sturdy sling to set the croc in his shady rock-and-soil habitat.
No formal curb
Valerie couldn’t stand the idea of a formal curb in front of her house, but seasonal water pouring down the street would flood her neighbor’s home because of its angled driveway. “I told her I would figure something out,” says Valerie, who added river rocks instead of a curb. “The rocks are like a riverbed. They keep the water flowing down where it should, so I didn’t have to add a permanent curb.”
A safe place for cats
Valerie built an enclosed shelter for her three cats, Sprout, Simon and Layla, so they could access the outdoors. “I love that they have a safe place, and for the most part, it keeps the birds safe,” she says. She added rocks around the perimeter so wild animals can’t dig their way inside. Shelves at various levels offer the cats places to lounge and soak up sunshine.
Fat ceramic birds
Boulder artist Brenda Garnett crafted the whimsical ceramic totem to the right of the porch. It features fat ceramic birds separated by ceramic rings that she glazed in vibrant colors.
