Getting started in the garden: Betty Kilegore's top five tips for creating an outdoor oasis.

* Start with good soil. Kilgore dug up the dirt in her side yard and replaced it with topsoil enriched with sand and organic matter. She especially likes amending soil with chipped bark. "It's wonderful because it gives you the drainage you need."

* Put your plan on paper. Kilgore had a landscape consultant draw a plan to scale so she would have a blueprint for her plantings. It offered much-needed guidance in the days when the empty spaces seemed overwhelming.

* Add accents. Much of the atmosphere in Kilgore's garden comes from accent pieces such as statues, arbors, benches, and birdhouses. Many were gifts from friends and family, which adds to their charm.

* Choose some signature colors. For a peaceful palette, Kilgore recommends choosing just a couple of colors for the majority of your plantings. She likes the coolness of pink and white.

* Don't be vexed by varmints, Kilgore keeps voles away from her bulbs with a sprinkling of sharp pea gravel. To counter moles, she saturates the ground with a mixture of one cup of liquid dish soap, one cup of castor oil, and two tablespoons of alum dissolved in hot water.