In full bloom: after years engaging in a labor of love, a Ridgeland couple's home landscape has become their ideal escape.

It's a love affair that changes from season to season and shows no signs of waning.

When Steve and Rosemary Grantham moved into heir Ridgeland home 11 years ago, it was surrounded by a landscaped yard. After a lot of work and development and in spite of a major setback just two years ago, it has come to be more than simply a magnificent garden--it's also a place where the two can share quiet moments simply enjoying nature's majesty.

"It had minimal landscaping," Rosemary says. "We added quite a few things and worked with many landscapers and designers to turn it into what we knew it could be."

The transformation started with a solid framework and Rosemary's love of gardening. The focal points of the backyard garden are two large pergolas, each about 12 feet tall--one at each end of the expansive back patio just off the formal living and dining rooms.

"The pergolas were in, and the crape myrtles were in," Rosemary says. "We have pruned them upward, and they have grown quite beautifully. Most people prune them too much and keep them as shrubs." After more than a decade of allowing her beautiful crape myrtles to grow, Rosemary's trees have draped and intertwined along the elegant wooden structures to create a canopy of blooms each season. (For crape myrtle tips, see "Crazy for Crape Myrtles," pg. 90.)

Along with the trees, pink "New Dawn" roses also climb up and across the pergolas for more vibrant color. This classic variety, introduced in the 1930s, is a low-maintenance rose that produces bloom after bloom throughout the summer. It also loves to climb, getting as tall as 20 feet. That quality was what made it the perfect selection for the Granthams' garden.

IN FULL BLOOM 

While the pergolas have always made the first impression here, they have become just one component in a garden that now wraps around the house--and occasionally makes its way indoors as well. "I enjoy forcing bulbs in the winter for use at Thanksgiving and Christmas," Rosemary says. Along with these paperwhites and other narcissus in the fall and winter, she keeps orchids throughout her home all year round. Look closely, because while many of these orchids were grown in Rosemary's greenhouse just outside, an occasional one is silk. The fact that it is so hard to tell the difference is a testament to the fine job she does of growing the delicate flower.

Rosemary's love of gardening is evident throughout the Grantham home, from the many houseplants and arrangements, including sunflowers in the kitchen, to the soft green hues and botanical prints used in much of the overall decorating scheme.

Back outside, the tour of the grounds continues on the east side of the house at a gated entrance that opens to a lush side garden. The Granthams replaced paths of slag rock with scored concrete walkways that look like stone. The walkways wind from the wrought iron gate around a fountain at the center of the side garden. Rosemary especially enjoys this part of the garden, she says, because it's visible from her kitchen window. She has also found the scored concrete pathway easier to care for than the slag rock because it can be easily swept or washed.

The intimate side space includes many seasonal and evergreen plants. Some of Rosemary's favorites include larkspur, an old-fashioned flower from the delphinium family that grows to tall and stately spikes in the spring; foxglove, a tall plant with bell-shaped flowers in many colors that blooms well in the spring but fades in our summers; Johnny-jump-ups, colorful annuals that produce vibrant blooms of deep purple and yellow all summer; and Queen Anne's lace, a hardy plant that easily reseeds and produces a white, airy bloom.

It's hard to tell, but the side garden is actually on the mend after a violent windstorm in 2003 destroyed the entire area, along with much of the front driveway and the decorative brick wall surrounding it.

"We were dismayed, but (landscape architect) Overton Moore helped get it back in shape," Rosemary says. "It now looks like nothing happened, except for the smaller-sized shrubs. We also lost some beautiful 100-year-old water oaks. We will always miss them."

The oaks, most of which were on the west side and in the backyard, were devastated by the winds and had to be cut down. A few remain and are joined by some poplars that were planted after the storm.

The arrival of spring at the Granthams' home is marked by the blooming of a sea of tulips and daffodils all over the property, especially concentrated in the backyard, where they can be enjoyed from the patio and inside the house. "We plant about a thousand bulbs, all colors," Rosemary says.

Seasonal flowers and plants are an important part of Rosemary's planting scheme. "I like to have something going all the time," she says. But all of the plants aren't cultivated with simply beauty in mind--in addition to a number of herbs in the side garden, she also enjoys homegrown lettuce, radicchio, and arugula. In the coldest months, Rosemary moves her tender potted plants into the greenhouse that she and Steve built or into the garage, where she has "grow lights" installed to keep plants green and healthy.

Rosemary's passion for gardening hasn't always been as strong as it is today, she admits. "I used to play tennis five hours a day and do minimal gardening," she says. "I quit tennis and began gardening full time about nine years ago. I can see the results with gardening, and I like that. I feel that when you are working in the garden, you are truly involved with God."

Steve says he is happy to see the fruits of her labor as well. And he doesn't mind supporting her habit. "I spend a lot of money on flowers, and all the nurseries know me," Rosemary laughs. "Steve indulges me in my hobby because he likes the results of a beautiful garden. He enjoys sitting out there and taking it all in."

Crazy for Crape Myrtles

The magnolia may be the official state flower of Mississippi, but the crape myrtle is often referred to as the "flower of the South."

The beautiful old crape myrtles in the Granthams' garden have been allowed to grow tail and leggy, providing a pleasing structure with their graceful branches. Rosemary's aversion to "crape murder," the common practice among some home gardeners of lopping off the tops of these trees each winter, has helped her create a landscape that's as colorful as it is natural.

These old Southern favorites are attractive because of their prolific blooms and long blooming season. There are numerous varieties on the market, and choosing one that will fit the space when fully mature is key to growing the plant successfully with minimal pruning. No matter the variety, they produce prolific clusters of flowers in eye-catching colors, making the thick heat of the Mississippi summers more bearable.

The crape myrtle or Lagerstroemia indica actually originated in China. Far from its roots, the plant can be used here as a traditional tree, container plant, or border plant, says Joy Rivers Fortune, manager of Rivers Greenhouse and Garden in Brandon.

When choosing a location for crape myrtles in the landscape, consider their mature size, because they tend to live a long time. They have a shallow root system and grow and flower best in sunny locations with good air circulation and well-drained soil. They will grow in partial shade, but they don't flower well, if at all, in shady conditions. Crape myrtles will grow in many kinds of soil, but they prefer a pH range of 5.0 to 6.5.

Fortune recommends the following varieties for various settings:

* Natchez: A variety with white flowers that grows to a height of 30 feet. "It has a nice exfoliating bark, it's very mildew-resistant, and it starts to flower in Mid-June," Fortune says, adding that this variety, one of the largest crape myrtles, will flower for about 110 days.

* Tonto: This crape myrtle features bright red flowers and grows to a medium height of 5-10 feet. It's nice for landscapes close to the home, Fortune says. It's also disease-resistant and offers about 75 days of flowers.

* Pink Velour: "This newer variety produces bright pink flowers and has gorgeous maroon foliage," Fortune says. It grows to a height of about 15 feet.

* Dynamite: Velvet red blooms pop out patriotically in mid-July, when it begins its long 100-day flowering period. This variety grows to about 20 feet tall.

* Catawba: This crape myrtle has a violet purple flower and ranges from 10-20 feet high. It has an upright form and resists mildew. It produces about 70 days of flowers.