As Time Goes By: Timeless Gardens & Tireless Gardeners

Panoramic views of the lake can be seen from Berta Moore’s house. Photo by James Kellar

BY MOYA ANDREWS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES KELLAR

It’s inevitable that successful gardens evolve over time. Living plants are not static, and as gardeners learn more about their crafts, they envision their space in new ways. The three gardens featured here–two in expansive rural settings and one on a narrow city lot–have passed through a number of stages, but what is most noteworthy about them is that they have been tended by the same dedicated hands since they were first planted decades ago.

Berta Moore began with views of a lake and woods near Spencer, Indiana, and created a kaleidoscopic landscape of flowers, plants, and trees. Dan and Lisa Burnham closed their retail nursery in northeast Monroe County but continue to incorporate unusual combinations of plants in their private, contemplative garden. And the city garden of Laura Ley and Barry Kern has morphed from a small vegetable path into a garden of densely packed beds of colorful annuals and perennials. In each case, both garden and gardener have matured in situ.