Designing gardens is almost second nature to plant enthusiast Nancy Wells.“I guess I just have an eye,” she says modestly as she takes a small group of visitors on a tour of her well-appointed gardens and home in Doylestown Borough.

You won’t get any arguments about that statement.

Wells, a longtime gardener, tended to about 15 acres of a variety of gardens — shaded areas, patches of fruit trees and sunny spots, to name a few — during the time she and husband George lived at Stoneymead, the original estate in Mechanicsville that now is a development.

With the appeal of downsizing beckoning them, the couple moved to town early last year and into an old stone home that had been renovated and added to by Jarrett Vaughan Builders.

While their residence now sits on only a half-acre lot, the smaller size doesn’t compromise Nancy’s skill for creating intriguing, as well as inviting, gardens one bit.

The Wells’ residence is one of six borough homes featured on the Bucks Beautiful Kitchen and Garden Tour scheduled for June 10.

This is the 13th year for the popular self-guided tour, sponsored by Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, according to program administrator Debbie A. Hays, who says attendance can number up to 1,000 people — especially if held on a nice weekend.

The tour “allows viewers to see everyone can garden and not allow space to become an obstacle,” says Hays.

From the small patio or container gardens to larger gardens with architectural accents, the goal is to showcase a wide variety of styles, all celebrating the joy of gardening, she says.

More than 100 volunteers, including master gardeners who are stationed at the residences to answer any questions visitors may have, participate.

Hays, who knew Nancy from working with her on another garden tour at her previous home, says Nancy graciously agreed early in the planning stages to have her new home placed on the tour — even before the gardens were finished.

On a recent spring day, Nancy, who admits she’s more at home in a well-worn pair of jeans and work shirt, is showing off some of her green-thumb handiwork.

“Woodsy” is the way she describes the small side garden off the kitchen area. Japanese maples and azaleas provide a colorful backdrop while spring-blooming hellebores hold their drooping heads above ground plantings.

Nancy is equally at home with the botanical names of many of the garden plantings. She’s an active member of the Hardy Plant Society, Mid-Atlantic Group. The organization hosts horticulture-related lectures and seminars, as well as sponsors garden and nursery tours.

A small cottage-like greenhouse, purchased through an English catalog and assembled here, hosts a multitude of plants, such as a grouping of majestic amaryllis, that Nancy tends. A potting bench and gardening equipment, tucked away at the back of the pool house, are only revealed when sliding doors are opened.

Nancy’s gardens are dotted with sculpture, lending an architectural element to the greenery.

“It’s what (noted landscape architect and garden designer) Russell Page calls “humanizing the garden,’ ” she says.

Nancy is particularly fond of sphere-shaped objects, including some concrete orbs placed in the front garden.

Bluestone steps lead down from the screened-in pool house as additional seating, with Adirondack chairs built by George at the rear of the property, and more garden sculptures greet visitors, including one Nancy refers to as a kaleidoscope. A round and shallow container potted with succulents sits in a bowl that can be spun while observers look through the viewing glass.

The rear gardens have a few focal points that will interest visitors: a 10-foot-by-50-foot lap pool, also bordered in bluestone, anchors the grounds, but it is the looming 20-foot-high stone wall of the neighboring property, serving as a barrier for inmates at the former Bucks County Prison, now the James A. Michener Art Museum, that especially can’t be missed.

“Any gardener worth her salt — her heart pounds for a stone wall,” says Nancy, as the feature adds another dimension to the gardenscape.

A row of stately black walnut trees, the bane of any gardener because of the toxins they leach into the soil, stand as sentries at the end of the property. While many plants will die when planted near the trees, shrubs such as euonymous, cercis and arborvitae are tolerant and are planted nearby.

While the gardens rate significant appeal, Nancy’s kitchen also is a reflection of her design skills in action.

The Wells bought the home while it was still under construction, allowing Nancy to create the perfect kitchen for her own needs.

Soapstone countertops sit atop custom-painted cabinets, with rollout drawers that “just make everything more accessible,” she says. Nancy designed the center island, which has a solid maple top with a hole cut out at one end for trash. A lighted pot rack above the island and crocks throughout store tools at arms’ reach.

“I believe in having things that are handy,” says Nancy, who also designed her pantry with that in mind. “This kitchen is very functional.”

Proceeds from the tour will benefit the Bucks Beautiful Community Garden Grant and Scholarship programs.

source : www.phillyburbs.com By SANDRA MOYER