Debra Doud Stone’s soft voice and calm demeanor make it tough to picture her thriving in a high-pressure career. But as a cardiologist, Stone had a stressful job, often performing angioplasty procedures on patients whose lives hung by a thread.
“I loved what I did,” she says. “There are people who are so sick; they have a clogged artery and they are dying before you. But you can make a total change in their outcome in five minutes. It was really gratifying.”
When debilitating rheumatoid arthritis forced her to retire two years ago, Stone, now 48, turned to her Naperville garden to “soften the blow and fill the void,” she says.
With help from her husband, Jerry, and three grown children and using special tools and techniques that allow her to do potentially painful garden tasks, she slowly has transformed the 1-acre property from a field of buckthorn, box elder and brush into a dazzling selection of seldom-seen plants.
They include `Gold Star’ and `Hot Flash’ hybrid magnolias, Japanese stewartia, double weeping cherry, chartreuse-leaved Japanese maples, columnar apple trees and a hybrid dogwood, Cornus florida `Steller Pink,’ which Stone says resists anthracnose, a fungal disease that often kills some dogwoods.
Her efforts earned Home&Garden’s Glorious Gardens Contest 2002 award for Best Far West Suburban Garden. Contest judge William Aldrich, publisher of Chicagoland Gardening magazine, says, “I liked everything they did. It’s a big property and has big-scale plantings.”
Massing a collection
A self-described plant collector, Stone saw plenty of potential for the site, which features a stately century-old burr oak.
She bought many plants by mail order. At first, she says, “I was interested in finding unusual plants. I was more of a flower collector and I didn’t pay attention to foliage or texture.” But she learned.
Her current plant list, which includes more than 325 varieties of trees, shrubs, vines and perennials, boasts a dozen clematis cultivars, 10 varieties of magnolia, two dozen different climbing and shrub roses, eight cultivars of Japanese maple and numerous tree peonies, perennial geraniums, hydrangeas, viburnums and espaliered apple trees.
She’s careful about climate. “I only purchase magnolias noted for their late bloom; otherwise their flowers might be ruined by an early freeze,” she says.
Something was missing, however.
“There were important basics that I had overlooked,” she says. The garden lacked structure, such as pathways, trellises and arbors. Years ago, she consulted two different garden designers, but used none of their suggestions except the shape of one bed.
Winding paths now connect a series of gardens. “My overall intent was to have different rooms that flow from one to another,” Stone says. “I tried to make it interesting, so you wouldn’t see what was at the end of the path. It beckons you to keep walking.”
The paths initially were mulched and then changed to flagstone. Those materials proved uncomfortable and she eventually had the paths switched to grass.
Her horticultural and design skills were gleaned from a large library of garden books and a few classes at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. “I’ve learned a lot from reading Penelope Hobhouse,” the British garden designer and prolific author, Stone says.
Contest judge Cathy Maloney of the arboretum was impressed by how Stone incorporated the surrounding vistas into her lush beds and borders. “She made really good use of borrowed views,” Maloney says.
Plant by plant
Some of Stone’s favorite plant combinations include `John Davis’ and `New Dawn’ climbing roses. “I don’t have tea roses,” she says. “They’re too much work for what you get.” The white climbing rose `Polstjarnen,’ bred in Finland, blooms profusely for several weeks.
Honeysuckle, hardy kiwi vine, morning glories and climbing hydrangea drape other arbors. Heuchera `Plum Pudding’ and daylily `Siloam Double Classic’ make a delightful pairing.
The hybrid yellow magnolia `Elizabeth’ stands against a backdrop of dark green foliage.
“When you see it in bloom it just pops out,” says Stone.
A hybrid catmint, `Blue Wonder,’ mingles with the dusky pink hybrid rugosa rose `Linda Campbell.’ Bamboo accompanies tropical-looking elephant ears, dwarf Korean lilacs enclose an intimately placed garden bench and a weeping larch forms a graceful canopy over lounge chairs.
A kitchen garden, positioned near a convenient doorway, was planted last year. And a 16-foot waterfall adds the sound of music.
Other distinctive plants include a columnar-shaped gingko; a hardy black-stemmed hydrangea called `Nigra’; a variegated willow and a wisteria trained to grow as trees; and a Japanese full moon maple, `Aureum,’ with light yellow leaves that turn a fiery orange-red in autumn.
Since retiring, Stone has propagated many plants by stem cuttings, including hydrangeas, her favorite shrubs. She also starts seeds indoors under grow lights. “It’s economical and quite satisfying,” she says.
Hazards of a rural setting
Much to her dismay, increasing herds of deer are frequent diners. “I found that Tree Guard works well. It’s advertised as the most bitter substance on earth” (see accompanying story). Stone finds wrapping some plants in burlap also deters browsing and staves off winter winds.
Another danger, given the pond, the creek that flows through the property and the riverfront, is beavers. “The beavers might come only twice a year,” she says, “but they will get small trees [down] in 10 minutes. I have wire mesh around every tree.”
Realizing that her ability to care for the garden has declined, Stone is nevertheless determined to continue nurturing her plants. “I’m turning my attention to trees, shrubs and certain perennials that do not require a lot of daily upkeep.”
Now, she says, “We don’t go away to vacation. . . . We have a most glorious respite in our own back yard.”
Stone’s garden will be open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 14 as one of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days tours, including several others in the Chicago area. The conservancy’s “2003 Open Days Directory” (Harry N. Abrams Inc., 464 pages, $15.95) lists gardens and tours throughout the country. To order by mail ($4.50, shipping and handling), call 888-842-2442, or write to the Garden Conservancy, P.O. Box 219, Cold Spring, NY 10516.
THE DOCTOR’S ADVICE
Debra Doud Stone, a retired cardiologist, shares these tips for an award-winning garden:
– Know your limitations. “I used to be able to work eight straight hours in the garden without taking a break, but now I pace myself. I use tools with really big handles, and I’ve altered the way I dig with a trowel.” With her arthritis, Stone finds it easier to dig with pulling or pushing motions than by twisting the trowel or lifting soil upward.
– Buy in multiples. “Initially, I’d only buy one of something if it was unusual. But for design purposes, you need to repeat plants throughout the border. When you buy two or three, you can try them in different spots to see how they do.”
– Take a walk. When she was working as a cardiologist, Stone says, “the last thing I wanted to do when I was home was go visit someone else’s garden on a garden walk. Now that I have more time, I wish I’d gone on more. I learn something new each time, whether it’s a new plant combination or a design idea.”
– Learn how to propagate. “You can save so much money by doing that. It’s not very hard, and I don’t have a greenhouse or a cold frame,” she says.
– Spray on deer protection. Stone uses Tree Guard, a bitter liquid sprayed on plants to deter deer. (To find local dealers, call Becker Underwood Laboratories, 800-232-5907. Retail price is about $41 a gallon.)
— Nina Koziol
