Leslie Croyle stands in front of her Bay Village home with a selection of sunflowers from her Bay Village Community Garden plot. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

A gardener’s garden speaks
of the pleasure of being outdoors
By Thea Steinmetz
Insights
Published Sept. 8, 2010

Wandering through a sun-parched garden on a humid 91-degree day could only be improved by inhaling an ice cream drink. Even without the ice cream, the Bay Village garden of Leslie and Tom Croyle speaks of a summer’s promise. After more than 30 years at this location, many changes have come to pass. There is always room to be found for new plants, as well as replacements for old friends that are no longer in their prime.

One might say that Leslie is completely immersed in growing beautiful flowers. She has discovered the value of not relying on annuals and is well versed in the seasonal beauty of perennials. Her summer days are packed with her outdoor avocation. As a recent graduate of the Master Gardening program, she has to devote a certain number of mandatory hours for volunteer help. She works outdoors rather than offering advice on an answering line.

For past seasons, she was a judge for the America in Bloom project and traveled to different parts of the country. Observing how residents in other locations devoted their time and effort to beautify their property was always a joy for Leslie. She happily points out plants that were purchased on these journeys.

One of the delightful narratives of how this garden has grown has to do with weddings. Two of the three Croyle offspring are married, and on both occasions, the garden was enlarged. There is one more wedding in the future, and who knows what that suggests for new plantings.

Everyone that passes by notes most of the garden has immense curb appeal. Driving down the street, one does not need an address, the garden tells you that you have arrived. Where once a large Japanese maple stood, there now is more sun for plants to enjoy.

“I hate to lose a tree, any tree,” Leslie said. “ But a loss lets more sunlight in.”

The tightly planted garden leaves little room for weeds to sprout. The sheer number of specimens here gives testimony to what Leslie set out to do. She enjoys having a cutting garden and sharing it all with neighbors and friends. It delights her when a child asks for flowers to give to her or his mother. One of her motivations that has become part of her gardening philosophy is giving flowers to anyone that needs a bit of cheer.

There were several lavenders bought when she was on the road judging for America in Bloom. Earlier in the season, Asian lilies and stargazer lilies provided drama. Black-eyed Susan, various daisies and the purple coneflower can always be counted on. Lupines are a bit difficult to establish, but the zinnias are still showing off their splendor. The cosmos are waning and so is the plumbago, but the white phlox still carries on.

Tom also enjoys the garden, especially pouring over catalogs. He is responsible for the grandeur of the spring garden. He appreciates bulbs of any kind. He discovered gardening a few years ago and now does some of the planting whenever he finds time for it.

Roses are perhaps Leslie’s favorite flower, and the 13 rose bushes give testimony that she enjoys them.

“I only like the ones that have a pleasant fragrance,” she said. “Forget it if you can’t smell them. What is the point of having a rose?

“I don’t cut them back in the fall. I wait for spring,” she said. “And I only cut the tall canes that whip around in a high wind.”

She also does not fertilize the roses past August.

There is one indisputable fact that we gardeners all share. Just as cows need to be milked, plants need to be watered. With the dry summer we are experiencing, Leslie laments that her plants suffer when she goes away for a week or more at a time.

It is a pleasure to report on a gardener that is not plagued by deer.

“I guess they have not discovered my garden,” she explains.

Deer have been spotted at the end of the street, but they don’t venture to this property. The number of dogs in the neighborhood might deter them.

The backyard offers a jewel a cook would covet. There is a small but delightful herb garden, offering everything delicious and aromatic for the kitchen. It is enclosed with a low, white fence that adds to the charm of the space. It is the sort of garden that a savvy cook, living in an apartment, might salivate over. To enhance the overall appeal to this engaging space, a bit of color is added. The strong blue of the salvia Victoria and the pastels of ever-happy cosmos proclaim this to be a joyful setting.

Leslie does her vegetable gardening at the Bay Village Community Garden along with 90 other residents that make up this large number of combined contented growers.

This perhaps is the largest number of plots offered in any of our Western suburbs. As so many of us deal with shade in our backyards, this is an excellent idea to take advantage of planting vegetables in a sunny location.

The season still offers us delight in the garden. Forward-looking gardeners are always looking ahead to next year. Will it be another dry year, and will the hydrangeas be again as spectacular as this year? Leslie is making long-range plans.