Neighborhood Jewel

Surrounded by a neighborhood walking trail, Todd and Donna Kunkel's colorful eclectic garden seems to catch the eyes of passers-by, and they're honored by those who want a closer look at the fruits of their labor.

The Kunkels moved into their Overland Park home about three years ago, when all that existed in their backyard was a berm put in place by the developer and pine trees. With a relatively clean slate to work with, Todd wanted to bring to life a formal European-designed landscape combined with modern elements within a natural Kansas setting. “The garden evolved through my ideas and travels,” says Todd, a pharmacist who travels to numerous parts of the United States and Europe. “One might say that it has the look and feel of a Mediterranean garden in Spain or Italy. However, I love the different evergreens in the landscape that you see in Colorado, Utah and Washington, as well as all the amazing varieties of tropical plants found in Hawaii, and the desert with cacti and yucca plants.”

To organize his thoughts, he hired landscape designer Jason Opheim, who helped with the initial design during the home-building process, and Michelle Stevens with Designscape, who takes his design goals and ideas and transfers them to his garden.

Todd placed his favorite piece(s) at the front door: two 52-inch contemporary planters bursting with color, including giant elephant ears, all types of sun coleus, sweet potato vine, spider lilies and a licorice plant. The plants dramatically drape over the sides of the urn as though growing out of the ground.

The sides of the house build momentum, highlighting plants in all shapes, sizes and colors like the dark purple, red and caramel coral bells that make an appearance (it's hard not to notice them) with a backdrop of holly and Degroot's Spire arborvitae. Around back, a living area spreads out, including modern outdoor furniture, a sleek water fountain surrounded by blue fire glass, and a fire pit. Here, the Kunkels sit back, relax and enjoy the Zen area of the garden, with its variety of ferns, hosta, artistically pruned columnar junipers and boxwoods, flagstone pathway and Old World urns filled with red dragon wing begonias.
 
Sprawling from behind both sides of the house is the berm, which smoothly transitions from one design space to the next. And to think this eye-catching creation first started with only little bluestem prairie grass and wildflowers. Along the outskirts of the berm, a symmetrical and shape-inspired garden is anchored by five spiral ‘Canaerti' junipers surrounded by columnar blue arrow junipers and round green velvet boxwoods. Wax-leaf begonias and dwarf rose pink cannas pull together this well-balanced landscape design.

The Kansas limestone “rock garden” includes pieces that Todd found during his digging excursions and “prettied” them up with sedum, lavender and coreopsis. The granite boulder rock area features architecturally detailed columns for the added element of surprise. Adding to his rock collection is a boulder he and Donna bought for their one-year anniversary. Lilies, iris and Knock Out roses are scattered about the horizon, while the entire back side — what passers-by on the walking trail see first —  features more of the rustic Colorado/New Mexico style, with Blue Atlas cedars, a dry rock bed, yucca plants, coneflowers and candy lilies.

Even though Todd's garden was created mostly by trial and error, he keeps all plants; some areas in his garden were created by these “misfit” plants. “My eye is always drawn to plants with different texture and shapes, but I love all kinds of plants and couldn't get rid of them,” he says.

His passion for gardening is duly noted, especially in his maintenance routine. Todd hand-waters, though most of the plants are drought-resistant, weeds, dead-heads and trims to create the shape he wants. He leaves the lawn fertilization treatments and tree care to a professional. 

Now that it's wintertime, the Kunkels have a few months to decide what to do next once spring comes, although Todd already has a list of potential landscape upgrades. “I can't wait for next year,” he says. Neither can the neighbors. Whatever Todd does, it's sure to live up to their expectations when passing by on the walking trail.

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2010 issue of Kansas City Homes & Gardens.