The Grumpy Gardener's Favorite Garden In The World

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If you're going to write about Southern gardening, there is one place here that you simply
must see,” said former Southern Living Editor in Chief John Floyd. It was 1983, and he had brought me down from Maryland to Birmingham to be the magazine’s newest garden editor. “We’re going to visit Louise Wrinkle,” he said.

After her parents passed away, Louise had moved back to the house where she’d grown up in the nearby town of Mountain Brook. The stately home stood on a tree-shaded multi-acre lot and was purposefully sheltered from the street. You didn’t just stroll up three steps to the front door. Every visit demanded a journey.

Although the home had small gardens, the woods were left to grow as they would. Over time, invading briars, honeysuckle, and poison ivy had insinuated themselves into the equation. She dubbed it “The Jungle.” Thus, she had to remove these brigands to reveal smothered treasures before she could conceive what this area might become.

A formal design would not do here. She rejected the classic English, French, and Japanese styles because she says, “They impose patterns on the landscape. My idea was ‘Less is more.’ ” Nature must dictate the outcome. So she stood back and let the site speak softly to her. What did the land want? What did the trees, hillside, and brook desire? How could she capitalize on the lot’s contours and topography when introducing paths, steps, retaining walls, and viewing points? What new plants would add interest without disrupting harmony?

To crystallize her thoughts, she called on Birmingham landscape architect Norman Kent Johnson. Together, they crafted a Southern woodland featuring