Rita Mercer

When Rita and Denny Mercer moved to Apex, North Carolina in 1988, Rita was drawn to the house at the top of a hill that was surrounded by tall trees. It reminded her of the woods behind her childhood home, where she played with her cousins during the hot, summer months. Although Rita had never landscape-gardened, and the site had never been landscaped or gardened on, her wooded slope today is planted with an amazing array of shade loving perennials, shrubs and trees ... most of them native. This relaxed and informal woodland garden, embellished with stone terracing and wooden decks and arbors, is a fabulous shady retreat.

Not an easy task, Rita learned to garden on a south-facing slope, in nutrient-poor sandy soil with a pH of 4.3, under trees that usurped all available moisture. Many plants placed into this native environment died. So, she attended seminars that focused on shade gardening, attended lectures on soil analysis, joined local plant societies, a garden club, and worked at a nursery in exchange for plants. She brought in good soil and built berms for perennials. Of course there are those plants that like more moisture or more sun than available under the large, thirsty oaks. She either moved these plants to better places or gave them away to someone who could give them the conditions they need to thrive. Because the plants that remain are the ones that love the environment of this garden, they are extremely lush. Plants have thrived, even without the use of chemicals or pesticides.

Today, looking up the hill into the shade gardens is truly spectacular. After the colorful display of spring-flowering trees, shrubs and perennials is over, the beauty of the garden is more subtle. Foliage becomes the prominent factor ... fine-textured ferns against bold hosta leaves; Hellebore foetidus with native Heuchera villosa; Jacob's Ladder surrounded by Dwarf Crested Iris; bold Rhododendrons underplanted with the needled foliage of prostrate yew. Color is understated in all shades of green and muted tones of purple and yellow, highlighted now and then by streams of sunshine peeking through the trees. Like looking through a stained-glass window.