first place, she was eager to get her
hands dirty and plant a garden. She
remembers her mother's garden
and how she liked to go back there
and help; and even when living
in an apartment, Goldman had a
balcony garden where she grew
plants and vegetables and even
tried to grow corn although ad-
mits that didn't turn out so well.
yard and much sunshine, Goldman
was surrounded by other gardeners
and began enjoying the fruits of her
labor. "I've always been attracted
to perennials and vegetables,
although over the years I've cut back
on the veggies," she told us.
when I am working in the yard
where I enjoy the textures, sounds,
colors and changes of light."
paradise that includes bird houses,
candles, furniture (some recycled
and hundreds of plants, about 60
of which came from her Cleveland
Heights home, to her former Beach-
wood home, and to where they live
now, just two doors down the road.
around her gardens, with Goldman
as a knowledgeable docent, ex-
plaining the history of each plant.
with a smile. "There was nothing,
and I couldn't wait to start design-
ing a garden space.
were boxes everywhere. Instead
of unpacking, Goldman rented a
rototiller and went to work. When
asked by neighbors why she was
digging instead of unpacking, she
said, "I really want to have a garden,
and if I don't do this now, in May, I
won't have one this summer.
and pretty much do everything.
"He's the BEST," she said.
it evolved from what the environ-
ment would support best and how
the plants would thrive in certain
locations. "I don't like to use a lot of
chemicals," she said. "By providing
a quiet, calm environment, and oc-
casionally playing opera and jazz in
the yard, my flowers always thrive."
her flowers and reminisced about
memories from their origins.
grew up on an organic flower farm
in Kentucky, and mailed me the
seeds when she got married. They're
biennials," she said. "This year they're
yellow and white. Next year they'll
be lighter shades of pink."
pots carefully placed to enhance the
landscape. Goldman explained how
she has better luck with some flow-
She also said that everything is
selected by color, bloom and height.
And, over the years, she has become
cognizant of what is deer and dis-
ease resistant. "When the day lilies
became a deer buffet, I replaced
them with cone flowers," she said.
"Nothing yet eats cone flowers,
which come in various colors, attract
butterflies and songbirds, and
are nice to cut for arrangements."
To keep away the deer, Goldman
sprays her plants with Liquid Fence.
inisced back to her days of living
in Shaker Heights when her kids
were still in diapers. "I was friends
with other moms with young kids,
whose gardens were magnificent,
and we would often trade plants.
Bernadette Pavlish's garden was
spectacular. She gave me a nice,
large patch of these flowers and
they spread. As our children got
older, we remained friends until
she lost her battle to breast cancer.
When her daughter settles down in
a place of her own, I'll give her flow-
Changes with the seasons,
today my favorite perennial
is probably white `King David'
garden phlox.
Zinnias
Jasmine
Forget-me-Nots
Hydrangeas
Every day, usually after dinner,
we (Mort and I) roam the
yard and together pick out a
FOTD (flower of the day). It is
a required `rule' that the FOTD
be a perennial.