Jim and Becky Kean: Boulder, Colorado

Flower & Garden Magazine, June-July, 1996 by Doug Hall

FOR THE KEANS, GARDENING HAS always been a family activity. Becky plants and tends the flower beds, while Jim's domain is the vegetable plot. Sons Mike and Tod pitch in for the heavier jobs; a waterfall splashing over rocks next to the patio is one example of their handiwork.

Now that their sons are grown and have left home, Jim and Becky have scaled back a bit on how elaborate their gardens are. But even their "scaled-back" landscape leaves the Keans with more garden maintenance than most homeowners would attempt. Never timid when it comes to a challenge, they jump into gardening projects enthusiastically.

"We're hard-working gardeners, but we're no master gardeners," Jim admits. "What we've learned has come from experience. When we started I didn't know a geranium from a petunia."

A stroll through the Keans' backyard garden reveals just how good a teacher experience has been. Beginning in 1972 with a nearly empty landscape, the Keans have transformed their one-and-one-quarter-acre property into a green oasis, complete with a gracefully curving pool for koi and aquatic plants. They take pride in their accomplishment, knowing that it was done without professional designers or landscape contractors, in a climate that is sometimes hostile toward living things.

Boulder is located where the red granite foothills of the Rockies give way to high, sloping prairies. Maps place it in Zone 5, but the growing season is short and nights are cool even in summer. Strong winds whip down the canyons from the west, especially in winter, giving many trees in this area a permanent list to the east.

Deer are frequent, but unwelcome, visitors to the Kean garden. "They eat the buds on almost any flower," Becky says. "They don't eat the daffodils, but they love tulips -- tulips and roses." Chase, a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador, is not as adept at chasing away deer as the Keans' previous dog, a golden retriever, was.

The koi pond is the back yard's centerpiece. At one end is the waterfall, which cascades from a dark grotto of stonework shrouded by mature junipers. From there the pool extends like a flowing stream under a small footbridge and along the patio's edge, widening just enough to allow for tropical water lilies, lotuses and other aquatics. Naturally shaped sumacs have colonized the far edge of the pool, obscuring the pump and filtering system that keeps the water clear. Solar panels on the roof warm the water to about 76 degrees -- a temperature the tropical plants need to thrive.

In the Keans' division of garden duties, maintenance of the koi pond and its mechanical support system fall to Jim. It's an assignment he relishes. "I enjoy the fish and the water lilies more than anything else out here," he says.

Becky's contribution to the landscape, on the other hand, is in the form of bright splashes of color -- annual flowers in island beds that dot the lawn. One oval bed contains cannas, zinnias and sweet alyssum; nearby, a multicolored ribbon of dwarf dahlias edges a planting of ornamental grasses.

To accentuate the sculptural form of a gnarled Russian olive tree, Becky has surrounded its multiple trunks with a skirt of magenta-pink impatiens. The tree owes its picturesque shape to Becky's skillful pruning. Hanging from the tree's limbs are two huge Boston ferns in baskets. A third basket overflows with a mixed bounty of flowering annuals and the trailing stems of Vinca minor.

The front of the Kean residence affords passers-by a hint of the lush plantings that lie beyond. A few years ago, Mike and Tod created the two landscaped berms that run parallel to the street, partially screening the house from view. Shrubs and trees, both evergreen and deciduous, have been chosen to provide a variety of foliage colors and textures. The planting includes glossy-leafed cranberry cotoneasters, a teal-blue Colorado spruce, viburnums, 'Rose Glow' barberries and winged euonymus. Dwarf Alberta spruces and bird's nest spruces line the entry walk, where more cotoneasters and spreading 'Blue Rug' junipers spill over low rock walls. An unexpected contrast to the evergreen foliage is provided by hardy hibiscus in a rich red color.

Although Jim is retired from his career as a real estate developer, the pace of the Keans' active lifestyle hasn't slowed. "We're pretty busy people, so we've had to learn a lot of tricks about how to take care of a yard this size," Jim says. "We've got it down to a science," adds Becky.

To help streamline their outdoor chores, the Keans have invested in reliable, efficient gardening tools and equipment. High on the Keans' list of work-reducing devices is the in-ground sprinkler system that covers the entire property, including lawns, shrub plantings and flower beds. The automatic system allows the Keans to water without hauling hoses and moving sprinklers.

High-quality power equipment reduces the amount of time spent on tedious tasks like weeding and mowing, too. "One of the handiest tools I have is one of those little tillers that goes right down the rows," Jim says. Its efficiency is demonstrated in the weed-free vegetable garden.