Dr. Reid Smith, musician/gardener/teacher/traveler/ art lover, has a fundamental belief which stems from his being plucked from “the sticks of North Carolina” by a veritable stranger who sensed his preternatural musical abilities and championed his education at Boston University and Juilliard, two of the most noted music schools known to man. “Everybody deserves a chance,” says Dr. Smith, as we stroll through his close to one-acre Dellwood garden.
And this personal truism is evident as a single stalk of corn frolics in a bed of fragrant roses, a lone Joe Pye weed cavorts with wild geraniums and myriad other plants that have, by happenstance, wind, birds, or whatever the reason, found themselves setting down roots with a different variety of plant. “I just kind of let them grow wherever they wind up,” he says. “I assume they’re just meant to be there.”
For the last ten years or so, Dr. Smith has been slowly but surely transforming the property which once held thistles, buckthorn and not much else, into a multi-level garden oasis. A wetland on one side of the property is now filled with sunflowers, asters, Culver’s root, bee balm, iris, False Indigo, goldenrod and a plethora of birdhouses.
“One of the main reasons I decided to buy this house was because I came to see the house at night and I heard all the frogs and the sounds of the wetlands,” says Dr. Smith. “I knew right then and there I wanted it. Now, in addition to the native prairie plants in that area, there are bluebirds, tree swallows, chickadees, wrens, four or five wood duck families and other birds. I love it.”
The opposite side of the house that once offered a humdinger of a slope that was “a monster to mow,” now boasts garden beds punctuated by boulders, flagstone steps, a false riverbed, vegetable garden and an assortment of annuals, including Snapdragons, salvia, balloon flowers, dianthus, bellflowers and more.
Not to be outdone, a front walkway showcases three gigantic banana tree leaves that Dr. Smith started from cuttings (“I’ve always loved tropicals,” he says), and a little closer to the driveway is a quaint glen of Lady Slippers, columbine and John Cabot roses.
“I am so lucky to have found this spot,” says Dr. Reid, as we wrap up the tour. “I don’t know where else I could have found a place with full sun, different levels for planting and all in such a wonderful community.”
