‘Magical garden’

Every zinnia petal, every blade of ornamental grass and every vegetable seedling in the Burnses’ back yard is there because of Lisa Burns. Although Burns, a wife and mother of four, uses the words “we decided to,” when describing the reasons for her garden, she’s the one who turned the family’s ordinary lawn into an elaborate cottage garden.

The Inland Empire Gardeners judges were so taken with the family’s yard, they named Burns the Garden of the Month winner for August.

“Magical garden, should be on the cover of a garden magazine. It’s amazing that she’s done all the work herself,” said judge and TIEG president Chris Sheppard.

The Burns family moved into its four-bedroom house on one-third of an acre in the Wandermere neighborhood 10 years ago. The property had two lonely apple trees, one since destroyed by the family dog.

Burns had grand ideas for the yard, but raising a family and her part-time job as a nurse at Sacred Heart Medical Center forced her to keep her plans on hold. She began digging in the dirt about six years ago and hasn’t stopped.

Burns’ garden, which covers every inch of her yard, is divided into distinct sections.

There’s a vegetable garden, “rust garden” room, dragonfly garden room, an island bed area and a bird and wildlife sanctuary. The sanctuary, certified as a backyard wildlife sanctuary by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, is Burns’ favorite spot for quail, finch, Northern flickers and pine siskin watching.

The garden rooms are connected by stone paths and arbors. Burns also has planted ground coverings, such as woolly thyme, which has filled in nicely around the rocks.

The garden rooms are only the tip of the iceberg lettuce.

Burns also has bought old-fashioned benches and other wooden furniture and placed them throughout the yard. This gives its signature look. The benches are great places for her to stop and smell the roses, literally. But with her job, three kids at home, and a husband, there’s little time for that.

She also hand waters all her pots but plans to install sprinklers next year.

“I’ve been working so much out here, it gets to be mundane to me,” said Burns, who spends up to eight hours on days off gardening and maintaining.

The most interesting room in her yard is the rust room, where Burns placed four window frames and decorated them with hangings. A plow and bed frame peek out from the variegated phlox, variegated willow and variegated butterfly grasses.

A sitting area looks toward the sunflowers.

“It’s so creative. It’s a gardener’s garden,” said TIEG judge Charmagne Woodard, “It’s a garden that invites me to come and play.

“I need at least a full day to see all the fun things showcased in the garden.”

Burns’ newest attraction has been her most labor intensive.

This summer, she dug a stream that has been rigged with running water. She lined it and had gravel and river rocks hauled in.

She built the stream next to a 3-foot-deep pond that — you guessed it — Burns dug herself a few years ago. She originally stocked the pond with koi, but after losing eight of the expensive fish, she now stocks it with both koi and goldfish.

Although Burns is the perpetual caretaker of the property, her husband, Kent, knows his important role.

“He feeds the birds, takes out the garbage and buys me things,” Burns said.