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Show Holbrookes have 'forest wonderland9 bring the beauty to where you are." Geraniums and Chrysanthemums Chrysanthe-mums are her favorites. She has learned through trial and error that the secret to growing GeraniumsYx to water them twice a day and to fertilize them once a week, and Chrysanthemums should be cut back until July IS, about five inches in-ches off the ground, then according to Mrs. Holbrook, both plants will produce beautiful flowers during their entire growing season. BEFORE THEY began their planting, the Holbrooks researched resear-ched many unusual varieties of plants. Many of the plants they have growing in their yard are not native to Utah, but with careful care and "by babying them along," about five years ago. "Each little plant is like part of your family," she said, "and it is very hard to lose one." Even though many of their neighbors lost trees and shrubs to the deer last winter, Mrs. Holbrook Hol-brook said the deer did them a favor by pruning their bushes and trees, especially the Himalayan Pine, "I would not have had the heart to prune it back that much myself," she laughed. IN ADDITION to her back yard. Mrs. Holbrook loves doing craft projects. For several years she designed de-signed the Festival of Trees entry for the Woods Cross High School Choral Department. Her current craft project is building and fur- painted or arranged to become a thing of beauty. "THIS SHOULD be the last year we have to do any improvements in the yard," said Mrs. Holbrook, and she smiled, recalling that she had said that same thing for about five years. They have just completed com-pleted a brick barbeque and a pit where they can cook a turkey or foil dinners. They are also adding an Oriental garden this summer. "Larry has always wanted to learn the art of bonsai, and this will be his pet project." The area will have two little pools that will be circulated by a pump. The plants are being shipped from a nursery in California, "that was the closest Endless varieties of evergreen and shade trees, of groundcover and hundreds of flowering plants make the Larry and Diane Holbrook Hol-brook garden in North Salt Lake one of the most beautiful gardens gar-dens in Davis County. they have managed to make them grow. One of their most prized trees is a Himalayan Pine, according to Mrs. Holbrook. There are only two or three in the entire state of Utah. She said it is an unusual pine tree with soft needles that are about five inches long. They have used the needles to weave baskets. The bark of the tree is smooth and unlike un-like other pine needles this tree's needles are not prickly even when they are dry. MRS. HOLBROOK said one of the hardest things they had to face was the loss of some of their most prized trees during a cold winter nishing a Victorian doll house. She has researched the period so that the house and all of the furniture will be authentic. She expects the project to take about ten years to finish. "By the time I finish it, I'll be able to mortgage it for more than my own home," she laughed. "It has become a very expensive project." pro-ject." Over the years she has tried many creative crafts, "I'll try anything, any-thing, if it doesn't work I just assume there must be an easier way." Even in her craft projects mother nature plays a big role. Bits of bark and dried flowers are magically transformed into works of art, and simple garden stones are place we could find them," explained ex-plained Mrs. Holbrook. AS YOU look over the Holbrook yard, your eye is peacefully drawn from one area to another. Combining Combin-ing contemporary, rustic and formal for-mal gardens, they have created a serene peaceful solitude, where as Mrs. Holbrook explained it, "You get a calming feeling. You can take out your frustrations and anger when you work with the soil and you lose your insecurities when you are able to watch every little thing grow. I can't really explain the reason it works," she said, "Maybe it's because you spend most of your time on your knees." PHOTOGRAPHYJim Haskett DIANE HOLBROOK SITS on edge of patio with background back-ground of her "forest wonderland" in the background. By JUDY JENSEN NORTH SALT LAKE - Walk down any North Salt Lake street and you will pass many beautifully landscaped homes, but if you happen hap-pen to enter the yard of Larry and Diane Holbrook, you will feel you've entered a forest wonderland. wonder-land. THERE ARE endless varieties of evergreen and shade trees. Groundcovers and flowering plants line the many pathways and there are ponds, waterfalls and streams that meander through the lush terraced gardens. When the Holbrooks purchased their home about 10 years ago, there was no landscaping. It was, as many hillside lots are, a landscapes land-scapes nightmare. The soil was extremely rocky and the backyard had the typical crater-like appearance appear-ance that is left after the excavators are gone. The Holbrooks then began be-gan the challenge of transforming this desert-like setting into "a place of beauty for not only our family but for our neighbors too," said Mrs. Holbrook. THE COUPLE has always enjoyed en-joyed being outdoors and being close to the soil. Mr. Holbrook is a botanist and has served as a ranger naturalist at Yellowstone Park, presenting interperative programs about the vegetation to the park visitors. As a young man he spent many hours helping his grandfather on his farm. Mrs. Holbrook said she grew up with gardening. "I've always loved it. I can remember awakening at 5 a.m. and hearing my dad out tilling the garden. Even today the smell of the earth when it is freshly turned is very nostalgic for me, almost therapeutic." After their marriage the Holbrooks Hol-brooks wanted to purchase forest land on which to build their home, but they were unable to find acreage close enough to Mr. Hol-brook's Hol-brook's work. They decided to bring the forest to the city and create cre-ate their own mountain retreat. "YOU'VE GOT to have a plan," said Mrs. Holbrook. When they purchased their home they drew up an overall plan as to which area they would landscape each year. "You need to plan your play areas and areas for entertaining or for just relaxing," she said. Mrs. Holbrook Hol-brook feels the problem with most young home owners is that they expect to be able to do all of their landscaping in one year, "You just can't do it that way, landscaping has to be done in stages." The biggest challenge they faced when landscaping their yard was what to do with their back slope. Originally the back yard sloped straight down from the house and there were no flat areas. They have now terraced the back into three distinct levels, which provide different diffe-rent areas for their family activities. activi-ties. THE HOLBROOK children have inherited their parents love for the out-of-doors. Hilary, their 1 1 year old daughter, has her own flower garden. Each year she plants a variety of colorful blossoms. blos-soms. Christopher, the Holbrook's only son "Likes creepy crawly things like salamanders," according accord-ing to his mother, so he has a spot of his own where he has designed a pond and built retaining walls to house his collection of unusual pets. Mrs. Holbrook admitted their oldest daughter, Noele, does not enjoy working with the soil as much as she does, "laying out, is her idea of a good day in the yard," she laughed. The Holbrooks yard is punctuated punctu-ated with a number of decks and inviting rest areas. Mrs. Holbrook likes to plant her annuals in movable mov-able containers so that she "can ?Q A assess o PHOTOGRAPHYJim Haskett A LOT OF natural habitat - as well as a lot fo well-planned gardening -- are what make the Holbrook garden so attractive. It's truly a showplace among gardens of Davis County. PHOTOGRAPHYJim Haskett DIANE ALSO LIKES to sit in the interior of her magnificent mag-nificent garden in North Salt Lake -- and just meditate. |