Bountiful Backyard

There is plenty of work to be done and much to be admired in gardens and yards, especially in the spring.

Written by Leslie Criss  |  Photographed by Joe Worthem

Warner Creekmore grew up in a small Mississippi Delta town called Inverness, the baby of five children. Her father farmed and, of course, there was a family garden every season of the year. That meant there was work aplenty for all five kids.

“We were expected to help,” Creekmore said. “But I enjoyed it. And I certainly enjoyed eating out of our garden. Now, I didn’t enjoy the occasional snake I might run across — they terrified me.”

While snakes were certainly her least favorite part of gardening, a fun farm task was spot spraying.

“I got to ride on the front of the tractor and spray certain things,” she said. “Later, we advanced to a four-wheeler.”

Today, Creekmore spends much of her free time tending and maintaining her own yard and garden. There is an abundance of planning each season for planting a garden and landscaping.

Creekmore’s expertise in the field of gardening began in college. Thoughts of studying psychology vanished when Creekmore visited older siblings at Mississippi State University and became aware of landscape architecture. It changed the trajectory of her life.

One summer in a plant materials class at MSU she met Sam Creekmore, another landscape architecture student. The two have been married now for 35 years and are the parents of three.

For the past four years, Creekmore has been an ag extension agent with MSU Extension-Lee County. It’s a job she loves.

“Doing this work feels like I am really able to help people, to serve people,” she said. “And it’s different every day. I could be dealing with ponds, lace bugs — I’m always learning something new.”

In addition, the Creekmores founded Creekmore Landscape Ltd. in 1992 in husband Sam’s hometown of New Albany.

In 1998, the couple spent lots of time building their house in New Albany.

“We worked long and hard on the land before we moved out there,” she said. “There were huge existing cedars and natural pastureland — it was a cow pasture when we started. We nestled the house in, and it was a sun garden, but now, as the trees have grown, we have a lot of shade.”

While the Creekmore house project has been completed for some time, the surrounding land and gardens continue to be ongoing projects. There are perennials to be tended, annuals to be chosen and planted every year and plans for vegetable gardens for each season.

“The size of the garden dwindles when we have other things to do,” she said.

For those who think landscape architects deal only with making yards look nice, there’s much more to the profession. They have the capacity to site homes, draw master landscaping plans for residential and commercial property, design parks, revise downtown areas, plan for street tree planting and, yes, they certainly can provide a management plan to help maintain a yard.

“There’s a wealth of things landscape architects can do,” she said. “And this time of year is the time to think of spring. Spring and summer gardening are transition periods like every season. For spring, we plant herbs, a few tomatoes, and there is lots of designated area for bedding plants that we put in seasonally.

“When winter ends, we begin selecting shade-loving and sun-loving annual color. We try to create unity — not blooming plants that are all white or all yellow, but visually stimulating as you walk through these spaces.”

While she appreciates spring, it’s not Creekmore’s favorite season. That would be the hot and humid Mississippi summer.

“I love the heat,” she said. “I enjoy watering.”

She’s also thankful to once again bring out her 7-year-old macho ferns that have been wintering in the green house.

In addition to the plant life, if you visit the Creekmore’s yard and garden — no matter the season — you’ll likely be introduced to a trio of large horses. They’re inanimate, yes, but they provide even more creative flair in the garden. The horses were once mounted in front of Sam Creekmore’s aunt’s home in the Memphis area.

Horse Center is made of pennies, Healing Hearts is a mosaic and Patches is made of metal with patches in multiple spots.

“When Sam’s aunt died, we wanted the horses,” Warner Creekmore said. “They are a conversation piece and beautiful. And they are very low maintenance — no brushing, no feeding. We love them.”