Rod is passionate about trees and everything they can do to make a space beautiful. He said his focus was the trees, and Kathy’s the flowers. He showed off more than 20 varieties, including an apricot tree that is more than 100 years old, an original from before they moved into the home. He pointed to a German laurel. “They were famous during the war because tanks would get hung up in them,” Rod said. “They were that sturdy.”
When plants and trees die, the couple doesn’t dig up and discard them. Instead, they practice “natural upcycling.” Kathy’s “gnome homes,” using stones, wine corks, pinecones and other found materials that would fit are just one example. She places the tiny structures all around the garden, and on old trees that have not survived the seasons. Kathy mentioned that three years ago, “all of our fancy-shaped trees got frosted, so we lost them. So instead of digging them up, we put things on them.”
“You gotta find something that inspires you,” Kathy Parsells said. She is currently working on a damaged antler given to her by her son-in-law. “So it wasn’t a pretty horn. But he gave it to me, and I’m going to cover up the ugly spots and make it a gnome home,” Kathy explained. They do the same with water fountains that no longer work or are leaking, planting many different kinds of flowers inside the bowls.