Darlene's Garden

Garden Gal

By NIKKI PATRICK

The Morning Sun

PITTSBURG — The back of the historic Hotel Stilwell is just as attractive as the front, thanks to a garden faithfully tended by Barbie Mabry.

But it didn’t start out so well.

“There used to be just dirt behind the Stilwell, which allowed a lot of moisture to get into the building,” noted Laura Carlson, executive director of the Stilwell Heritage and Educational Foundation.

The area was paved, which solved one problem but created others.

“It slanted and the water ran down,” Carlson said.

A garden was planned for the area, with help from grants provided by the Zone 6 Garden Club.

“Sally Starkweather, a Zone 6 member, planned out the garden, including a meditation walk,” Carlson said. “But nothing would grow and it looked terrible. Sally and I started working with it, and then Barbie moved in.”

“I took the garden over,” Mabry said. “I just love plants, and I have ideas.”

She lived in Florida for many years, and did a lot of gardening there, too.

“I was in Florida since I was a little girl and had my tropical plants and banana trees,” Mabry said. “But I’ve lived in Pittsburg quite a while and I’ve made it my home.”

She’s been at the Stilwell a little over two years.

“I love it here,” Mabry said. “We get together and have a good time — we’re like one big family.”

She said that she and her fellow residents collected around $300 to purchase hanging baskets for the “Spirit of the Stilwell” garden. Some other plants have been purchased or donated.

“That fern over there was just a stick when it came here,” Mabry said, pointing to a huge potted fern in a corner of the back area. “Just look at it now. I fed it last week, and I’ll probably feed it again next week. That sago over there is growing well now, too.”Starkweather continues helping, Mabry added. “Sally came over the other night and we worked until 11 p.m.,” she said. “We put bird netting and wood chips around the garden, then we rolled it and tried not to get glue on ourselves.”

She still has many more ideas for the garden, including the portion closest to the alley.

“I’ve got a little girl statue here, and I’d like to put a little boy on the other side,” Mabry said.

There’s also an unsightly olive drab structure that contains some electrical equipment for the building. “It’s ugly and I want to cover it up,” Mabry said.

She plans to accomplish that by planting two nandina shrubs, originally from Carlson’s yard, around the structure.“We love to sit out here in the evening and just enjoy the garden,” Mabry said. “It’s so beautiful with the lights shining on it at night.”

During the winter, the larger potted plants are moved into the Stilwell lobby. Mabry and another resident take some of the smaller plants to their apartments. “We just baby the plants all winter long,” she said.Mabry’s apartment is on the fourth floor, and she helps out by cleaning the hall on that floor. “There are four of us who help by keeping the halls on our floors clean,” she said. “I think it’s an honor to be asked to do that.”

Her apartment has also been featured during open house events.

“My bedroom is decorated in safari — I’ve got a leopard bedspread and a big old tiger lying on my bed and a small waterfall,” Mabry said. “I’ve got a big waterfall in my living room with plants all around it. The kitchen has a farm look to it, and I decorated the bathroom with anything that swims.”

Several people have suggested to her that she should be an interior decorator.

“I just like to have fun,” Mabry said.

Happy 10th Birthday Zone 6!

The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.
- Vita Sackville-West, 1892 - 1962