Emily Kitchens filled the family swimming pool with dirt and created a beautiful walled garden behind her home. JIM BLAYLOCK/STAFF

Family uses backyard swimming area to create the perfect garden

Web posted July 2, 1999

By Ashlee Griggs
Staff Writer

Evans resident Emily Kitchens' children are grown and have moved away. As a mother, she was saddened, but as a gardener it sparked a great idea.

In her back yard, a swimming pool that was once filled with shouts of laughter is now filled with flowers.

``I knew that the pool would not be used for swimming with the children grown, so I decided to plant a flower garden in it,'' Mrs. Kitchens said.

Containing the garden makes it much easier to manage, Mrs. Kitchens says.

The pool had to be filled with field dirt, followed by a layer of topsoil. One major problem: a weathered brick wall surrounding the pool.

The wall provided a sense of privacy and was aesthetically pleasing. It had aged, giving a brilliant contrast in color in the bricks.

But it also blocked the trucks hauling dirt for the garden.

A stone rabbit stands sentry in Mrs. Kitchens' backyard garden.

If the wall was torn down, it would be difficult to rebuild and find bricks with the same look. Her husband, Lindy Kitchens, had the answer: He built a chute over the wall that allowed the pool to be filled without tearing down the wall.

It took a month to complete.

Petunias, lantana, snapdragon, althea, marigolds, canna lilies and day lilies are just a few of the flowers and plants that fill the garden.

Mrs. Kitchens loves to watch the butterflies and hummingbirds that feast on her array of flowers daily.

``I enjoy my garden,'' says Mrs. Kitchens. ``It allows me to see the beauty in every day.''

Ashlee Griggs covers gardening for The Augusta Chronicle. She can be reached at (706) 823-3351.