english garden on the prairie

A Lutyens bench sits against a wall of the new garage and under an arbor on which wisteria is being trained by Bob Drucker's able green-thumbed hands.

Hoerr saw right away that the Druckers had what it takes to have an English-style garden. "They have the English spirit about gardening," he notes, "the right attitude. They like to fuss, weed, fertilize -- and rejoice in the process." The word "fertilize" has particular meaning here: The Druckers are in the cattle business and have an endless supply of well-rotted manure at their disposal. In fact, Bob says, "We use no chemical fertilizer. Everything gets top-dressed in the fall, and at the outset we worked tons of compost into the native clay soil. That's why I can grow choice rhododendrons and azaleas beyond their usual range."