^ garden guide
hen you drive up to Hoot Owl Hill in Paola, KS, you’ll leave all stress and worry behind you on the dusty country road. A sea of bright zinnias, colorful coneflowers and white daisies greet you as you pass Brenda and Steve Wrischnik’s stunning A-frame house. The guinea fowl might also come out to say “hello.” The gardens at this peaceful retreat, which hosts glamping, yoga classes and various workshops throughout the year, grew out of Brenda and Steve’s love of the outdoors. These no fuss gardeners wanted to keep it relaxed. If you can call 14 acres, with two vine- yards, a butterfly garden, a fruit tree patio and a large vegetable garden, relaxed. (That’s not to mention the chicken coop, beehives and 116 blueberry bushes.) W Brenda and Steve Wrischnik share their philosophy for creating lush gardens at Hoot Owl Hill By Kirsten Hudson | Photos by William and Jill DiMartino Garden Glory
The Wrischniks’ gardens at Hoot Owl Hill frame their home and land beautifully, welcoming guests in a variety of ways.
From nurturing the garden beds of broccoli, cabbage, kale, to- matoes, carrots, beans, okra and every other imaginable vegetable to tending their vineyards of Concord and Frontenac grapes, the pair manages the gardens all on their own. That really is where it becomes no fuss. “I wanted it to be something that was fairly carefree because I don’t micromanage my plants,” Brenda said. “If it needed a lot of water, if it needed a lot of pruning, it wasn’t my thing.” The couple planted flowers that reseed themselves, and they built drip systems to make the gardens as self-sufficient as possible.
10 vintagekc spring 2015
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog