Story by Doris Yocum Markley

Main Line Times

 From behind a shiny hedge, a bright, peppy voice says, "where in the world is my cordless phone?"

A smiling face appears beneath a short haircut and above a small energetic figure in T-shirt and jeans. 

"I didn't want to miss your call, just in case, and it must have dropped out of my pocket," says Elizabeth Schumacher, standing on a serpentine walkway of huge, round stepping stones.

 On her left is a typical, split-level suburban home. On the right, a steep mountain, its top out of sight. Flagstone and treated-lumber steps wind up the hill through a breath-taking five-terrace garden.  Definitely a millennium away from conventional.

After "please call me Liz", she explains, "This was just an overgrown nothing when we bought the property in 1967. We thought this was going to be our first home but, as we started to develop the garden, we found we both loved working out here. So when the time came to look for another house, we couldn't find anything that we liked that was better than what we had. Besides, the garden had started to get 'kinda nice!"

"Instead," she continues "we raised the roof to accomodate a master bedroom, bathroom, enclosed sun porch and attic. By adding a patio and plant room, we have an indoor garden all year long."

A fierce-looking carved stone animal, nestled in the greenery, glowers menacingly at the foot of the first flight of gray-flagstone steps but Liz smiles reasuringly.

"That's a Fu dog from Thailand, one of a pair, shielding us from evil. Over there," she says with a grin, pointing to a serene female figure standing under a cherry tree circled by brilliant summer flowers, "is a temple guardian dating from the Chinese Ching dynasty (1640 -1910 AD) So you can see we're well protected.

"I come by my love of Far-Eastern garden sculpture quite naturally," she continues. "Since my father was with our State Department, I celebrated my ninth birthday on a ship going to Japan, spent my teenage years in Taiwan, only returning to the United States in time to enter college."

"But it isn't only Oriental art pieces that intrigue me," she says, stopping on a wide landing before the statue of a small child, tucked deep in a bed of salmon-colored geraniums, her hand outstreched to catch a butterfly. "This is a contemporary bronze by Rachel Hawkes."

At the top of graceful steps between carefully manicured hedges, Liz pauses to pat the head of a carved-stone lion snuggled down in a thick patch of vinca and juniper. "He came to me from a pawn shop in Mexico City- very inexpensive but cost a fortune to ship home."

"As our garden developed, I looked for garden ornaments that were unique, not reproduced from large suppliers. I found one piece here and one there, but no source with a large selection."

"So, in 1979, when a friend of mine, landscaper Gordon Eadie, who also had a nursery, urged me to start my own business using his facilities, I eventually ran out of excuses and my company, Garden Accents was born."

Walking across the long flat terrace that Liz calls her "croquet level," named when her daughters, Heidi and Kaethe, were into that game, she goes on. "One of my first sources was an Italian water-department serviceman in Connecticut who loved making molds and concrete castings in his basement. I had tracked him down from a bird bath I saw by the side of the road." She grins and adds, "It's like being Sherlock Holmes. Sometimes the search for unusual pieces can start with a simple packing label."

"Now I have designers in China who are willing to craft exciting and original work," Liz exclaims, leading the way across the next broad terrace bordered by orange impatiens to an enchanting little tea house she designed.

"When Eadie closed his nursery," this talented lady says, " I moved my ever-growing collection to J.Franklin Styer in Chester County and, in 1990, I finally opened my own shop in West Conshohocken."

More curved steps of cedar shavings lead to the top terrace and an abundant perennial garden designed by Vickie Mowrer.

As Liz reaches for a soft, white flower, hanging at nose-length from a slender tree, she asks, "Have you ever seen a Frankilinia tree?"

"John Bartram, the famous plant collector from Philadelphia, found this tree in North Carolina and named it for his friend, Benjamin Franklin. But when Bartram returned South for more specimens there weren't any. So now whenever you see a Franklinia, it has come from that origninal collection.:

Slowly meandering down the other side of this incredible garden, Liz points out a stone lantern from Japan in a perfect spot at the top of a short bank of stairs, two Chinese carved-granite frogs peeking shyly from a clump of foliage and a copper-and-bronze light fixture shaped like a Lily-of-the-Valley blossom.

After pausing to watch a butterfly land on a Verbena Homestead Purple, she picks up her story.  

"My physician husband, H. Ralph, is chief of rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania and, since he is in academic medicine, we were able to take a sabbatical for six months in 1981. I wanted Ralph and the girls to see Taiwan because I loved it so much," she explain. "The house I lived in is still there.  But what used to be a rice paddy with working buffalo across the street is now a six-lane highway. There are a lot more bugs, dirt and air pollution. But, in the end, the kids didn't want to come home."

She laughs, then says seriously, "Ralph loved it too and has now become very involved. He trained the first rheumatologist in Taiwan, is instructing the first specialist in Korea, has set up research projects in Indonesia and is preparing to conduct one in China."

Liz travels with her husband when she can and still brings back antiques. But today there are other incredible product choices to add beauty to your garden.

Fountains are very big right now and are available in all sizes and shapes.  Choose from carved stone, concrete or original sculpture in bronze by talented artists like Desmond Fountain and Jim Ponter.

Sundials in stone from France, English lead, ceramic and bronze are very popular.  Also in fashion again are huge, silver gazing balls, first used one hundred years ago by Victorians to reflect their colorful gardens.

Try a birdbath in the center of a circular flower garden or a pond garden with real fish or pretend waterfowl. Treat yourself to a beautiful, original bronze masterpiece by the late Edward Fenno Hoffman III to tuck in amid stately reeds.

Rosemary Taylor creates charming stoneware ornaments. Sure to pique your fancy are whimsical otters, St. Francis of Assisi with a bird sitting on his head and St Fiacre, a French Saint with a shovel and flower.

If you want that formal look, square four carved-stone pillars and connect them with vines. You can even use one stately column as a focal point at the end of a long narrow garden.

How about planters, urns, lamps, bird houses and on and on . They come in all manner of materials: iron, lead, mahogany, teak, cedar, concrete, glazed or un-glazed terracotta, plastic that looks like terracotta and fiberglass that looks like lead (both hot items as we speak.)

If you don't want to invest in antique furniture, the smart selection is wrought aluminum. It doesn't rust like iron, is light to cart around and can be painted or baked with enamel.  If you prefer wood, teak is best. It is no longer on the endangered list since countries overseas have set up plantations and are replanting. Redwood is good but soft and hard to obtain, as is cedar and mahogany.

"I feel strongly that the things you put in your garden are what gives it character," Liz says thoughtfully. "It is important that it reflects your personality. Of course, the landscaping and the plants used are crucial in the garden's design. But your garden accents are the final touch, the serendipitous expression of individuality."

"You buy because you love it and get a kick out of it," she adds, smiling over her sholder. She reaches a clump of flowers in the direction of a soft ringing sound.

"Oh good, here's my phone! Now the day is perfect."

And so is Elizabeth Schumacher's garden!