Before - high maintenance and uninviting Illustration of the "before" landscape - pretty useless and uninviting, just grass to mow!
Small Enclosed Front Garden WIth the help of a landscape architect, Felder included his front garden and built a "green roof" entry arbor. The backyard was also reversed - it now faces the house instead of the road.
Front Garden View in the Home The front garden is seen from the house, not from the Road, and includes fire, water, round decks, and complete solitude - along with plants that provide texture and colour every week of the year
Mississippi Gardens Have Winters, Too In winter the backyard has texture and colour - including a sizable iron fire pit
Back Yard - Where's Felder Actually Lives Since Felder travels extensively, he lifts his "front" home and lives in a small cabin in the trunk - making his chief personal garden
Back Garden Repeats Front Garden Round Theme A raised boardwalk and a flagstone walk encircle the tiny backyard, with the cabin on one side and a series of arbors and a fire pit enclosing a round mulch bed that is full of antique daffodils in winter and spring.
Energy-Efficient Tiny Cabin Felder's little cabin is only 250-square ft, such as a tower kitchen that doubles as a solar heating collector at the winter and also slanted porch roof that offers summer shade while capturing cool summer breezes. The deck is painted every year with all the official Pantone Color Institute colour of the year (in this case 2013 Emerald Green).
Colorful Round Deck Repeating the round motif of Felder's front and rear gardens, including a round daffodil bed (dormant within this sumemr scene), this deck is painted "Radiant Orchid" which was the Pantone Color Institute's 2014 colour of the year. Note the arbors about the far side of the tiny rear garden.
Cover Arbors for Folks Comfort Across the rear garden, contrary to the cabin, is a string of comfy arbors, some covered, for seats and to enjoy a roaring fire pit. Then entire backyard is surrounded with flagstone and increased walks.
Practical Hardscaping It takes over crops to earn a garden function.
Teal Paint and Chairs Made of Bicycle Tires Color and whimsy are all hallmarks of fun gardens - and this front deck invites relaxation and laughter.
Whimsical Shape to Rear Deck Who says a deck needs to be square, or even around? This is supported by long beams attached to iron articles.
Noisy Waterfall The small but heavy water backyard has a waterfall constructed over a little cave that amplifies and "goals" the noise towards the front deck - similar to cupping your hands can help guide your voice.
Fire Bowl Adds Special Element Nothing beats the combination of water and fire in a backyard - Felder believes we are "hard wired" for them equally.
Rainwater Collection Roof and Cistern The front porch was built to collect and funnel rainwater running off the house's metal roof, and can fully fill a 300-gallon cistern from only one inch of rainfall.
Green Roof Entry Arbor This "green roof" arbor is supported by 14-foot iron I-beams and planted with Liriope, Artemisia 'Powis Castle', 'Blackie' ornamental sweet potato, and cascading rosemary.
Contemporary Upgrade A new arched bridge connects the center deck, and the original waterfall backyard has been filled in to get a neater look and less maintenance.
Plants from A to Z in a small backyard Felder grows a wide range of shrubs, flowers, vegetables, fruits, and tropical potted plants.
Heirloom Pepper 'Birds Eye' (Chile pequin) peppers are one of Felder's many heirloom vegetables which are unavailable at shops.
Sansevieria Collection Only a smattering of Felder's extensive group of low-maintenance Sansevierias, which tolerate months of neglect when he's away on extended trips abroad.
Heirloom Daffodils Many of Felder's dozens of daffodils, grown at a round backyard bed, came from his horticulturist great-grandmother's garden. Here are a few that were blooming one March day.
Little Flower Bed Felder plants just three little flower beds of seasonal annuals, which demand very little cost and upkeep, but collectively offer a major splash of color through all seasons.
Combo Veggies at Buckets Closeup of a few of Felder's veggies and herbs, which he develops in painted buckets on a sunny deck.
Salad Garden at a Recycled Pot A classic cooking pot with drainage holes drilled in it develops a lush salad backyard of leafy greens, onions, carrot, carrot, and edible-flowered violas on a sunny winter deck.
Hosta and Fern Collection Felder includes a small raised-bed collection of shade plants including hostas, ferns, hecucheras, and companion plants, plus a splashy waterfall to keep things cool and humid in the hot Mississippi summers.
Truck Garden For many years now Felder has developed flowers, shrubs, herbs, and vegetables - plus lots of "yard art" - at the back of his pickup truck, through all seasons. He drives thousands of miles a year using it surviving hot sunshine, winter cold. his comment is here. .and hurricane-force wind!
Yard Art Personalizes the Garden Nothing too whimsical for this world traveler who will use a fantastic laugh at his garden!
Lawn Art - St. Fiacre This statue of Fiacre, official patron saint of gardeners, adds a solid touch yearlong to an ever-changing seasonal backyard place.
Recycled Metal Scarecrow One of Felder's metal sculpture buddies made this whimsical scarecrow - including crow - from recycled metal.
Plastic Pink Flamingoes Felder has a set of America's most loved-to-be-hated icons, plastic pink flamingos his response. But there's a twist: Many of his own been personally autographed by Don Featherstone who patented the creatures in 1957, and that famously stated that "earlier plastic, only wealthy people could afford poor taste!"
Tire Christmas Tree It took days to build just the right size tires to pile and then paint into a marginally natural-shaped "rubber bush" which is festooned at Christmas with decorations and lights like nothing else in the area.
Glass Garden Art Felder also collects from nationally-known artists to get interesting items in his garden. In cases like this, he commissioned a trio of colorful glass plates, each almost four feet tall and dangled between his front door and the street.
Cobalt Blue Glass Bottle Tree Among Felder's ten jar trees is a custom-made metal jar tree that adds some whimsy and color to the corrugated tin fence enclosing his front garden Continue. It's lit up at night.
Blue Bottle Tree Felder wrote a book about his treasured homemade yard artwork - whimsical wooden or metal "trees" festooned with colorful bottles, a practice that goes back thousands of years to ancient Arabian folks tales of genies in bottles.
Felder and his Dog Rusty They love and amuse each other. 'Nuff said.
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