Retired Charlotte couple converts their plain backyard into a showcase

When Ruth and Hurst Mauldin downsized to Sedgefield in 1999, there was little but red dirt in their small back yard.

But the veteran gardeners looked past the red dirt and envisioned a lush, green sanctuary. In fact, Ruth says her garden has become a place she goes to contemplate, to celebrate and to praise.

The Mauldins, both retired educators, raised two daughters in a Tudor home in Myers Park one with a big backyard and a garden that Ruth describes as down yonder. When they decided to move to a one-story house 15 years ago, Ruth told her Realtor, I just need a place with a front and back yard so I can dig.

And as hard as it was to leave their mature garden behind, the couple love having their plants and flowers within easy reach. Its all just out the back door and visible from every window in the house.

And its not as if they left the old Myers Park garden entirely. Much of it came with them hostas, Lenten roses, azaleas, primrose, King Alfred daffodils and some liriope (commonly known as monkey grass) their old friends, Jean and Joe Vance, had given the young newlyweds in Birmingham in 1965.

Ruth says the garden is still a work in progress. The Mauldins have taken on the task little by little, and their garden continues to evolve each year and with each season.

Working in the garden is therapeutic and almost spiritual for the Mauldins, who love their church (St. Andrews United Methodist), take care of the earth and try not to harm any of its creatures.

They occasionally put out moth balls (the smell is supposed to be a repellent) for the critters that feast on their plants, but mostly they peacefully coexist with bunnies and chipmunks. Slugs are the one pest they wont abide.

Siberian iris caper

The couple has been known to go to extreme lengths for a plant they covet. Hurst confesses to a caper that involved digging up a Siberian iris in an abandoned area and transplanting it in their yard. It was just so gorgeous, says Ruth.

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Retired Charlotte couple converts their plain backyard into a showcase