'I could honestly use another 20 years'

Back in theearly-1990s, Tom and Sue Becker were driving the back roads of Jackson County, looking for an acreage.

They happened uponold Washington Township Public School No. 2, a one-room school perched on an acre of hillside with fantastic sunsets.

They bought the property, rehabbing the inside and building additions. One addition was a second-story "bump up," containingtwo bedrooms and a bath. Anothercontaining a family room was built on the south side. And, most recently, Tom built a 14-foot by 20-foot stone gallery with skylight on the southwest side as Sue'sart studio.

They also worked on the yard to thepoint that it is now completely planted, filled with flowers, walkways, walls and about 10 of Sue's mosaic sculptures, including a five-foot cat and a rooster fountain.

You can see the Beckers' gallery and yard from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 22, when their property will be one of five open for tours in the Bellevue, Iowa, area as afundraiser for the library.

When the couple bought theirplace, the land was covered with weedy brush as wellas a fewold oaks. They kept the oaks, but foot by foot, they reclaimed thebrush.

"We started at the top, and then would go 20 more feet and then 50 more feet," Sue said. "I've got the bones of the garden where I want (them), but I could honestly use another 20 years. I'm glad we have only one acre."

Their first plantings werefood plots raised beds for broccoli and other vegetables, plus asparagus, raspberries, rhubarb and fruit trees.

Then while Sue was planting flowers,Tom, a science teacher at Maquoketa High School, began building stone and brick paths and walls. Son Beau, now graduated from college, helped too.

Instead of spendingmoney on "fancy" plants,Sue stuck withcommon varieties,dividing them as they grew.

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'I could honestly use another 20 years'