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4B Daily News – Saturday, August 18, 2012 Country Lifehome garden SACRAMENTO (MCT) — Most travelers bring home souvenirs. In their globe-trotting, John and Peg Poswall collect ideas, then transplant them to their home and gardens. "We see something we like and we think, 'We could do that,'" said John Poswall, as he surveyed the view from his turret. "And we do." & Couple adds Chinese garden collection looks like a castle complete with a 40-foot circular stone tower. Inside the tower is a circular library, packed with thousands of books. With a nod to Poswall's native England, the house That's why their home — nicknamed "Toad Hall" — has its own Stonehenge, overlooking a well-stocked 5- acre pond. Nearby are massive Chinese gates, the entrance to his newest creation. "When I bought this property, I wanted a view and a pond," he said. "I got both." Their view now includes bits of Europe, Mexico and Asia, woven together with whimsy on 50 oak-studded acres in the hills outside Lincoln, Calif. Poswall calls his creations the "Gardens of Springhill." So far, he has 18 gardens, all pulled from farflung inspirations. "They're not meant to be faithful reproductions or replicas, but were inspired by these other places," he said. Most of the work Poswall did himself, often starting without a plan on paper, but just an idea. The gardens fit together in a colorful and surprising patchwork. "In the evening, Peg and I sit out here on the deck and say, 'Can you believe we have this?'" Poswall said. Among Sacramento's best-known attorneys as well as a novelist, Poswall created his own retreat full of fun and memories. Peg Tomlinson Poswall is a renowned food expert, writer and former restaurateur. Together, they love to entertain. "We like putting people around a table, talking and having a good time," said Peg, while stirring a large pan of tomatillo sauce for a taco party. Her well-equipped professional kitchen could host a cooking show. The fourth Sunday of each month, she and John get together with fellow foodies for a themed dinner, she explained. "You'd think it would be nice and relaxed, but we're all serious foodies," Peg said. "It's a throwdown." The couple's energy is legendary and contagious. "Peg and John constitute an impact couple," said friend Mike Dunne, The Sacramento Bee's former food editor. "They get an idea, develop a vision, and then see it through to completion, whether it be a book, garden, restaurant, dinner party or whatever. but I've been struck by their persistently upbeat atti- tude," Dunne added. "They like to laugh." Besides traveling and working on myriad projects, "I'm not sure where all their gumption comes from, the Poswalls both are active fundraisers for local char- ities. "(They're) the Central Valley's true Renaissance cou- ple," said author John Lescroart, another longtime friend. "John and Peg continually push the envelope in what constitutes the good life and how to live it gra- ciously and meaningfully. novel and, of course, gardening. The son of an Indian father and British mother, he moved from England to Marysville when he was 10 years old. Growing up, he picked fruit along with his parents. MCT photo John Poswall walks through the Oriental Garden on the property owned by he and his wife Peg. While Peg keeps cooking, John is finishing his third A graduate of California State University, Sacra- mento, and Cal's Boalt Hall law school, Poswall found success beyond his dreams. "My first job was in the fields, picking peaches, picking grapes in Lodi," he said. "It was the typical immigrant experience. One generation later, I live here." he was diagnosed with leukemia. His cancer remains in remission. Poswall bought the property about 20 years ago after His gardens are a return to nature. "I've always gone out and played with the land- scape," he said. "I love ponds. I like driving the bull- dozer. I've got the room to do that here." The latest addition to their wonderland is a spectac- ular cross-cultural Asian blend named "Yu Shan Hua Yuan," the Garden of Mountain Happiness. More than 300 friends and fellow garden lovers recently celebrat- ed its dedication. "It was two years in the making," Poswall said. "But of course, it's not done." "Their home and gardens somehow manage to be as welcoming as they are inspiring," Lescroart added. "The circular turret library alone is worth the visit. "And the garden is simply stunning — a tribute to the couple's vision and imagination," he said. "It is per- haps the most impressive private garden planted any- where in California in the past decade — or more." "When we started, there was no plan," Poswall said. "It really started with that book — and a boulder." Estimated at 50 tons, that massive stone serves as a focal point inside equally massive gates, modeled after the entrance door to the back garden of the Imperial City. A natural stream winds through the garden, connect- ing bridges, groves and a hidden garden. China is just one stop on the Poswalls' world tour. An Italian garden — complete with bocce court — traces its roots to a vacation in Tuscany. Grapevines cover a large arbor over a 17-foot dining table made from a single plank of rough-hewn redwood. A trip to Palermo inspired the Sicilian garden that traverses a 400-foot walkway, lined with cypress, foun- tains and statuary. "Tequila Hill" is covered with 800 agaves, grown from a single plant. Nearby, Mexican fan palms shade succulents and cactus in a homage to the Southwest. On the pond, a rowboat lazily floats among the water lilies in a scene straight out of a French impres- sionist painting. Below the tower, more than 100 tons of boulders form the terraces of an elegant English rose garden. That garden started with a gift from friend Darrell Corti — a 1772 first edition of "Dissertation on Orien- tal Gardening" by English architect Sir William Cham- bers. That prompted Poswall's imagination and travel plans. He and Peg traveled to Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou, China's city of gardens. They found just the right glazed roof tile for the garden's structures and plenty of other ideas. Each garden has its own personality. Most are dedi- cated to family or friends. (Hence, the "Crazy Uncle Rob Garden" — named for Poswall's son — full of kid- napped gnomes.) Poswall planted timber bamboo and other fast-grow- ing hedges to separate the gardens. "I don't want it to look like Disneyland," he said. "I want each garden to be distinct." With time, the gardens will mature and add to their distinction. And Poswall keeps adding more. Said Poswall, "As the Chinese say, a garden is never finished." Bronze fennel a champion for butterflies and kitchen BY NORMAN WINTER McClatchy-Tribune News Service Bronze fennel has always been one of my garden treasures but probably not for the reasons you might think. For me it has always fulfilled its promise as a great butterfly plant. It is like a sensory extravagan- za with all that is going on, or should I say all that is growing on. But right now if you visited the bronze fennel at the Columbus (Ga.) Botanical Garden you could not help but notice several large Eastern Black Swallow- tail caterpillars feasting with a voracious appetite. In some ways they are just as pretty as the butterflies themselves. But that's not all; lately it is appearing that the bronze fennel plants are also favorite hunt- ing places for my favorite lizard, the green anole. The anole is known scientifically as Anolis caro- linensis and is native to the Caribbean as well as the Southeastern United States. Experts have told me that these colorful green lizards are being fruitful, multiplying and moving northward out of their range. You may know the anole as having the ability to change colors as one of its defense mechanisms. The thing we ought to all love about the anole is that they eat small insects, crickets, cockroaches, spiders, moths and grubs. Remember that service the next time you see one at home on the curtains in the dining room during a winter cold snap. Though it sounds as though I have been touting fennel for the backyard wildlife habitat, to the rest of the world bronze fennel is indeed a culinary-delight. Known botanically as Foeniculum vulgare, it is perennial in zones 5-11. It has both aromatic leaves and seeds that are used in Italian dishes and grilled fish throughout the Mediterranean, making sure fen- nel will always be a mainstay in the herb garden. In the landscape, however, fennel offers some- thing else and that is an unmatched fine-leaf texture. Even if the plant failed to deliver small exquisite yel- low blossoms, the wispy extra fine foliage is magical in the garden. While other plants catch the eye with blooms or gigantic coarse or bold textured leaves, the garden connoisseur can't help but be drawn to the appearance of bronze fennel. To grow bronze fennel, select a location with plenty of sun. The soil should be rich, fertile and very well drained. Transplants are usually easy to find at your local garden center. Dig you holes twice as large as the rootball, which will create a great environment for quick root establishment. To keep plants bushy, cut foliage back as needed until time for it to produce flowers and seed. You can also grow Bronze fennel easily from seeds. Seeds are planted in the very early spring sown lightly and covered with about \ inch of soil. Thin the seedlings to 12 to 18 inches apart. You can let your seedlings get about 6 to 8 inches tall before thinning or transplanting elsewhere in the garden. In the kitchen make sure you try using both the fennel MCT photo The young Green Anole lizard is feeding off of insects flying in the bronze fennel flowers. leaves and seeds when they are produced. Once seeds are harvested cut the bloom stalks down to the ground. Whether it is the herb garden, backyard wildlife habitat or perennial garden, you'll find bronze fennel will always offer excitement, I hope you give it a try. Norman Winter is executive director of the Columbus Botanical Garden, Columbus Ga., and author of "Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South" and the highly acclaimed "Captivating Combinations Color and Style in the Garden." Contact him at gardenguy2000@aol.com