Show us your garden: A private arboretum in Mansfield

Robert Hafkesbring and Noelle Bleuler are used to folks ambling through their yard. Neighbors, curious drivers, the mail lady, even clients of Hafkesbring’s business, The Tree Place, have strolled through the property, looking for visual confirmation of their own dreams.

After all, Hafkesbring estimates that the garden areas of their 3-acre Mansfield property contain more than 600 varieties of plants, so there’s a lot to see.

In planning this living work of art, the couple sectioned it into several “microclimates,” and capitalized on each one.

To the north, towering eastern red cedars have been pruned to open the forest floor for planting. This shady microclimate has evolved into a personal arboretum composed of some 60 varieties of Japanese maples that bring intense spring and fall color to the woodland. Many are test varieties grafted by Hafkesbring’s associate, Keith Johansson of Metro Maples.

Dotting the forest floor are large clumps of cast iron plant, silver-blue hostas, and solid and variegated pittosporum, which do particularly well under the cedars. Here, ‘San Gabriel’ nandina, a slow-growing, narrow-leaf nandina that illustrates the plant’s nickname, “heavenly bamboo,” surprises the senses with wispy foliage that turns burgundy in the fall.

Providing texture and contrast are Bushy St. John’s wort, flecked with yellow flowers; delicate Shantung maples; stiff, fine-needled plum yew; large-leafed Algerian ivy; and golden privet, which has feathery leaflets that flutter in the breeze.

“When people tell me you can’t grow something here, that’s when I try to grow it,” says Hafkesbring, who loves a challenge. Witness the camellias and peonies, thriving and blooming. “I want to know why something doesn’t do well. There’s always a reason.”

Like many garden enthusiasts, the couple are generous about sharing their secrets for success.

First, they sun-tracked their large property — identifying the four directions and watching how the sun moves across the sky and changes the light conditions on the ground.

Second, they plant everything “high.” “[Many] people plant stuff so deep they cover the root flare and it smothers itself. It’s a slow death,” for both trees and plants, says Bleuler.

Third, they use drip irrigation — not just lines, but rings around each and every plant and tree. This way, the whole root zone is watered, with 1 gallon per hour.

“It’s very little water, but the plant uses 100 percent of the water,” Hafkesbring says. Water is supplied from the property’s pond, which means it’s full of fish emulsion, another secret.

The 3/4-acre, man-made pond represents another microclimate. In full sun, the pond — aerated by a windmill the do-it-yourselfers built themselves — supports bass, catfish, perch, bluegill and crappies. An old-fashioned, cantilevered boat dock with a tin roof — serving as an outdoor lounge space — is the focal point.

Encircling the pond are 50 to 60 varieties of perennials and more specimen trees.

Because Hafkesbring likes trees to lean out over the water, some, like a green-barked Chinese pagoda tree, have been planted that way. Other specimens include a bottlebrush tree, corkscrew and desert willows, and a fragrant Russian olive.

“You can smell it from across the pond. It permeates the entire yard,” Bleuler says.

Hafkesbring estimates that they’ve planted at least 125 shade trees and 500 ornamentals on the property.

“Robert is an arborist,” Bleuler explains. “Hence the trees. Must have trees.”

In a section that was originally a steep drop-off of briars and weeds, the couple have cultivated a third garden that features a 25-foot waterfall and was inspired by a trip to the Columbia River Gorge.

The couple laid the stones themselves — the largest of which weighs 4,500 pounds — with the help of Bobcat machinery. Now, the hillside is held together by retaining walls built from 2,000-pound slabs, and it’s lushly planted with slash pines, Blue Atlas cedars, river birch, pussy willow, bald cypress and sassafras.

With numerous slash pines acting as a filter, dappled light falls on everything beneath them. Meanwhile, a sago palm marks the base of the coursing falls and a scenic spot where Bleuler’s sister and brother-in-law recently chose to renew their vows.

The tireless gardeners also landscaped the street-facing property outside the perimeter fence. Highlights here include colorful beds boasting Texas mountain laurel — “which smells exactly like grape soda” when it blooms, Hafkesbring says — along with speedwell, lantana and hibiscus.

Another addition is Texas senna, a big, bushy semi-evergreen perennial with yellow blooms. The couple also cultivates Mexican red bird of paradise, an exotic perennial with fernlike foliage and striking plumed blooms.

Depending on whom you talk to, the merits of gardening on this large a scale differ. Hafkesbring, for instance, says gardening at home allows him to unwind and relax, while Bleuler describes gardening as “energizing.”

And, for both, the result is a personal paradise they’re proud to call their own.

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Show us your garden: A private arboretum in Mansfield."