Which only adds to the pleasure of its discovery.
"People gasp when they see it," Hanly says.
First, you have to walk through the front of the home she shares with husband Ted Speaker and their "rescued" menagerie of two dogs, three cats, two parrots and two doves. Then, through a large window in the living room, you begin to - literally - get the picture.
Finally, out you go, to the garden. And then, like everyone else, you gasp.
Wow!
But it isn't only the garden that takes your breath. Beyond the flowers, down the hill, the Schuylkill churns by, all brown and roiled after three days of rain. Closer in, a solitary bicyclist cruises along the Schuylkill River Trail headed for the city.
You're thinking, this is some backyard! Then your eyes focus on thereal thing.
Which isn't all yard. Its focal point is more water: a pond that's 41/2 feet deep with a waterfall, koi and goldfish, surrounded by Japanese and bearded iris, ornamental grasses, and balsam (Impatiens balsamina), which blooms in a rainbow and spreads easily.
The rush of water, the shade of a pin oak, combined with the river vista and the chilly air of this strange late-summer day, make you want to park yourself in one of the lounge chairs by the pond and check out for the afternoon.
By the look of things, this peripatetic gardening couple must not rest often.
"There's always something to do," says Speaker, who cheerfully handles the manly jobs.
Of all the plants in her garden, which is organic, Hanly's favorite is Phlox paniculata. Garden phlox, as it's called, is one of those tried-and-true perennials beloved by our grandparents but often overlooked in the trendy frenzy for something new.
