Her English garden
De Bres takes her 'growing' inspiration from abroad
Visitors pulling up to the home of Karen De Bres have the pleasure of seeing something usually found across the Atlantic Ocean.
De Bres, K-State associate professor of geography, has lived in Manhattan for the past 17 years. A fan of Riley County history, she has made a cookbook and walking tour guide for Manhattan, is currently working with a graduate student on a postcard history of the county, and will be the president of the historical society in 2008.
As if those activities, combined with her teaching duties, aren't enough, she has maintained an English-style garden in her front yard since coming to Manhattan. While not particularly big according to De Bres, it does provide her with a sense of what can be seen overseas.
English-style gardens are distinct in their setup and style. De Bres said that, while an Italian-style garden would be more formal with its geometric style of tight rows, plants and even statues, English-style gardens are more informal and less symmetric. They have pastel colors and are more "shrubby and flowing," she said.
Some plants that she grows are lavender, clematis and daffodils. It takes a special combination of both English perennials and tough, local plants to make this style of garden work in Kansas.
De Bres said she uses many different arrangements in her yard, like a group of roses surrounded by a border of lavender plants, for example.
She likes to use roses from Canada because she said they are generally tougher and can handle this climate. She also has arrangements involving hostas, green leaves that are popular both in England and the United States. Finally, another staple of English-style gardens that she includes is bird baths.
"In Kansas, with its heat, it's hard," De Bres said. "An English-style garden has to be modified in Kansas because of the heat and droughts that we experience here."
One thing that does make her garden maintenance easier is the fact that she doesn't grow grass anymore. After moving to Manhattan, she has gradually moved away from having it.
"My honorary niece across the street is disappointed because she has a manual mower and wants to mow it, but I don't have grass anymore," De Bres said, laughing. "But grass takes a lot more work to grow and keep up than flowers and plants do."
To do a good job in maintaining her garden, De Bres said it would take two afternoons a week working in her yard. But with a busy schedule, she has struggled in being able to do that. And after 17 years in Manhattan, she said she will probably never have everything perfect in the garden.
"It's an ongoing process to get what you want in your garden," De Bres said. "It can sometimes be hard to find the time to get out there."
The inspiration for De Bres' English-style garden comes from the yearly trips she has made to England since she was 17 years old. After a semester spent in England, she returned to the country for graduate school and still goes there to conduct geography research.
"I try to go there every summer for three weeks," De Bres said. "I just really enjoy it over there, and it allows me to tour the gardens while I'm visiting."
The trips have inspired her to use some English things in her home as well. She describes her house as neo-colonial, with 17th, 18th and 19th century-style English prints on linens, curtains and pottery.
De Bres said one of the great things about her garden is seeing it change colors during the seasons. There is a lot of change that occurs between March and November, and it's something she really enjoys watching as it happens. She also likes how it attracts birds and butterflies. It is relaxing and peaceful, she said, to sit and enjoy nature.