She turned a difficult space into a showcase

GREAT GARDEN CONTEST, LARGE GARDEN WINNER

When Mary Julia Grimm and her husband Noel moved into their Monroeville home in 1966, they found a backyard that some might see as difficult. The terrain sloped steeply away from the back of the house and was covered with mature oak, beech, maple and tulip poplar trees.

Instead of trying to make it into something it was not, Mrs. Grimm embraced the challenge and saw it for what it could be, a shady natural woodland. Not that she ignored the front — it’s filled with dahlias, begonias, roses, clematis, alstroemeria and other sun-loving plants — but it’s the back of the 1-acre property where Mrs. Grimm has come into her own. It’s the reason she was named the winner in the large garden category of the Great Gardens Contest, which is sponsored and judged by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Botanic Garden.

In her entry essay, she called it “a place to share our lives with all the woodland creatures.” Inspired by one of their favorite places, the Laurel Highlands, the Grimms have spent more than 50 years creating a lovely shady retreat filled with interesting understory plants, water features, stone paths, seating areas and bird feeders — lots of them to handle the winged visitors they get in all seasons.

Human visitors see well-grown ferns (one of her favorite plants),

hydrangeas, many varieties of hosta, epimediums, lamium, sweet woodruff, Solomon’s seal and rhododendrons.

A dawn redwood that the couple purchased on a trip to the Winterthur Museum Garden and Library in Delaware is now a stately focal point, one of several that Mrs. Grimm has cleverly placed throughout the property.

In 2000, she decided to add a natural stone walk and steps. She worked with now retired landscape designer Sib Hamilton to find and install the right stone for the space.

The property has changed over the years. Trees have been cut down, others have died and some have fallen during storms. Mrs. Grimm remains unfazed and embraces each change. Asked if she ever had an overall plan, she replies simply, “The design is in my brain.”

Every season offers visual interest that Mr. Grimm captures with his camera.

“In spring, the rhododendron, ferns and wildflowers open,” she wrote. “The summer brings dappled sunlight to spotlight different plants by the hour. Hostas of chartreuse, blue and stripes add color and texture.

“In fall, the trees turn brilliant reds and golds and bushels of acorns bring in the deer, squirrels and turkeys.”

In winter, the couple enjoy their creation from large windows in the rear of their home: “The bare trees allow us glimpses of the valley beyond and the tiny creek at the bottom. Icy wonderlands can appear.”

Over the half-century the couple have husbanded the space, she has learned to embrace and adapt to the changes that have come her way. Her hope is that others find her creation to be as peaceful as she does.

Visiting on a recent early fall day, it’s hard not find the beauty and serenity

Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette Mary and Noel Grimm in their garden in Monroeville. They embraced the challenge of a wooded backyard and made it into a natural-looking shade garden with lots of seasonal color.

Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette Redbuds, hemlocks and other trees shade the view from the patio in Mary and Noel Grimm's backyard.

Noel Grimm The maple trees turn bright yellow in late fall.

Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette A small seating area, part of a larger swath of space Mary and Noel Grimm cleared over 50 years to make landscaped areas in their backyard in Monroeville.

Noel Grimm Japanese maples and rhododendrons offer splashes of color in the spring.

Noel Grimm Pink rhododendrons and variegated Brunnera bloom in dappled spring sunlight in the Grimms’ garden.

Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette Begonias surround a seating area in the backyard of Mary and Noel Grimm in Monroeville.