Driving up the drive into Carol Rhodes' magical garden wonderland, one can't help but linger with longing by a hauntingly beautiful, unfamiliar shrub displaying varying shades of lavender and purple flowers. "Oh, that's a Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow shrub," Carol eagerly explains when asked. "It originated in Australia and grows into quite a large shrub that blooms in lovely shades of lavender, which turn white before the blooms fall in three or four days." After touring Carol's gardens, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow seems to describe quite well why this prolific gardener loves gardening so much.

In days of yore, when Carol was a wee girl, she watched her grandparents as they shared their love of growing things. She watched her grandpa as he gardened on his hands and knees over the rows when he could no longer stoop to his work. Yet, there was never a day when he did not have fresh-picked food on the table. By his example, he taught Carol to "never give up"--through drought, hail or torrential rains and planted in her a sure determination that guides her today. Her grandmother, out in Texas, inspired Carol with her exuberance over her tiny porch overflowing with colorful plants. Yesterday, with these seeds lovingly sown by parents and grandparents, Carol learned, as a child, the hard work and determination required to garden successfully. After she married, she started her first garden when her twins were two years old in 1985. She started, as many gardeners do, with a few pots of tomatoes and peppers. Her husband, Michael, also comes from a gardening family and side-by-side with Carol, helps plan, dig, sow and reap all the bounty that their gardens provide. He inherited the house and land in the Elsanor area where he and Carol garden today.

The large acreage provides ample space for their 10,000 square foot vegetable garden, a rose garden, fruit trees, a perennial bed, a kitchen garden, two rows of Virginia Pine Christmas trees, a lovely camellia tree visible from several rooms in the house and for Fletcher, the sweet Lab mix who earns his keep by keeping deer out of the gardens and Lizzie, their fat cat who controls the rodent population. There was even enough open space between the pecan trees to host their daughter's harvest wedding reception last fall with its "Old Vintage Farm" theme complete with renovated tractor, scattered pumpkins and the Autumn harvest surrounding the guests.

Today, Carol's pride and joy is her 10,000 square foot vegetable garden where she grows several varieties of potatoes, such as Yukon Gold and some corn. This year, she is trying something new by planting her plot in quadrants, one quarter of the garden at a time, starting with the potatoes and then later the corn. This should be less labor intensive for Carol, as Michael travels with his work and is not always available. Carol proudly shares that with spending only $20 for seed potatoes, her family harvested over 300 pounds of potatoes and with 1/2 pound of seed corn her family's yield was over 11 bushels.

In the rose garden, a second generation of roses thrive and newer varieties have been added. Some of her fragrant bushes include Pumpkin Patch, Angel Face, Mr. Lincoln and Midas Touch. Carol enjoys all colors in this sensory-pleasing bed.

Carol enjoys a good yield from her 13-year-old grapevines. She also tends plum trees, pomegranates, mulberry, blueberries, blackberries and a pineapple pear, well-suited to our climate here and in Florida. Alas, Carol shares the pears with hungry rabbits who sneak and feed at night.

To indulge her love of beautiful flowers, Carol grows amarillas, cemetery and bearded iris, agapanthus and several daylily varieties along with her roses. Her perennial bed includes coneflowers, blue-black salvia, black-eyed Susans and verbena.

In the kitchen garden, several varieties of tomatoes thrive. Carol grows some heirlooms and varieties such as Amelia, Celebrity and Homestead. Herbs and peppers and Carol's favorite, Southern peas, fill out the rows. She loves when the peas bloom, loves to pick them, and finds it therapeutic to shell them. We know what we will find her doing on a warm summer morning!

Carol gardened on a smaller scale when involved in her nursing career and when her children were small. She now is totally involved and gets "fired up" when the fields are newly turned and ready to plant. This Master Gardener advises us to "look at your garden every day." "Walk through it several times daily, if possible, looking for plant damage or potential problems. You can save a whole row of plants by removing the one that is damaged by blight. Your garden is like a child - it needs constant attention," she says.

Surrounded by people who knew how to live off of the land since she was a little girl, Carol not only grows her family's food, but harvests and freezes or preserves the garden bounty, as well. Soon, tomorrow, Carol will be sharing her knowledge and love of gardening with her new granddaughter, Claire. Both the roots of a good garden and the love of gardening run deep through the generations. From yesterday's heritage garnered from loving parents and grandparents to today's careful planning, preparation and harvesting of her gardens into tomorrow's legacy of sharing gardening with future generations, Carol Rhodes lives the gardening life she loves and inspires us all.