By Nick Hartmann

Every spring, golf fans everywhere set their eyes on Dublin for the always-entertaining Memorial Golf Tournament at Murifield Village Golf Club, which has displayed superstar performances from the likes of Tiger Woods and Kenny Perry.

In anticipation of the event’s large-scale attention, homeowners within the Muirfield community work to cultivate “tournament ready” landscapes and gardens every year that, like the course, are worthy of a national audience.

Guided by the Muirfield Garden Club, Muirfield’s inspired garden enthusiasts strive to match the visual expectations of the course dubbed “Jack’s Place” since it opened for play in 1974. A Garden Club of Ohio member, the Muirfield Garden Club has existed since 1979.

Its three-fold mission is to stimulate gardening knowledge, advance civic beautification and promote community natural conservation.

Although not official members of the garden club, Muirfield residents Anne and Jack Partridge are recognized by club president Pam Ellinger for their home’s annually remarkable tournament-time landscape. Inspired by the manicured display of the tournament, the couple is among the first to spruce up their landscape for the spring and summer while many of their neighbors winter in Florida.

According to Anne Partridge, she remains attentive to her landscape during the spring, waiting for the right moment to begin her work.

“I start working on my yard when I start to believe that, hopefully, Jack Frost has left town for the year,” she says. “This usually happens around mid April. I just can't bring myself to work in the yard ‘til the sun is warm enough to take away the chill.”

When the time is right, Anne Partridge begins the gardening process with an inspection of her property.

“I see new signs of life. I take a look at the garden for empty spots that need to be filled in. I start dividing them up and replanting them. Because I do a lot of the work myself, it can take weeks or a good month to finish,” she says.

While her floral arsenal often contains reoccurring appearances from hostas and astilbes, Anne tries to include a variety of plants each spring.

“Every year I try to include something a little different,” she says. “Last year I threw down some wild flower seeds and they are doing very well. There are a few areas where the soil is primarily clay and does not take a lot of seeds easily, so watering is essential to keeping that area conducive.”

Any passerby of the Dublin residence may be moved by the landscape’s entirety, but Anne expresses particular satisfaction in the garden’s waterfall feature.

“The waterfall area – the way the hostas have grown in, and the few Japanese maples that seem to be doing well – I think that is the most enjoyable,” she says.

The weeks of precise placement and cultivation may seem like a chore to some, but Anne takes pleasure in the labor as long as the weather permits.

“I really enjoy doing it, until about the end of July and August – it gets so dry and warm outside. We do it, too, because we’re right on the golf course. It’s so beautifully manicured and maintained. We just want to complement the course, to be an extension of what we see on the golf course,” she says.

While the Partridges take pride in their own landscape successes, Anne says collaborating with your neighbors can enhance everyone’s gardens, as well as their enjoyment level.

“Take the time to enjoy doing it,” Anne says. “Try new things and share your success stories with your neighbors as far as what grows well and what doesn’t. Some of the hostas I’ve got have been given to me from my neighbors. It’s always nice to be able to plant something that has been given to you because it makes you think of them.”

Come tournament time, Muirfield Garden Club members and others will be ready to welcome Memorial visitors with aesthetic efforts to complement the perfected landscapes at “Jack’s Place.”

Nick Hartmann is a contributing writer for Dublin Life.