For some people, gardening is an occasional weekend hobby consisting of pruning unruly bushes or planting a few new flowers.

 

Dublin resident Jeaninne Ashton takes gardening a little more seriously.

 

“I can’t spend enough time in my garden,” she says. “I would got out at 8 a.m. and stay out until dark, if I was able to. I’m out there almost every day.”

 

Ashton and her husband, Tom, live on a two-acre spread in River Forest. Their home’s previous owners “weren’t particularly gardeners,” she says, but the existing landscaping inspired her make it her own.

 

“At this point it’s just the beauty of it all, especially now since the weather is nice. It’s there to be enjoyed, all around you,” she says.

 

A 15-year member of The Dublin Garden Club, Ashton has also drawn inspiration from its meetings and members.

 

“It’s such a wonderful organization - just a nice, congenial group of people who enjoy each other’s company. There’s no flower arranging or anything like that, we just have fun with our common interest and we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” she says.

 

Another influence on her garden is her love if wildlife. Ashton makes an effort to create a habitat that is conducive for different kinds of wildlife. Along with baths and feeders to attract birds, her garden also features a butterfly and hummingbird garden.

 

The city has also noticed Ashton’s efforts, bestowing her with a Dublin Civic Beautification Award. The award recognizes the efforts of local businesses and residents for superior landscaping.

 

For Ashton, however, the better reward has simply been continuing to garden since her interest blossomed during childhood.

 

“My father grew up on a farm, and I always said he was a frustrated gardener because we grew up in a suburban setting but we had fruit trees and a vegetable garden. From a very young age I just really enjoyed gardening,” she says.

 

Her goal for her garden now is to promote a “seasonal aesthetic,” she says.

 

“Plants can be enjoyed in the winter and all different seasons,” she says. “The sign of a serious gardener is someone who gardens in all seasons.”

 

Another sign of a serious gardener, she adds, is someone who goes to a garden store knowing what to look for.

 

“They know what it is and how beautiful it will become,” she says.

 

As a testament to this, Aston found one of her favorite plants, the Japanese anemone, at a garden store when it was not in bloom. An “unusual and hard to find” pastel flower, the Japanese anemone enjoys a long bloom from mid- to late summer. Despite its name, the Japanese anemone is native to central China and grows exceedingly well in the United States.

 

Apart from the Japanese anemone, Ashton prefers to plant perennials native to North America because they have a higher success rate and are “meant to grow in this environment.” She also notes they are more cost effective than many plants because they bloom annually.

 

Though Ashton has no “formal training” in gardening, she reads gardening books and magazines and attends the Dublin Garden Club’s monthly meetings to improve her garden.

 

However, Ashton ultimately sees her garden as a form of release.

 

“It’s my therapy. When you have things that are bothering you, gardening is an experience that allows you worry about planting something or moving something instead of worrying about work or family issues,” she says.

 

A real estate appraiser of Ashton and Associates of Dublin and mother to two grown kids, Tyler and Kelsey, Ashton feels gardening is similar to parenting.

 

“Having a garden is like raising a family because it takes time. You are a caretaker. You bring this tiny little baby home and then all of a sudden they’re bigger than you are,” she says. “You look around and think, ‘Wow. This is just beautiful.’”

 

Michelle Gibson is a contributing writer for Dublin Life.