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Gardening experience, plants and related knowledge have evolved from David and Joanne Tong's childhood families into their present one. This includes lilacs from David's grandfather that he has transplanted to each place they have lived since his childhood and Joanne's epiphyllums — cactus family members with huge flowers — from her California-based grandparents that have been going for decades. The Tong's ever-changing gardenscapes are a unique blend of varied plants, upcycled historic iron pieces and creations devised from their imaginations like giant cement spheres made with yoga balls and squares built around Styrofoam. From dawn until dark during the growing season, they tirelessly tend species ranging from Voodoo Lilies to Elephant Ear plants. What inspires and influences your garden planning? Joanne: I'm just trying to do something nice, enhance the land. You have to think about the amount of sunlight they get — there are shade plants and sun plants, ones that like a lot of water and ones that are drought tolerant. David: And I try to put certain colors together; I've got my pinks and whites out front and my yellows, oranges, and reds in the back and another garden with my purples. I try to make it pleasing to the eye. And I like to keep height in mind so that I'm not blocking the shorter plants, but I group taller ones together and smaller ones around them. The other thing I consider is when they will blossom, so I have things blossoming all the time. Joanne: It's also personal preference — what each of us wants to grow. We like big tropical plants as well as traditional and we like to put old iron pieces in the garden to add interest. It could be an old wheel, old tools, machine parts or even a tractor seat. David's forte is water features. We grow vegetables separately and mix herbs in with the flower gardens, adding their own beauty and fragrance. How do you learn about the plants you grow? Joanne: I think we're constantly learning. Gardens are always evolving; they change from year to year. Some things won't do well, and some things do too well. It's amazing; you can plant something, and it grows well for years, and then all of a sudden, it grows like crazy and takes over. David: The plants are going to react well if they like where they are. They'll tell us if they don't like a place; we may move them 50 feet, and they'll love it. Joanne: We got introduced to moonflowers when we went to a "moonflower party." The large white flowers (in the morning glory family) blossom in the evening just before sunset. I'd say in about 10 minutes, one goes from a bud to a full blossom. They're gone the next morning, but there will be more the next night, about 10 or 20 at a time. David: It's so much fun to watch them unfurling, Joanne: We have a banana tree outside (not fruit-bearing.) There are cement leaves David casts from it; also from astilboides and rhubarb leaves. What are the challenges of maintaining your gardens and water features? Joanne: Just keeping the water features clean. It's not a difficult thing; it may look daunting, but when you get enough plants in there to absorb the nitrogen, it keeps it balanced. The constantly moving water helps with balance, too. Keeping the gardens watered when we're busy or during a really dry period can be challenging. David: The biggest challenge is when we want to keep working, and it gets dark! (They both laugh.) From right after work until darkness falls, we have even been out there working with a light on, eating dinner later. What are appealing aspects and benefits of your garden projects? David: It's very peaceful, a good escape. The sounds of the waterfall and creek flowing into a pond (a feature David created) is calming and mesmerizing. Joanne: It's very relaxing. David: The neat thing is, if you move one rock, the whole sound changes. Joanne: It's always a surprise, which makes it fun. Part of the joy of gardening is sharing it. David: One of the fun things is, you grow the garden all year, in the fall you put it to sleep and dig up bulbs (that have multiplied) and say to someone, "Do you have some of these? Well, now you do." And most people are really willing to give away plants. If you tell someone something's nice, they say, "Oh, you want some?" Daily, after you work out there, you're exhausted after a hot day or whatever it is. It's a good tired, very grounding, working with the earth and using all that energy. And then you get a rest in the winter months. Joanne: It's a labor of love. Otherwise, we wouldn't work so hard.