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Anything but garden variety

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF
Published April 7, 2006

Move over, Martha.

Jane Hardin knows that her garage sale skills rival the best of the best.

Hardin's New Suburb Beautiful home is filled with her eclectic cache of home decor finds, ferreted out at dawn at garage sales, gleaned from trash heaps, bartered over from the backs of trucks, rescued from roadsides.

A self-professed follower of the shabby chic design craze, Hardin has made it her mission to rescue the unwanted and make it loved again.

Don't misunderstand: She doesn't skimp elsewhere. The rattan patio furniture that sits on her gracious front porch has been reupholstered in beautiful Waverly fabric. In the sun room, the antique, framed thrift-sale prints of Parisian landmarks share space with an ultra-expensive needlepoint rug that makes the room shimmer. And her butterfly garden? A sublime hideaway stocked with one-of-a-kind finds including a Victorian-style wicker divan she discovered in a trash heap.

Coaxing trash to treasure might be her hobby, but gardening is her passion - "my therapy,'' Hardin says.

Hardin's garden, front porch, courtyard, fountains and summer kitchen will be on view from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday for the Rose Circle's 14th annual Earthly Paradise Garden Tour. The $20 ticket includes three of Tampa's most beautiful gardens, including one belonging to John and Susan Sykes, as well as refreshments from 2 to 4 p.m. in Fred Ball Park.

The event, which is hosted by an established local garden club known for its enthusiastic membership, exudes an old-fashioned and endearing charm. The musical tea party in the park - an annual tradition on the tour - has featured home-baked treats made by club members, as well as live music. Press releases are embellished with gardening quotes and musings about the joys of planting and reaping.

Gardens highlighted on this year's Earthly Paradise tour will bloom with boxwood, azaleas, roses and annuals. One garden features a trompe l'oeil, a reflecting pool, a pergola and formal gardens. Another features a symmetrical and proportionate garden, one that offers visitors a sense of order and balance. The same garden also features a magnificent rose garden, herb garden, camphor tree, camellias and gardenias, as well as a 1927 lion-head fountain original to the property.

Hardin's garden is a "garden of rooms'' accented with reflecting art, sculptures, angels and exquisite outdoor furniture (not garage sale finds). A chandelier hangs from the pergola, twin ponds create a calming respite and a courtyard garden teems with pink pentas and crape myrtle. The outdoor kitchen, with seating at the bar, offers guests a place to linger while Hardin and her husband, Bob Dikman, cook out for a crowd.

"It's a great place for entertaining. We've hosted every kind of party imaginable out here,'' says Hardin, who is known for her hilarity and hospitality. (She occasionally works as a stand-up nightclub comic in Ybor City and recently returned from the Paula Deen cooking school in Savannah, Ga.)

"I do every bit of gardening myself,'' she says.

She's also the artist behind the well-blended outdoor decor: Garage sale finds meld with the new and hip. For the tour she's hanging gauzy outdoor curtains from Ikea on the front porch and adding a '60s-style polka-dot lampshade to the mix of outdoor furniture.

[Last modified April 6, 2006, 14:37:21]